Parents please read! and do

[Tybee]

Terry, thank you for your post--your word "enabling" actually led me to a solution with this student, so thanks for solving one of my problems du jour!

[Teacher Terry]

Good Tybee. I think the pull to help is strong and that is why we struggle with it. Some teachers really don't care so they don't struggle.

[Chicken lady]

I think extra credit is ok, but I would tie it to effort and a second chance - Ie, student has actually turned things around, but just run out of time - go back to the stuff that was failed/done poorly early in the class and give the student a chance to get some of that credit back by showing mastery of the material.

[Tybee]

I think extra credit is ok, but I would tie it to effort and a second chance - Ie, student has actually turned things around, but just run out of time - go back to the stuff that was failed/done poorly early in the class and give the student a chance to get some of that credit back by showing mastery of the material.

I actually do not do extra credit and do not take late work unless there is an extraordinary situation; I don't let students go back and redo work, since we have a policy that does not excuse absences for students, and undone work is considered an absence, so that's pretty cut and dried. I find my grading is structured so that if they will just do the work and meet the deadlines, they will do fine. If they won't, then they will either be withdrawn (missing three assignments) or fail.

It is good for college students to learn that they need to keep up and do the work--they have to really work to fail the class,and they cannot come in and make it up at the end. That's just the way it is for our situation, and I get many more to finish and do well than the teachers who let them turn in late work, statistically.
But everyone's teaching situation is different!

[Teacher Terry]

Tybee like you I teach at the college level and the university has a lot of rules. The students need to provide a doctor's note in order to be allowed to finish late work. Extra credit does not belong at the college level. Your boss won't accept your work late in real life so college is the time to prepare for that.

[jp1]

Thinking about the OP's decision to let the girls practice without their parents having signed them up. Perhaps it might have been better to not let them practice until their parents had signed them up. That way anyone that really wanted to participate would go home and remind their parents to sign them up. Or let them practice for the first week, but ever y day remind them that they can't participate after the first week if not signed up. And then stick to it.

[Tybee]

I would be worried because they are kids and if their parents did not give them permission to practice, what if they got hurt? Maybe that's a non issue in your district.

[Chicken lady]

I teach in a situation where the goal is mastery of the material by the student and student growth and development - so my practices will relate to that goal...

i gave one kid an incomplete for the first semester because she had missed so many classes. I told her her grade for the year (both semesters) wild be determined by how much of the content she covered in the second semester and she has been doing great. My students are not adults however.

And I've known bosses to accept "make up work". Particularly early in the job. (you screwed this up, this is what you should have done, take it home and bring it in Monday). I suppose it depends on the boss and the job.

[mschrisgo2]

Ah, yes... I am struggling with this right now with 8 of my students, 25% of my kids have not returned their Residency forms. They must be turned in by June 1, or they are not enrolled for next year, any where in the district (they are fourth graders). I have given them the forms 3 times, nagged, pleaded, bribed... left messages for parents, all to no avail. Today I talked to each one individually, explaining that if they don't turn them in, they will be told to Go Home on the first day of school.

I suspect several things may be going on: family is moving and they don't want to tell the kids yet, or they rent a room from someone and have no "proof" of residency, or perhaps they are afraid of ICE. Or maybe they just don't believe us, and will come a throw a fit and try to bully their way in. In which case, the child will miss the whole first week of school- once again, the kid pays the price for the adult actions, or, non-action.

In any case, I am now Done. No matter how many more emails I get from the school secretary, I will Not mention it again. Thanks for the reminder!

[sweetana3]

No one can legally give work to an employee to do unpaid at home (assuming they are hourly which is the most likely). If they do, they can and should be sued for overtime. Many companies have been caught in traps like this. "Make up work" has to happen on time paid to do the work.