My First #Flashblog

Last summer I began to rethink the grading process. My students were so stuck on numbers (as was I) that learning was taking a backseat.

In September, I told the parents at Back to School Night that students would have to work hard to fail this English class.

Of course, I am required to give grades. I did bubble in Ds for students I could not convince to come to school. If they did come. I could not inspire these few students to write. To give them a C just didn't seem fair to those who came on a regular basis. I have not given up on them, though.

My colleagues understand my change of heart,  but not all agree. One colleague argues that we need grades to hold students accountable. He fails the majority of his students. He sees this as a dangling carrot. I see his students giving up.

My plan for the future is to require students to revise my feedback before receiving full credit. Now that I have figured out Google Classroom, this will much easier to enforce.

School should be about learning, not a meaningless less grade.