Day 4 - 4/4/23
I forgot to post this yesterday...I wrote it on paper during work...
"Fallout"
I hate the phrase
"Is that the hill you want to die on?"
I have heard it far too many times in my career
And it always has the same subliminal message
"Don't try to hold this student accountable
or their parents will make a stink."
Now...
You might think I am a hardass
And I am
But this is different
It is different
Because, after 20 years,
I have become an expert
At eliminating excuses
I am so meticulous
I even do prep work to do lesson planning
To teach a lesson
My students are NEVER out of the loop
Communication is clear
And standards are set
And yet
Without fail
I get that email from a student
Asking why they got a zero
For turning in an assessment late
When, for four weeks
They have had 40 minutes minimum per day
To work on this
In class
Where they can get help
They have seen it in my notes
And heard me say daily
"There will be no late work accepted
for this assessment."
...
Next comes the email from the parent
Lamenting the hours they know their student spent
Working on this paper/project/etc
And claiming they don't understand
Despite the fact that they themselves
Signed a letter from me to them
Explaining the reasoning behind
Not accepting this work late
(See...meticulous)
Then comes the phone call
Front office ringing in
To ask me
If this is "the hill I want to die on?"
My answer has,
In almost 2 decades,
Never changed
YES!
Yes, I am going to stick to my word
Yes, I am going to have standards
Yes, I am going to hold students accountable
Yes, I am going to give students the grades they EARN
Yes
And if that makes this a hill
And if it's my time to go
I will die knowing that
Even if they did not learn
Everything I tried to teach them
They will have learned
Responsibility is real
Accountability is important
