Lost My Faculties: A teacher's blog

About the miserable joy of teaching other people's children.

Thursday, February 23, 2006

Meet the F*&%$ ers

So he looks straight at me when he said “Max does better in classes where there are activities and interaction. He doesn’t do well in the sit-down-listen-and-take-notes classroom.”

What a jerk. Like he even knows what the hell goes on in my classroom on a day to day basis. He probably doesn't even realize I'm giving up my lunch break for this crap.

But he's not as much of a jerk as his wife. “He sometimes forgets when things are due or whether he has missing work. It takes too long for Max to get feedback on his papers and his work. There needs to be a shorter turn around time, and I know it’s probably impossible to grade that many papers in two or three weeks, but maybe you could put Max’s at the top of the pile or something.”

This stings A LOT because I know I’ve been horrible at getting papers back to students. Honestly, I’m embarrassed by how long it has taken me. I just can’t seem to keep up. But, this meeting is not about me, or my multitudinous failings, so I suggest that they encourage their son to keep a planner and get assignments checked off after he writes them down. Then he can go back to verify whether or not he turned in his work, and he will be better able to self assess.

This is why I hate being a teacher. I don’t like being blamed for the inadequate organizational skills of most high school students. It’s not my fault that he forgets to turn in his assignments if he doesn’t want to write things down.

Or maybe it is. And I just plain suck.

3 Comments:

Blogger Mamacita (The REAL one) said...

Someone does indeed suck, but it isn't you. You're fine.

9:07 PM  
Blogger Mrs. Flinger said...

Hi! Found you from.. um.. I don't remember. I'm a Prof at a University and deal with these "High School" students when they are "all grown up." AKA: One year after they graduate.

They don't change. *sigh* It's soooo not you. I just get to be more mean about it and fail 'em for this kind of crap.

11:15 AM  
Blogger badfish said...

Wow, you know what, I am not a teacher but I just started reading your blog. I went to private/boarding schools, do teachers really just grade on a skim? I am wondering because a paper of mine I turned in my senior year was the make or break for me to go to Princeton, I got a C+ i took it to the head of the english dept, and filed a formal grievance but with everyone agreeing with me still couldn't get it bumped up a letter. If this is the case I am going to hunt down my professor now. I ended up at duke (still a good school) but I always wonder what that B+ would of gotten me....

11:23 AM  

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