Vignette 5: Getting What They Deserve?

Helene, a teacher, is looking for consistency amongst teachers.  She wants all teachers to be on the same page when dealing with lates, homework completion, attitude, etc.  Her ideas for marking in these areas include:

• "10% off per day for lates up to 3 days"
• "zeros for kids who are suspended or have unexcused absences"
• "5% bonus for participation and effort"
• "giving a short quiz at the beginning of class to prevent later, if you miss it's a zero"

Joan is a new member to the staff and speaks up to Helene expressing that she feels doing such things doesn't give a true reflection of the student's academic achievement.  Joan would rather see the academic and non-academic factors separated.

Self Reflection

I agree with Joan on this and would probably have taken the same opinion.  I don't think it is fair to be so harsh in marking students and I can easily see many ways Helene's strategies could backfire.  I don't see how Helene is setting her students up for success in the statements she made.  In our text Marzano would like work habits categorized into three domains: effort (participation and work completion), behaviour (following rules and teamwork) and attendance (absenteeism and tardiness).  These are skills that the students will use later in life and are valued in the career world.  I feel these skills are relevant and important as well.  I feel these attributes could be reported as "soft skills" on a report card and should not necessarily be included in the academic portion of the report.  I also liked the idea of keeping track of these skills throughout the year and reporting these skills informally.  The skills mentioned by Marzano are the skills I would like to see in my classroom.  I feel it is important to have a positive attitude, be a team player, and avoid missing or being late for class.  I do, however, understand that "life" happens and at times it may not be possible to give 100%.  If I noticed my students starting to miss the mark on the above mentioned skills, I would take the opportunity to touch base with them in hopes of helping my students improve their behaviour and get back on track.