Oh, lord. It was ever thus.

I doubt you need your OS readers to tell you this but I'm going to anyhow: You have to do what you believe is right.

This is really too bad, Chicago teachers are very well paid, great pensions and adequate vacations. Property taxes are high enough to pay for all of this and still the children don't learn.

We could blame the families, or even the kids, but we have to find an answer not someone to blame.

I hear you Olga. This post speaks right to me. I am a first year high school English teacher.
I just verified quarterly grades yesterday. For the past week I've been hearing from parents who are suddenly concerned about their child's grade (even though they can access the grades online anytime they want, even though I've been e-mailing and telephoning these parents for MONTHS warning them that their child is failing)! And now, somehow the onus is on me? What am I supposed to do when a child brags that they didn't read their book report book ( and it shows in their report)? What am I supposed to do when a child laughs at me when I ask them why they didn't do the assignment? What am I supposed to do when the child shows up two to three times a week? Where were the parents all these months?

Rated and understood.

These parents need a spanking. As a mommy, it is my job to make sure the assignment gets done - and I am already planning my campaign as the Meanest Mom Ever. Signed, wishes folks had paid more attention to my education.

If empathy counts you have it from me. However, you have to deal with students whom I never encounter. I do think you are expected to be a miracle worker and blamed for the sins of many who came before you.

This is the reason I turn in grades and literally disappear on a cheap vacation where I cannot be reached by phone or computer after turning in grades. Students and their families think "it won't hurt" to complain and ask for a higher grade when it is unwarranted just to see what happens. What happens is a teacher's judgment is questioned without substance over and over again and grades begin to mean nothing. Thanks for holding the line.

If empathy counts you have it from me. However, you have to deal with students whom I never encounter. I do think you are expected to be a miracle worker and blamed for the sins of many who came before you.

This is the reason I turn in grades and literally disappear on a cheap vacation where I cannot be reached by phone or computer after turning in grades. Students and their families think "it won't hurt" to complain and ask for a higher grade when it is unwarranted just to see what happens. What happens is a teacher's judgment is questioned without substance over and over again and grades begin to mean nothing. Thanks for holding the line.

I am somewhat of an expert at failing...I think, out of 16 quarters of high school, each taking, I think, 8 classes....I failed, let's see - 6 quarters of math, 2 quarters of science, one of history, and 8 quarters of gym. That's 17 out of 128 possible grades.

And I deserved each and every failing grade -well, maybe not one term of chemistry, but that's the exception to the rule. I knew I was failing - and they were either calculated failures (If you've failed 2 quarters of algebra, there's no point in passing the last two) or, certainly, failures that I expected (2 years of absences from gym resulting in two years of failing gym - certainly not a surprise)...

Do what you need to do - give the kids what they earned. If they don't expect it, or can't handle it - that's a problem with their life experience thus far, and nothing to do with you.

You have my empathy also, and please don't lower your standards no matter how tempted you might be. I've grappled with this, too.

And Dorinda, for years I've threatened to take off after grading but have yet to do it. I think this semester might be the one!

Hey Olga, thanks for the rant--many of us can relate! I think it's extremely complicated and I'm not sure I agree with everything said here (post + comments) but of course I agree with the general sentiment that teachers are often the ones dumped on for failures of the system.

I just finished a grueling two-weeks-prior-to-report-cards period where I had all manner of communication from parents and students about grades--last-minute panic bargains, demands to bring up Progressbook immediately and show exactly where they stand on everything (again, despite their own access at home), demands for extra credit, etc. God, that last one particularly gets my goat. Or the parents who care ONLY about grades--just literally want them raised and couldn't care less about the WHY, about the learning part.

