Day 4 - 4/4/23

 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