Because I’ve reached the age and stage where memories blend, fade away, or are exaggerated beyond recognition, I cannot recall whether the insight, “If my students aren’t learning, then I am not teaching,” was uttered by a veteran colleague from my 4-year teaching stint, whether it came from one of the thousands of teachers I interviewed over 41 years of reporting, or whether I read it somewhere. I know I didn’t come up with it. But it really doesn’t matter. What matters is that, even though many other factors–such as health, nutrition, inadequate shelter, and abuse–can and do interfere with learning, good teachers always take it personally when their students aren’t succeeding.
That’s why it’s truly depressing to read that, in some school districts, about half of the students are receiving failing grades. The reliable Valerie Strauss of the Washington Post is on the story.
Here are a few site-specific stories you might want to peruse: Maryland. Iowa City, Iowa. Tucson, Arizona. Houston, Texas. Northern California.
When the pandemic struck this spring, most school districts shifted to on-line schooling, and grading became ‘pass/fail.’ That approach to grading has been abandoned, even though on-line learning is ubiquitous, because, as Ed Week’s Stephen Sawchuck noted,
“…as the crisis continued and school began in the fall, most districts reverted to their old CONTINUE READING: Going Back to School? Now What? | The Merrow Report