But on the really, really low grades relating to missing work or just poor performance (but I have 5th grade right now, not HS, which makes all the difference), I do think there's an obligation to let parents know if there's a consistent pattern going on that they might want to know about. It's really hard to keep track of everybody at once, and I've let a few fall through the cracks b/c I just didn't have enough hours in a day, but I have to say as a parent that I sympathize with the mom who accosted me just today to demand why her little Anthony got three D's this time around after having mostly Bs and Cs. I went back to see exactly why and saw that I had pulled and copied two of his reading tests that demonstrated woeful lack of comprehension (with the expectation of showing them to Mom at conference) and written notes to myself about his attentional and impulsivity issues. The Progress Report, which comes slightly after half-time, theoretically should serve as a wake-up call to parents, and in Anthony's case, his D's were all there for her to see (she signed it for chrissakes) at Week 7. Still, would it have killed me to give her a call and suggest concern? The answer in my case is that I have about 15 other crazies b/c I work in a charter school that seems not to want to serve special needs but takes them in droves b/c they are the ones moving from school to school to avoid the hard work of analyzing and taking responsibility for their own children's problems; they pull them out of whichever school is "giving them grief" either in terms of grades or behavior or whatever and put them somewhere else. Am I making excuses? I don't know. Some other dad was furious at Progress time (halfway point) that he was only just finding out about Billy's TONS of missing work, despite the fact that both I (LA and SS) and the Science and Math teacher had chased him down far beyond the deadlines for much of the work. Dad says, "But why wasn't I informed?" I don't know--maybe you should have been. Or is that what the frigging Progress Report is for?

On the other hand, there were the kids who flew into my radar screen, kids whose parents I got in touch with, negotiating grades and behavior plans for weeks. I totally wiped one kid's horrible grades from his record b/c he simply didn't read the novel, admitted it and agreed to a rigorous make-up schedule. It was my idea and the mom was so grateful. At the end of the day, the kid was far better off than my simply giving him an F and moving on. But, yeah, why did he get that chance and the others didn't? Hit or miss, I guess. Nothing I can defend. But still, better to catch a few than none, right?

It's all so horribly unscientific, even with the computerized grading system, because we have to select the assignments to begin with and assign weight to them relative to each other. It begins to feel like a crapshoot after a while.

I feel your pain, can you tell? (And I love what you say in your bio about "the system." I feel that way precisely, which is why my master's degree is in interdisciplinary studies rather than education. I don't really consider myself an "insider."

OMG, I'm so embarrassed. Did you see how long that book is that I just wrote in your comments section? :) sheesh. One would think I would post something of my own every once in a while. Feel free to delete.

OK, now that I'm on a roll, I wanted to say one more thing: Bella99 says something really important, but perhaps not in the way she thinks. She represents one kind of parent, but the truth is it's terribly unfair to children who don't have her kind of parent to hold them to the same standards. At the end of the day, grades (and learning?) are often directly related to the amount of time a parent puts into making her kid do the homework, have the project in on time, go on the field trip, watch the required movie, read the book for the extra credit book report. She may be right that parents MUST do more in this regard. But if they don't--and most don't--how fair is it to plague the child with a career of bad grades? Especially when they are being compared to a handful of kids with those conscientious parents? It's terribly problematic.

I feel for you . . .

Grades are a social convention for measuring mastery of a subject. In themselves, they're meaningless. The *only* value grades have comes from a consistent attempt to use them to reflect actual knowledge and skills. That is, a lot of teachers have to hold the line.

Students vary in their innate ability, their interest, their family backgrounds, their personal habits, and so on. But the more we adjust the grades to what students do or parents demand, the less the grades indicate anything about what the students know or can do.

I've had students (college) come in with sob stories of all sorts, and I help or refer them as I can. But I never, ever, change the basis on which I assign grades just because of a million vagaries of individual lives and choices.

But I'm sick of the expectation that I should just "give" points for no reason other than that the student wants a B. They want to pay money to get a piece of paper? That's what diploma mills are for.

Keep fighting the good fight.

Oh, fight the good fight!
I went to a private school for most of my elementary education and a close friend of the family was a teacher there. My attendance at said school was part of a benefit package to my parents, who could never have afforded the tuition.

Our friend who taught there told us she often was ordered by parents to raise their child's grades. One parent simply said to her, "My child doesn't get 'B's."

A close friend's mother taught in the public schools. She taught at a school that was located in an extremely violent neighborhood. Unfortunately, many of her students grew up to become gang members, although they still send her cards for Christmas and refer to her lovingly as "Mrs. B".
Once, when I was foolish enough to bring this up to a friend, he said, "If any of her former students have become gang members, she must not have been a very good teacher."

Like, it couldn't have had ANYTHING to do with those kids' parents or upbringing or environment. Nah. It was all the teacher's fault.

I have soooo many gripes with the system.

Onward through the fog...of education. As many people know, me included, one learns through failure. It truly is the "Best Teacher". Stay the course and good luck.

I think this is one of the few disadvantages of teaching below the college level. You have to talk to upset parents, which is a bummer. Failure can teach valuable lessons.

They used to call them "report cards" when I went to school. Why call them, "Progress Reports"? The title, "Progress Report", assumes that the kid is making some progress which is often not the case. I left teaching for some of the same reasons that you expressed in your fine post, plus I just got "burnt out" and decided to move on before anybody got hurt (Me, a Student, a Parent, a Principal - take your pick).

Oh, Lord I feel your pressure. Actually I don't, as I'm not teaching anymore for the reasons you mentioned! I would go in and change grades for late work turned in for lesser credit but that was probably wrong.
I also sometimes would add extra projects at the end of the quarter if there were some kids that I knew would get a whipping for an F. This would not be artificial but would give them another opportunity to raise it to a D. I know this was not right but it wasn't exactly wrong, either. So long as the kid LEARNED something.

I will say a teacher's prayer for you.

Love and hugs

Students I haven't seen all semester show up at my door the week before finals (or show up to take the final), expecting not to pass but to get at least a B. I asked a recent graduate about what seems to me to be an absurdity; he explained that the failure is a guarantee, and that anything better is a plus. The rationale is, "Can't hurt to ask" and some are very, very good at it.

But it does hurt to ask. For starters, it demeans them as responsible adults and wastes both their time and mine, and it makes a joke of the concept of education. They grow up to carry this same mentality to their relationship with their children's teachers, and their children will bring that mentality to their college experiences, and to their families.

The onus is NOT on the teacher, and somewhere in their hearts, they know it. But if they can convince the teacher, then there is a chance--- and "it can't hurt to ask."

Be aware of the strategy and its roots, and be strong.

Maybe grades are the problem?
I teach basic high school English. Everybody in my class starts with an A. Then I forget grades. I pretty much forget "English." I spend my time trying to reach the kids, teach them how to write better while they are in class with me. Any time outside of class spent on classwork is considered extra credit. I try to spend my time with them profitably.
I start class by reading obituaries out loud --famous musicians, less famous scientists, ordinary people. Then they write their own obituaries, with the provision that they have to live to be 70 years old, and they have to fill a page. We work on these for 2 or 3 days, only in class. They write and I conference, they share with a partner, etc. Then they read the final draft out loud to the class. By the time we are done with this, most are ready to learn more. Then I keep encouraging them to spend our time together profitably. End of semester, we look at a portfolio of work, and students write a paragraph arguing for what grade they should get.

I had a class of 17 students one year and 14 failed. This is how unmotivated they were. After one test when a bunch of them failed I told them they cold take the test home, use their notes, redo it, and I would give them whatever grade they earned.........not simply bonus points but the actual new grade. I had one stipulation, it had to be in the next day. The next day not one student handed it in.

I FEEL YOUR PAIN

You guys are really caught between a rock and a hard place. As a college student struggling with holes in my earlier education, it is always good to hear from the other side. It's really sad, because I tested gifted but we spent all our time in the gifted class doing nothing productive. However enduring the mainstream classes was also a challenge. It I really don't know how teachers can tolerate being caught between administration with unrealistic and ridiculous expectations and Little Johnnie's mom who knows that her son deserves an A no matter what his work shows. Keep pushing that rock uphill!! For me, teachers changed the course of my life and were more influencial and understanding than my parents.

Not giving students the grades they've actually earned fails everyone all around. It lets parents off the hook. It passes the student forward prematurely and jeopardizes their future learning, on top of not holding them responsible for completing the work. But beyond that, it also masks any other problems in the system. If children who have learned are failed and children who have not learned are passed, we can see that there's a problem and attend to it. If nearly all students are passed no matter what, then everybody looks at it and thinks the system is working, and nothing changes. And whether that problem is a disciplinary issue, a psychological issue (I got passed through a lot of stuff in high school that I should have failed, and thus didn't get my depression treated until years after it should have been) or a genuine learning issue, who does it help to ignore it?

But here is the problem that some of us face as teachers. We have kids that are living lives that most teenagers should not have to live. I just had a student last week tell me that her father moved to canada. He have her a weeks notice and she moved in with a family that she has only known for a year. This girl's mother died when she was little and she actually only met this father for the first time a year and a half ago. now this girl happens to be doing well but what of the kids who aren't who are living horrible lives. I teach in an inner city and we have kids in foster homes, parents in jail or addicted to drugs, and gang life just to name a few of their obstacles. I feel as if i am caught between the rock and the hard place. If I give the kid the grade they "earn" to help teach them a lesson and they drop out, i feel like it didn't help them and it won't help society as a whole. If I give them at least a passing grade am I hurting them or helping them move on........i know they aren't going to take someone's spot at harvard. What makes me lean towards passing them is when i see some of those that struggled academically out working in the city doing well. I do get conflicted on all of this...........

Oh God, what we do to these children. My 7th grade schoolteacher momfriend was grading papers while our kids had their swimming lessons and she threw one of the papers away. Why? Kid moved, in the middle of the school year. Because the parents need the apartment complexes 1 month of free rent to make it. She said, "You live in a house made of bricks - to these kids you are wealthy." My house was built in 1960 and while it is nice and I'm happy to have my little piece of the American dream, it is in no way palatial.

Some of these kids have no stability, nothing to tie them to the world I inhabit without thinking. While growing up in my household had its' own little share of horrors, I was not moved around during the school year, or worried (except for one year) about our family losing our house.

Not that I think inflating grades will help anything, just seeing both sides of the coin.

Holy crap! A 4% average? And I thought my students with 39% averages were bad. You hold the line, girl. Flunk the students that earned it and don't let anyone tell you otherwise! To do anything else is doing your students a disservice!!

I am going to address as many comments/issues as I can. I want to thank everyone who feels my pain. I know I am doing what is right and I am not going to stop/change for anyone. A lot of these students who are failing, they are failing multiple classes. At first I thought it was just my class the students were failing, but it's not.

As it relates to the lack of motivation, I just don't know if I am able to fix this. It is hard when students think you are rich or in my case 'acting white' because I am not living in a high crime area and I value education. If I give work (no matter what level) many of the students don't attempt to do it. I have them to draw and color, bring in newspaper clippings/articles, and other assignments that don't require much. On most days, I am too busy trying to play drill sergeant, I can't attempt to teach. The sad part is, I know I have at least 5 students in each class who is capable of doing quality work. Many of them refuse to do it.

Who said spank the parents? I am with you all the way! I think these parents need to have some accountability as well as the students. I think the teachers only pay a small role in this equation. It's a never ending battle that we are faced with. I have given the students and parents (that I can contact) my e-mail and many of them don't use it until there is an issue. I have had parents to reassure me that the late/missing work will be in on a specific day. I am still waiting for the work.

To the people who said they no longer teach, I may join your club. I know I won't be able to stay in this field if the situation doesn't improve. I am writing my letter to President Obama and his cabinet (someone should read it) to let him know what is really going on with the education system in America. I think he is not in the loop with what's going on. I am also NOT a supporter of his Secretary of Education (someone who has never taught and doesn't have the credentials to do so.

I think Bella is wrong. I was hovering over my daughter, making sure she did every assignment (it was hard). The result -- she viewed her homework as something she had to do, only if I made her do it.

