20 thoughts to kick off the 2nd semester... (48)

1). If you allow re-do's & retakes for full credit, extra credit becomes obsolete & irrelevant...

2). An 'F' at the top of the paper means the kid is off the hook; an 'NTY' on the top means 'not there yet.'

3). How did you learn to teach & be an educator? You probably had some re-do's & retakes... why can't we allow this for kids in school?

4). A D is a coward's F. The student failed, but you didn't have enough guts to tell him.

5). If you trust the validity of your test/assessment, you shouldn't have any problem with re-do's for full credit.

6). Kids can learn without grades... but they can't learn without descriptive feedback.

7). Next time a kid says the wrong answer, ask them to 'tell you more about it.' They will work through their error & not get defensive.

8). Knowing what you are learning is important; knowing where you are in relation to what you are learning is more important.

9). How quickly do you throw a life preserver when a student struggles? Don't let your impatience get in the way of allowing kids to struggle.

10). We need to focus on better ways of 'priming' students' brains before asking questions before any learning experience.

11). Teaching is not adversarial... it's not about 'getting' them before they 'get' you. It's us and we.

12). During your plan period, take a few moments to visit other classes where your students are; see them learn in a different setting.

13). When we refuse to accept an assignment late and give a zero instead, we undermine our content and say it has no value.

14). Your classroom walls are merely a suggestion, not a limitation on learning.

15). Whoever does the editing does the learning... stop giving students the answers and let them own the learning process.

16). Schools should not be a constant reminder of student deficits; we need to allow students to taste & experience success.

17). If a kid never does any of the work you assign but does wonderfully well on your assessments, then it's time to evaluate the work you assign AND your assessments.

18). Just because something is mathematically easy to calculate doesn't mean it's pedagogically correct.

19). Grades are communication... not compensation.

20). As educators we need to let students go beyond our level of comfort... just because we don't know, doesn't mean students can't.