A Teacher Grows Disillusioned After a ‘Fail’

[Guest echtrae]

Several weeks into his first year of teaching math at the High School of Arts and Technology in Manhattan, Austin Lampros received a copy of the school’s grading policy. He took particular note of the stipulation that a student who attended class even once during a semester, who did absolutely nothing else, was to be given 45 points on the 100-point scale, just 20 short of a passing mark.

Unfortunately, that was only the beginning.

A Teacher Grows Disillusioned After a ‘Fail’ Becomes a ‘Pass’

[Oishiichan]

o.0

That girls mother is terrible, if some one told me my kids was skipping classes no mater how old they were they backside would be a bright shade of pretty red.

The school administration needs its ass kicked as well. It is complete bull that any of that happened.

[Leonhart29]

Unfortunately this seems to be the norm and not the exception. A lot of parents and teachers nowadays want nothing more than to get the kids out and into the real world. Is it any wonder why we have so many kids that can't even write a paragraph or do a simple math problem? And when I say kids - I mean those between the ages of 17-21.

[DarkCabaret]

I agree with you Leon....as someone who is part of the 17-21 age group, I have to admit some of my teachers had that "Get this kid away from me" attitude. It's wrong that kids' educations have to lack because a teacher or principal doesn't want to deal with them!

I was a big example, Math was and still is my weakness. If I have to do any dividing or multiplying (except for simple stuff) I can't do it because I wasn't taught properly. Now I know it was partially my fault for skipping so much school but it would have helped to know that my teachers wanted to help me.

I think I'm just lucky enough I passed the math section on my GED ... lol.

[Guest Alien Pirate Pixagi]

To everyone who was not forced to suffer through the NYC school system, consider yourselves incredibly lucky.

I, myself, have seen this first hand. I only just graduated High School last year and let me tell you, that's not even the half of it.

A couple of years ago, they lowered the passing Regents (New York State's standardized test for all high school students) from 65 to 55, the student now only requiring a 65 or higher to obtain a Regents Diploma and a 55 to pass the course. It's disgusting. The reason they had to do this is because teachers now rarely teach more then what's (supposed to be) on the Regents Exams. Sometimes, on rare occasions, you'll get a teacher who'll break the mold and teach it in a new way, or add more then simply the standard, required curriculum, but other then that, you're lucky if you get out learning anything of any worth. Furthermore, so many kids are bad at testing, yet they do nothing about this, offering no alternatives.

I agree there needs to be certain standards set in education, but when it's all about testing, it falls horribly short.

And this whole "45 for showing up once" thing is also relatively new. Before, when I was a Freshman and maybe even Sophomore it was 20 for showing up at least once.

The whole fucking system is fucked. Rather then set higher fucking standards for teachers, they lower the standards for students to pass. Who the hell do they think they're helping here? It's cheating, that's all.

So far, the only thing I've seen done right in the Education system here is that community colleges are now allowing people who didn't graduate High school to enter college and allowing them to receive diplomas as they study towards their Associates or Bachelors degrees. In this way, they're helping people who don't necessarily test well, or who don't do well in the high school environment work in a better, more educational and sane system. People are all upset about it, but I think it's a good thing.

Also, this kind of shit pisses me the fuck off:

From Michigan, Mr. Lampros recalled one comment that Mrs. Fernandez made during their meeting about why it was important for Indira to graduate. She couldn’t afford to pay for her to attend another senior prom in another senior year.

Is that really a fucking priority? Honestly, if my kid flunked out of their Senior Year of High School, and rather then be able to take summer school would have to go for ANOTHER year of high school, they're not going to fucking Senior Prom. That is something for GRADUATING seniors, not brats who take it upon themselves not to go to school and flunk out.

And, that mother needs to understand something before telling this guy to be a man: Her daughter needs to grow up and be a woman. SHE took it upon herself to cut class. SHE took it upon herself to not do her homework. SHE failed more then half her tests, and cut the day of the final. SHE is the one who's supposed to be going to college soon, not the teacher. Graduating from High School represents becoming an adult and taking responsibility for her own actions. That's supposed to start in AT LEAST Senior Year.

