Re: Re: In Defense of HS Teachers


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Posted by Tom Mason on September 04, 2002 at 06:56:55:

In Reply to: Re: In Defense of HS Teachers posted by Brendan Bohnhorst on September 03, 2002 at 21:52:28:

My only disagreement with your post is that I believe that high school should be a little more like real life. This is especially true when we, as high school teachers should be able to allow the student to take responsibility for their actions.

I am reminded of a high school clarinet player I once taught who was caught plagarizing a semester honors english project. The teacher had all of the evidence, including the texts that were plagarized. The student received an F for the project, but the student was also the child of a school board member. Guess who won that fight.

The teacher left the system after the end of the year. Her husband transferred to another state with his job, and she followed. Two years later, they return to the district, and she applied for an opening in the system. A teacher with 20+ years of experience and a masters degree with her success rate of student placement didn't get past the school board. The story was that the school board parent called 3 other board members who were also good friends or relatives. Guess who won that fight.

There were plenty of times I was called by a principal concerning a grade. Very few times did a parent call.

I teach in a style that allows the student to be responsible for their production. If they produce the required materials; be it scales, music tests, terms tests, or essyas then they are kept in the program. If they fall behind, I give help as long as they need it. If they don't care enough to ask for and receive help, they are dismissed.

Students have to learn to cope with the real world in school. If they fail at school, the safety net of repeating and getting second chances is there. We do need to be able to show the student the consequences of failure as well as the rewards of success.

Tom Mason


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