I'm struggling to move to a more results oriented regime. She has to keep a B average, and will get punished if she doesn't. (Years of carrots didn't work.).

Parents have to care about grades and education, but it is the student's job to do the work.

Years ago I was a long-term sub for a teacher (beloved by her students and their parents) who was on sick leave.

Sick leave turned out to be a euphemism for being forced into inpatient drug/alcohol treatment by the school if she ever wanted to return to her job.

The reason she was beloved quickly emerged as well:

"Why do you make us do 'assignments' in class? Miss Jones used to start some music, tell us to write anything we wanted, then put her head down on her desk and take a nap!"

And from a parent, via voicemail, after the grades were sent out:

"How dare you give Johnny a D, just because he didn't turn in any homework? He never did any homework for Miss Jones, either, and she always gave him an A!"

I took a deep breath, dialed Johnny's mom, and told her, "Johnny is a very bright boy! He has such potential that it would be unfair not to hold him to high standards!" Admittedly, it was hard to hold the phone with all my fingers crossed.

Johnny's mother became a huge fan.

I quit teaching, went back to school, and became a psychologist.

I think the problem with poor performance in school ultimately has something to do with our culture. I say that because I've seen what students from other countries can do when they show up in the U.S.

Some years ago I got to know Emil, from Romania. He worked as a checker in the local grocery store, and he was paying his way through community college at the time. He lived alone because he and his parents didn't get along. He spoke flawless English with only the slightest trace of an accent. He was 19 at the time and I figured he had been here since he was a child. Actually, he had only been here five years. He was interested in Shakespeare, but also thought about going to medical school. Last I heard he was in a Ph.D. program in literature.

And then there's Randa, originally from Morocco. Her father had died and at age 10 she and her mother were able to come to the U.S. because other relatives lived here. When she got here she only knew "hello" and "goodbye." A few months later she spoke flawless English. Eight years later she was an honors graduate from high school and currently is studying science in college on a scholarship.

Willy, from El Salvador came here at age 14 after both of his parents were murdered by government death squads. A man in Texas became his legal guardian. Willy did well in school and eventually graduated from college, paying for all of it himself. He told me about how astonished he was when he came to the U.S. Students actually had their own books! And if you didn't have money for food you could get a school lunch. He thought he was in paradise.

Darwin, from Nicaragua, grew up living in dire circumstances. He and his family didn't even have a shack to live in; it was more like living under a tarp. He didn't have shoes until he was nine years old, and a family friend paid for him to go to school. He ended up studying here on a USAID scholarship.

You see these stories over and over -- kids from other cultures and countries who had grown up poor and had the shit kicked out of them in various ways, who come here and thrive in school.

There are two mysteries in education; the mystery of failure and the mystery of success. I think it's just as important to understand why kids succeed as it is to understand why they fail. Something tells me that it's easier to succeed when you haven't grown up in a culture where you expect to be entertained all the time with TV, phone calls, games, and music.

The Army has a saying that says if students fail to learn, the teacher failed to teach. That may be true if the student can demonstrate they actually worked. However when students refuse to do the work, what can you do as a teacher except to mark them down? If teachers are to be held accountable, then so should students be held accountable. The problem is, I believe, is that there has been, for many years, a leftover from the 60's that suggests that students need to be coddled on one hand and challenged on the other. There always, it seemed to me, to be a tug of war between those two ideas. I took Intro to Ed at Temple U in Philly in the fall of 1966. I was so turned off by the professor, that I changed my major to liberal arts. Never force a child to repeat a grade because it will damage their little psyche. We read books about experimental education that I found appalling. Just let the kids decide what they want to learn. Many colleges don't have required courses anymore. Let the kids choose what they find "interesting." When my son decided to go to college he chose LaSalle University, an old fashioned Catholic liberal arts college, that had kept the idea of required courses. He said he didn't always enjoy every class, but he learned a lot. Isn't that what education is supposed to be about?