Obviously, her behavior shows that she is NOT ready to take responsibility, and NEEDS to repeat the fucking grade.

Edited August 2, 2007 by Alien Pirate Pixagi

[redsliver]

You know, I don't have much respect for the Canadian system but at least I never had to take a standardized outside of twelfth grade English. And really making sure all your graduates at least have grammar skills and can read isn't too bad.

Standardised tests don't work, and not because some kids "Don't test well" but because there aren't standardised students.

[ZombieDuke]

I agree with you Leon....as someone who is part of the 17-21 age group, I have to admit some of my teachers had that "Get this kid away from me" attitude. It's wrong that kids' educations have to lack because a teacher or principal doesn't want to deal with them!

I was a big example, Math was and still is my weakness. If I have to do any dividing or multiplying (except for simple stuff) I can't do it because I wasn't taught properly. Now I know it was partially my fault for skipping so much school but it would have helped to know that my teachers wanted to help me.

I think I'm just lucky enough I passed the math section on my GED ... lol.

Oh man, I too am a part of that age group and I don't know if it's because of the students skipping, the teachers or too many kids in the class rooms but there is a real problem out there.

I used to hate math, I still do but I understand some of it now at least . I can remember walking to my teacher and asking him what I should be studying and he would just shrug his shoulders and turn away. So I would just sigh and go draw or write something (note that I was 11 at the time).

BTW, DarkCabaret, you didn't happen to take the Canadian one, did you?

[Leonhart29]

I remember when I was in high school (yeah - old lady rant ahead) and I have to tell you the the ONLY standardized tests we had were the college entrance exams. Our teachers had to set their own exams and grade them. Sure we had scantrons but the teacher still had to come up with the answer key. What that means is that the teacher actually had to know their subject. Now they just parrot what the government says is right. Which is really scary - does anyone actually think that our representatives can read and write? I don't - they have "people" who do that for them.

I sat with my kids when they did the Texas form of the tests (The TAKS tests) and I found so many errors the teacher apologized to me for not catching them herself. The principal told me to shut up - after all who am I to say that our politicians are wrong? They get paid for being correct. Bullshit is what I say. Most of them can't add their way out of an ice bucket.

I take an active interest in my kids schooling and if I wasn't a single mom trying to not only support my kids but also my brother and my mother I would home school them. As it is I have to entrust them to the public school system - I just make damn sure I keep in contact with their teachers. We email back and forth and have monthly conferences. I'm ashamed to say I'm the only parent in the school that does this - most of them can't even be bothered with ONE conference per year.

[Guest Alien Pirate Pixagi]

I sat with my kids when they did the Texas form of the tests (The TAKS tests) and I found so many errors the teacher apologized to me for not catching them herself. The principal told me to shut up - after all who am I to say that our politicians are wrong? They get paid for being correct. Bullshit is what I say. Most of them can't add their way out of an ice bucket.

Isn't this the same shithead principal who told you you're kids aren't allowed to defend themselves?

I still think that asshole needs a lobotomy.

[Leonhart29]

Well - let's put it this way - it is the same shithead principal, and we don't have to deal with her anymore. She only lasted one year - but after loosing 7 of her 23 teachers due to "personal matters" and after getting "super intendant" on her resume she's gone (Read forced out!). The new guy is smart - in both books and common sense which is so rare it's frightening. I don't think we'll have a problem any more.

[ladydeathfaerie]

holy FUCKING crap!!!!

i positively cannot believe the shit that was talked about in this article. i mean.... what the hell were those women thinking? that this girl, who found prom far more important than lessons, would be able to rely on her good looks to make a living?

honey, its called prosititution and its illegal.

as a mom, this saddens me. it frightens me, too. for my son's sake. he's got high school ahead of him. and, with the added bonus of having Asperger's (a mild form of autism, for those who don't know), his schooling is doubly hard. we've been lucky because the schools he's been in have been very active in making sure he gets the best education possible. i meet with the teachers at least twice a year and they've emailed me more than once. phone calls, too. it wasn't bad enough that text book publishers started changing history. but now we have to worry about teachers who just want them out of the class? such a disgrace for such an amazing and wonderful career.

