Forget Self Esteem wrote on Apr 13, 2007 1:36 AM:Life has few situations where a 'D' performance suffices. What's wrong with telling a student 'you failed - work harder next time'?

Dee wrote on Apr 13, 2007 3:49 AM:Schooled back in the 1950-60s California public systems, I am shocked reading this article. It sounds like my taxes are supporting human warehouses of underachievers. Might as well eliminate the grading system all together. No wonder India and China have taken over our InfoTech industry and everything else, while we are fighting a idiot's war and watching NASCAR. This is a sad statement.

Murrieta teacher wrote on Apr 13, 2007 7:35 AM:It is tempting to low the academic bar to make the school and district look better with regard to pass rates. D work won't cut it in the real world and it should not be tolerated in schools. Murrieta should have the courage to follow Temecula's lead and also eliminate D grades. To not do so sends the message that this is all we expect of our kids; pretty sad.

re: forget self esteem wrote on Apr 13, 2007 7:36 AM:You're right to an extent. However, the problem I see is that these KIDS are getting behind on credits as a result of this policy and as a result they are ultimately dropping out.

Shocked wrote on Apr 13, 2007 7:41 AM:I am shocked. TVUSD stumbles again. If you have that many students on a waiting list for RV what does that tell you about the whole school system? And you want an education center? Who's going to show up?

Re: re: forget self esteem wrote on Apr 13, 2007 7:48 AM:These kids are not getting behind due to the policy, they are getting behind because they are being properly guided to complete their work. Maybe their parents should look at their report cards and spend a little extra time helping their kids to improve their grades. If, as parents, we accept "D" work from our kids, knowing full well they are capable of more, then we are failing in our role as parents.

Re: re: forget self esteem wrote on Apr 13, 2007 8:01 AM:Once again, I agree with everyone, but you shouldn't take the hardline approach without looking at all the facts. (1) Not every child has a family who supports them emotionally and in their education endeavors. (2) The fact remains that there are a large number of students who are dropping out of the TVUSD & MVUSD districts due to poor performance. These kids need options and the district aren't providing them to the extent necessary. Clearly, the bottom line is to keep the API as high as possible.

BeHonest wrote on Apr 13, 2007 8:16 AM:Let's be honest with our grades. Students should get what they work for whether it's a D or F. Let's not inflate the grade to make us look better.

No Surprises Here wrote on Apr 13, 2007 8:34 AM:One of the problems is that the teachers DO NOT contact the parents at the FIRST sign of trouble. In fact, the teachers routinely ignore parent's emails and avoid any communication with parents at all even though parents make the extra effort to introduce themselves and offer email availability for teacher's ease of contact. The teachers wait and rely on the progress reports and then DELIBERATELY underscore the kids to protect their own bums. By failing to accurately report grades for all projects that have been turned in at the time the progress report is prepared, parents have learned just to ignore the worthless progress reports. Time and again, I've received a progress report saying that my kid has a "C" or is failing only to find out that the last time the teacher updated his/her grade book was several weeks before grades were reported. The final grade has always been a A or B despite these doomsday progress reports. Efforts to contact the teacher are ignored by the teacher and the principal of the school (all 3 high school princiipals, with Chapparal being the worst). The District and Parents need to REQUIRE that teachers COMMUNICATE HONESTLY AND TRUTHFULLY and in a TIMELY MANNER with parents first and hold the teacher responsible if it is found that they failed to notify parents of the problems AS SOON AS THE PROBLEM DEVELOPS rather than waiting for the last minute rush to correct. