Grades as Journey, Not Hyperbole

I am getting tired of grades being labelled as the bad guy in education. While they are not my favourite aspect of teaching, and in fact, way down the list, I cannot figure out why so many educators continue to vilify them. The above statements might come as a big surprise to many of you. … Continue reading Grades as Journey, Not Hyperbole →

Striving to Assess the Write Way

Striving to Assess the "Write" Way Last quarter, while I was sitting alone in my room, a former student of mine came to chat with me. She had been in my English 11 New Media class last year and was currently wrestling with English 12, eagerly anticipating graduation which was just a few short weeks … Continue reading Striving to Assess the Write Way →

Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3…

I have a thing about tests. I understand that tests are one form of summative assessment for skills or content, I just don’t think it should be the only way. I also think teachers shouldn’t use them under the pretext that teaching "test-taking" is some kind of real world life skill that must be bolstered. … Continue reading Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3… →

Popcorn attendance, learning opportunities, and mulligans: musings about teaching in a quarter system

For the first month of quarter one, I saw approximately 50% of my English 8 students. No joke. I’d take attendance and hit an equal number of Absent as I did Present into Myed. After putting my heart and soul into planning a quarter and being stoked to be back in the classroom face to … Continue reading Popcorn attendance, learning opportunities, and mulligans: musings about teaching in a quarter system →

There is no ‘%’ in ‘team’

I’m so done with letter grades. I’m done with having to generate a symbol of learning that is banal and meaningless. To me, putting a letter grade on a report card is the equivalent of putting onion flakes on the perfect hot fudge sundae. Yuck. Take my Drama 10 class. Over six weeks, they worked … Continue reading There is no ‘%’ in ‘team’ →