[etni] Re: Fw: Telling it like it is
- From: Bari Nirenberg <bnirenberg@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: ask@xxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 21 Jan 2010 09:00:40 +0200
If all of this is true, then it is school policies and not the grade itself
that should be in question. Without the school grade, some students would
never come to English class -- why bother if they already know English and
they can pass the Bagrut without their teacher's grade? A student studies
at high school for three or four years and therefore, I absolutely believe
that the grades that he receives at school should be averaged into his
matriculation certificate.
By the way, the school grade doesn't always help the student. I have sent
more than one student to the Bagrut with a failing school grade, knowing
that there was a good chance they would pass. Students who don't complete
all the requirements are penalized in their school grade. The same has
happened to my own kids (who don't study where I teach) when they have
chosen not to do the work -- they've never gotten failing school grades, but
they have received grades that were lower than what they were expected to do
on the exam and, in my opinion, that is exactly what they deserved.
Bari
2010/1/21 Ask Etni <ask@xxxxxxxx>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: sbshai - sbshai@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: Telling it like it is
>
> Hello colleagues,
> I would like to propose a new poll on ETNI which asks teachers about their
> opinion of the tziun shnati.
>
> Let's be frank: Isn't this grade rather farcical? First, it is not an
> honest grade because we usually want (or are expected) to provide a "magen"
> for our students, which inherently suggests a largesse that may not be
> deserved. However, no matter how carefully we devise our system for
> determining this grade -- and regardless of the considerable pains we take
> to be fair -- it is inevitable that there will be disgruntled students,
> parents and/or administrators. (This is likely to be so even if we've
> stretched reality to the boundaries of fantasy!)
>
> Since students can retake the modules until they get one that's easy enough
> for them to do well on (and it's the highest grade that counts), I wish
> someone could explain why it's necessary to give a shnati mark at all;
> perhaps this should be an exclusive privilege for industrious students who
> are weak test-takers. Our effort is worthwhile for these students, at
> least. (Yes, I realize it can be problematic to decide who should be
> considered in this category!)
>
> What happens too often in the current situation is that the least worthy
> pupils work mightily (many for the first time in their student careers!) to
> wheedle a few more undeserved points out of their harried teachers. (I
> refer to this as shuk tziunim.) If this doesn't work, they can always try
> complaining to the mechanechet and/or the princiPAL that the teacher just
> doesn't like them. (The more candid ones will call it taking revenge!) As
> most of us know, this system unfortunately sometimes works in their favor.
>
> In too many schools, or so I have heard, teachers are encouraged to inflate
> grades. But as I anticipate a storm about to rage over my head, I'll stop
> right here!
>
> Pleasant (as possible) deliberating,
> Batya
>
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