I actually have a student trying to get me to do the same thing now.
I've called the parents and left messages with no return phone calls from them.
The child has decided to start working on his own but his lack of effort has gone on for so long that now he rarely completes anything but he does start.
I made a deal with all of my failing students. If they can demonstrate that they know the material on my comprehensive final exam then I will pass them with a D. If not, they will get their failing grade.
If the goal of education is learning content as opposed to getting grades then if a kid can show me that they miraculously learned the material that they initially slept through then, in my humble opinion, the kid should pass.
( Oh, and I don't believe in "make-up" work )
I really really feel your pain- this is my world at the end of every term! One year I had this kid who never did any homework, was absent frequently and failed most of his tests and quizzes miserably. I had been giving them grade updates, but lo and behold, 2 weeks before the end of the term, he was flabbergasted to see that he was getting an F. "I thought I was getting better than that." he told me with huge tears welling up in his eyes. I did resist the urge to ask "On WHAT PLANET?!" (actually, maybe I didn't resist that urge, embarrassingly...) I made a deal with him, that if he passed the final, I would give him a D-, under the condition that he not go on to the next level of Spanish. That way he still got the credits, but we have a policy that in order to proceed to the next level in foreign language, you must have passed the previous level with a C or better.
I had one boy last year who was threatened with being booted off the baseball team because he had failed my class and a couple of others. I made a deal with him that he couldn't be absent or late for the rest of the year, couldn't miss any journal assignments, and had to do an absolutely stellar job on his final project, and I would put down a 65 on his report card.
I was shocked, but he followed through and he got his 65. It helped that he was a nice, respectful kid who came to see me privately to talk about his grade. I tend not to strike deals with kids who treat me like crap for 8-9 months. Funny how that works.
while all teachers see this
"but I've only been able to effect very superficial changes in his behavior. For example, he no longer sleeps in class. He no longer makes remarks about his classmates. He doesn't arrive late nearly as frequently as he used to. In fact, I've got him sitting at his desk every day giving the appearance that he's doing work."
as significant, the measurers of teacher quality don't count this as the bottom line. Coaxing changes in social behavior is a key element in teaching and you may have put down the foundation for the day he will do the work that will lead to a score on a high stakes test. That future teacher will be the one to get merit pay.
Jovan,
Sounds like a reasonable approach.
Mrs. T.,
I'm often highly tempted to say similar things. I make sure to get enough sleep at night so I can control my barbarous tongue in the morning.
Yo Miss,
Nice to hear a success story.
Norm,
Thanks for the vote of confidence. And that future teacher may as well get the merit pay. I'm absolutely convinced that no matter what I do, I'm never gonna see any.
Still, I'd like to do better with this kid, merit pay or no.
I hate to say it, but I know where this idea comes from--the kid is only doing what's worked for him before. It's very rare that a kid such as the one you describe reaches me without a string of 'gentleman's D's' on his report card. (The rare ones have usually undergone some kind of crisis at home, such as a divorce, severe illness in the family, etc.)
My answer is always the same: 'I have all the assignments you've missed. Here are 5 of them. When they are done, or you need help, please come see me. I'm here every afternoon and I'm more than willing to meet with you before school. When those 5 assignments are complete, I'll give you more.'
Some do it, some don't. In my experience, those that don't were really hoping I'd just give them an assignment like making a poster--I should say a magic post--to make up for the months they did nothing. The kids who do indeed complete the work often discover that maybe doing it in the first place wouldn't have been so bad after all--and that suddenly (again, like magic) the stuff we're working on now makes sense!
(Oh well, if they already knew it all, what would we do with our days?)
One thing worth noting aside from this: our school changed over to awarding 1/2 credits at the mid-year point to try to prevent this kind of thinking, but also to offer some hope to (and, frankly, improve the behavior of) kids who think the school year is over in February because they failed the first two quarters. It didn't touch the failure rate a whole lot--but it did move it a little, which is a positive, I suppose--but it did give teachers another tool to bring kids back into the fold.
I agree with Jon A. I've seen a lot of these kids and the reason they ask is it's worked before. I dread that magic poster or extra credit request and I dread even more the things that are printed off the internet to complete assignments.
I have to be honest and say that I resent the fact that kids do not work, cut, come late, and care very little, if at all, about their work for months, then show up at the end to work extremely hard for a couple of weeks to try to pass. Their failing jeopardy is explained early in the semester and throughout. This problem has opened the door to small schools, charter schools, later work days, longer work years, etc. First, the city should have an attendance rule, (absences number) everyone should adhere to as far as pass or fail. When I was in high school it was "10", when I taught in a big school it was "16", nowadays it's "anything goes". Second, in essence, it's a fight for the student that comes to class and tries. It's not fair for an everyday student, struggling to pass, to get the same grade as one who seldom comes, but at the end of the year.
They really don't have to worry about completing any of the work because in the end there's always...credit recovery!!!
Jon and TT,
I agree as well. It's unfortunate that some students believe they can make up a semester's worth of work by drawing a picture or plagiarizing an essay off the net (and I really, really hate when kids think I don't know the difference between a pro writer and an ESL student).
Pogue,
I too remember the days of automatic failure. It was particularly evident in summer school, where if you missed four days, you were out and that was that. Of course, that means less state aid,and the prescription of the day appears to be, "Pass everyone no matter what."
Way to set an example for kids.
Voice,
"Credit recovery." It's magic. But it certainly won't make my ESL students pass the English Regents exam. And try as I may, I can't think of any way to make kids write better than to make them write all the time.
It seems to me that kids who don't write don't improve their writing. Doubtless we'll hear of some magical solution to this problem, courtesy of all the Tweedies, when we return in August.
Thank goodness for those extra two days listening to them preach.
i tell my students that all three marking periods MUST add up to 185 if they want to pass. the catch is, is that i use their ACTUAL 3rd marking period grade to average. Meaning if they get a 30%, then that is what i add to 1st and 2nd marking period. If they do extra work and end with a 125%, that is what i add.
every once in awhile, a kid works his butt off and passes. but he/she knows that the only hope they have is to work their butt off consistently the entire 3rd marking period!
I teach an End of Course Test class, and my deal is, if the kid can pass the EOCT, they get a 70. I'm more concerned about a student who somehow manages to pick up points, but doesn't understand the material.
I've got FOUR of these!
It's been fabulous listening to the pleading parents who've completely ignored their kids' grades (and my repeated phone calls) up until the last three weeks of school!
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