4 weeks ago
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Gentle Reminder
As part of a graduate class in Digital Writing, I had to complete an assignment where I created an auditory composition to be shared with my peers. What sounded like a doable assignment to me, even within the realm of my overbooked life, turned out to be anything but that. I'll save you the long story and suffice it to say that, at times, a laptop can have a mind of its' own! When I was finally done (with an hour and a half to spare) I felt a wave of relief as my only remaining task was to upload and submit my podcast...turned out not to be so simple. Even after consulting with my professor, we could not figure out why it was not submitting. Rather than holding steadfast to the "deadline" my professor suggested that I consult with a tech person at school the next day and get back to him. So, why am I relaying this story to you? It reminded me that our students also have obstacles in their lives, which may retard their ability to complete assignments on time. We need to take this into account when making decisions about penalties as a result of late work.
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Excellent point...and "zero tolerance" policies on homework (and many other things) don't work because of these kinds of issues. It should be a "gentle reminder" to each of us.
ReplyDeleteOk...so what was the problem? How did you finally get it to load? Just curious.
The hide extension box was clicked! That's it; simple click causes major problem :)
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more. Today's students have as much or more than we do on our plates at times - it's good to keep in mind why is the project late - were they goofing off or working hard? What's going on at home? A case in point here - one of my 8th grade students, who in the last three weeks of school has been absent probably 9 of those 15 school days due to back to back illness. This is a great student - always trying to do her best and honor roll. She came to me on Friday devastated. The health teacher (who they see twice a week) gave her a detention because she did not turn in two assignments. First, academic detentions are for three assignments so I'm not really sure of this. My point is - as a teacher - do we want to be right or do we want to do the right thing?
ReplyDeleteStudents do have obstacles. I have one kiddo who I do her reading homework with every morning at the start of the day. Why... because nobody will do it with her at home. I think the 5 minutes of reading that we ask each 1st grader to do at home each night is important work in developing reading skills. I don't send something home for work unless it is important. If it is that child's home life that is preventing their ability to get the work done, and it is that important, that I can find the time to do it in my classroom with her.
ReplyDeleteI think so many teachers, especially when we get to the older kids who we think are even more responsible than first graders, don't appreciate the complexity of their students' lives. If an assignment is late, ask why. Don't judge. Don't assume. Make sure the homework that you are sending home is important to the learning that needs to be done. If it isn't, why send it home to begin with or why worry about it? If it is, then find the time to help the student while you have them at school.