As always, my hat goes off to those who teach K-12 in our day and age. Public or private, it makes little difference when it comes down to the school or parent's idea of where the responsibility lies: on the teacher.

The shenanigans don't stop in college either, unfortunately. Tales abound in my department of parents flying halfway across the country to show up at a faculty member's desk to threaten them with legal action for failing a student I recently had a student fail my course who promptly emailed me explaining that the term had been "stressful," which he felt entitled him to a passing grade. He went on to note exactly where and how I could just "give him" extra points (on assignments he'd missed, exams he'd failed, etc.," which would give him the points needed to pass. I'm assuming his rationale was the same as others here have noted, that "it can't hurt to ask." Unbelievable!

Rated.

mishima,

i could't agree more. I teach at an innner city school and we have many of those kids that came from other countries and they thrive, but not all of them. The ones who are driven/motivated do.......it is no secret. Give me a kid who wants to learn and my job is easy for the others I have to find what motivates them. It is one of the reasons that I am not a fan of throwing money at education.Putitng monet into the schools or into the staff does not mean the students will be more motivated.

@Elizabeth Davies-I may have a new career option. Thanks. On most days I feel like I should be a psychologist.
@mishima666- I believe many students who came from extreme situations have a reason to persevere. A lot of my students receive free or reduced lunch and other government assistance, but they feel like they are a part of the middle class. I often have to explain to them that according to the federal government, they are not a part of the middle class. They just don't get it. They have the lastest clothes and shoes, MP3 players, Ipod's, cell phones, Wii games, huge flat screen televisions, cable or satelitte television and other luxury items. When it comes to working hard, they don't have a clue because they have been given everything they ask for and then some.
As it relates to students exhibiting the same behaviors at the collegiate level, where do you think they get it from? Many of my students are surprised when I explain to them how college works. I tell them how most schools require them to take a placement exam and if they don't do well on it they are placed in remedial classes. Once they are in the remedial classes, they have to pay for it and they only get a 'pass' or 'fail' and they don't 'get their credit'. If they don't pass, they have to keep taking the class until they do. I think the biggest shocker is when I tell them if/when they fail a class, they don't get a refund and they have to pay for it again when they take it over. I think so many students have a jaded look on how life works and it's a battle that is difficult to overcome.

I have so many students with so much potential, they just don't realize it. Many of them have no idea as to what they may be interested in doing career wise. I often wonder how many students in my class could go on to do great things if they just tried.

I don't know where to start in commenting here...and besides, I'm exhausted from just posting and verifying grades myself.

All I can say is, I feel every teacher's pain. Whether we teach in inner cities, affluent communities or somewhere inbetween, the battles are ongoing and endless.

After 29 years, there are days when I wish I could afford to retire... Due to state budget problems, however, I may be forced to leave teaching which I still enjoy.

Scary times, all around.

I come from a family of teachers. That's one reason I drive a truck. Anyway, I do believe that kids should get what they get. Are teachers responsible for what they get? Let's look at that on the curve.

When we talk about the very young kids, 1st and 2nd grade, I believe the teacher has more blame than someone who teaches seniors. When younger kids don't learn there is a problem that the teacher should help identify and try to get fixed. That's not always possible because of the fighting back the teacher gets from parents and the administration.

This shifts totally to the student in later grades. Kids need to learn to do it for their own personal reasons. The teacher here has a little bit to point out problems if they see them and coach kids who come to them and ask for help. By the time you are a senior if you can't figure out you need help and ask for it, you're screwed.

One of the things I think might help, and please let me know, is teachers need to be able to pull out the good, or bad, students so they are grouped together. If you have one or two great students in a class of screw ups I don't see how the good kids can make it. You are so busy dealing with the mass the other two are toast.

I sympathize with what you are going through, Olga. I can't add much except to say that I agree with Mishima666 100%.....our society doesn't seem to value education the way others do. I think that the parents have a lot to do with it. ....but there's a lot of blame to go around. It's sad....and I don't have the answers.