once upon a time, when i was in school, there were standardized tests, but they were more for placement purposes and to see what and how the students learned. they had no bearing on your grades at all. that was determined by your teacher and no one else. and damn it, if you failed, your mom and dad endorsed it. the teaching staff didn't over turn it. nor did the principal.

i had, at one point, actually wanted to be a teacher. i've always thought that the knowledge passed on to me by my teachers was worth sharing over and over again. now, i'm glad i never went into it. i couldn't be one of those teachers who let the system tell me what i could and couldn't do with my students. it boils down to lazy parents who don't want to have to concern themselves with thier children's ability to learn. it boils down to school districts that are too afraid of a lawsuit to say 'Sorry, the teacher's grades stand.'

"Little Suzy didn't pass, so that means that her teacher doesn't like her. I'm going to sue the school district for causing her pain and suffering."

and then, ten years later, little Suzy is living in a trailer park with some drug using abuser who's gotten her knocked up a dozen times. oh, mom. how wonderful that you sued the school so that Suzy's failing grade in English was revoked. look at your daughter now.

aren't you just fucking proud of her accomplishments?

[DarkCabaret]

BTW, DarkCabaret, you didn't happen to take the Canadian one, did you?

No um ... I took the Kansas one? LOL. Either way it was tough thank GOD I had JUST dropped out of school right before I took it!

[ZombieDuke]

No um ... I took the Kansas one? LOL. Either way it was tough thank GOD I had JUST dropped out of school right before I took it!

Thank god for graces, ne?

At the college I'm currently at, students there that want to be teachers are told to either aim to teach college or elementary students because, and I quote: "nobody gaves a damn in highschool". And their not told by that the staff (the staff are saints), but ex-teachers who are burnt out and want a change so that's why they've gone back to school.

[dazzledfirestar]

I actually had to go away for a few days before responding to this, it made me so angry! This absolutely terrifies me as a mother. What will schools be like by the time my son starts high school? I shudder to think! What happened to preparing kids for life outside of school? What happened to teaching them skills they need to survive? Five bucks says that this girl will end up flipping burgers for a living, if she's lucky! Now, it's obviously not just the system that's the problem here. Her mother ought to be smacked until she develops some sense too. If parents won't take an interest in learning, why would the kids? And the schools just want to get rid of them, so there's no way these kids are going to give a damn about learning anything. This problem is much bigger than simply getting funding through standardized testing (which, I'm sorry, is a joke at this point.) When I took my diploma exams (provincial finals in Gr.12) they were so easy it was frightening. I got a 75% on my Bio exam, and I barely showed up for that class, let alone did any of the work. Granted, yes, I am one of the lucky kids that tests well, but I also learned on my own, I read, I wrote, I studied things that interested me. And that's what's missing here; the motivation to find things out for yourself. If your teachers aren't teaching, find it out for yourself! Don't blame anyone but yourself and your lack of interest in learning!

There are of course, exceptions to this rule. If one has some form of learning disablility, fine, they need the help to push themselves as far as they can. But, if one is not in that catagory, there is absolutely no excuse.

Alright, now I'm angry again.

[Guest echtrae]

It's understandable why you would be angry. In my opinion, it should make you angry. But no one in power is going to do anything about it, because serfs don't need to be able to read and write. They tend to get uppity if they are literate.

[StoryJunkie]

I haven't read it yet, but judging by everyone's reactions, it seems to me that this type of person got through life by getting her own way by making a big stink, a big scene. Her daughter is learning fast.

*goes to read it*

Okay I read it, and I say fire the damn Principal. This Geiger character certainly did not support her staff very well. Looks like she's following her own rule. That being said, the mysterious Doctor's note could have been explained a tad better. My sister missed 2 months of school in grade 4 because she got hit by a car and was in traction for that amount of time. They passed her that year, but she had missed a great deal (She did some from her hospital bed, but really for 2 weeks she was so groggy from pain and pain killers that I don't think she was even conscious) Anyway, even the next year was difficult for her because of that work she missed, and I think that even for grade 4 work, this was pretty damn important stuff.