The problem with education today...

Like most teachers, I find my biggest frustrations are the parents, not the students. Not to repeat some of my earlier blogs, but I need to reference a few recent incidents....

* Honesty- I recently came across some student work that was, it seemed to me, obviously copied from each other. The paper had seven questions that were personal opinion type questions. In two different classes I found two female student's papers that were virtually identical in wording. Only one or two synonyms were substituted on the entire assignment. I gave them zeroes and an Honor Code violation form to take home. You would have thought I accused them of dealing drugs! All four sets of parents were up in arms insisting that their daughter NEVER lies to them and had told them that she had not cheated. One parent even demanded to see the videotape of the cheating (Are you KIDDING me?) or to produce the witnesses. After several e-mails and a phone conversation we had to have a formal meeting with both students, both sets of parents, an admistrator, counsellor and me. I had made copies of the work and highlighted all the identical parts. My plan was to simply lay it on the table and ask the students to explain it. Well, after 15 minutes of both parents insisting that their daughter would never cheat I asked the parents how they would explain the identical answers. Neither could explain it but still insisted that their daughter would not lie to them (Oh, dear God, are YOU in for some BIG surprises in a few years!). So, after 30 minutes of making no progress I simply said we had wasted more time on this than it was worth. The zero grade would only change their average by one point so it wasn't worth any more time. I would simply give them an excused grade. Honestly, I hate caving but when you facing that kind of obstinate opposition, you need to see the futility of arguing.

*Too little, too late-
Johnny has been failing most of his subjects all year. We had a conference with the parent and explained that the chances of summer school at the minimum and retention at the maximum was a very real possibility. Johnny continues to fail, never attends extra help sessions, parents frequently doing his homework FOR him and then when we are two weeks from the end of the semester I get a pleading e-mail from the parent saying she has already paid for a vacation this summer and it will really mess her up if he has to attend summer school! Can't he just do some extra credit? I patiently explain to her over the phone that he has a 64 and has to make an 80 in order to pass my class for the year. He earned a 50 on a project because he didn't turn in half of it (she was supposed to be checking his homework religiously) and hasn't passed a test this year. The final exam will count three times so I am not confident he will pass the exam. I don't think it is numerically possible for him to achieve an 80. After telling her in crystal clear terms that she better start planning on cancelling the vacation I figure she'll sit down and prepare Johnny for the inevitable. Nope, a few days later I find myself having to explain the situation to a tearful Johnny as his classmates swirl past on their way out the door. Thanks, mom.

Accountability- On the news recently was a story about a high school teacher who was fired because he gave a football player a zero grade. The student had been sleeping in class, not participating in a class group activity while his group worked on the project. Upon hearing about the zero, the parents and the football coach protested to the principal. The principal ordered the teacher to change the grade. The teacher refused saying if the principal wanted to change it he could but the teacher would not. I might throw in here that the teacher has his grading policies on his syllabus which both students and parents have to sign at the beginning of the school year. So, anyway, the principal fired the teacher for insubordination. Believe me, this is not an isolated incident. As I said in some earlier blogs. This grade changing issue happens all the time.

I can manipulate the system-Of course, the topper is the student who hasn't attended school all year except when there is a party or dance because the mom insists there is a medical problem although we can't get any medical confirmation of this. The big project I assign in September that is 30 pages about the state isn't due until May. I make an offer to students that they can personally visit an historic site and use that page as if it were 5 pages. Basically that means they have the whole school year to visit six places and then their project is only 6 pages. The project was due on Friday. On Tuesday this parent tells the home-bound teacher that they haven't done the project yet. She tells them it must be in on Friday. On Thursday they cancel the home bound teacher's visit (which we the taxpayers are paying for) because the student is "sick". On Friday I receive a professionally bound project with scanned pictures of this student, wearing the same outfit in all pictures) standing in front of various historical locations! Mind you, there are no tickets or receipts showing that he actually went INTO any sites. Some of the pictures are taken quite late at night with moonlight visible so it is patently obvious that mom took him around on Thursday and propped him up in front of the capital building etc. and snapped a picture then sat up all night to type the text for him.
How do you fight that kind of blatent disregard for a child's education?

Is it any wonder that kids are in control and education seems to be achieving less and less?