https://thedaringenglishteacher.com/the-case-against-zeros-why-i-switched/ Ideas for middle school ELA and high school English teachers. Engaging and effective ELA lessons and teaching strategies. Mon, 16 Sep 2024 00:21:11 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0 https://thedaringenglishteacher.com/the-case-against-zeros-why-i-switched/#comment-10 Sun, 07 Nov 2021 15:21:05 +0000 #comment-10 Like you, I was staunchly opposed to “handing out” grades, however my colleagues in the science department have been doing this for years so I gave it a try last year. I put a 45 in the gradebook for missing assignments. At first I thought students would blow off the work, but the opposite happened. Even students who previously struggled in English were so proud they could get a decent grade that they turned their work. They were less stressed and had a better attitude toward my class. The other teachers in English complained how several students are doing absolutely no work only a few weeks into the semester, but our senior English classes weren’t having that issue. I’d like to add that we are a Title 1 school with many struggling students. I used to have the mindset that I am teaching students responsibility and that in “real life” you don’t get something for nothing. I WAS WRONG. If students give up then I’ve taught them nothing and they leave with no more skillls than they came with. My job is to grow students, not crush them with an archaic social construct. The last couple years have taught us that old fashioned thinking does not move us forward.

]]> https://thedaringenglishteacher.com/the-case-against-zeros-why-i-switched/#comment-9 Sat, 06 Nov 2021 22:48:26 +0000 #comment-9 Yes, what do you do with kids who do not turn in assignments? If anyone is failing my class it is indeed bc of missing work. So, this is a discipline issue.

]]> https://thedaringenglishteacher.com/the-case-against-zeros-why-i-switched/#comment-8 Sat, 06 Nov 2021 22:10:27 +0000 #comment-8 So what do you give kids that don't hand in work?

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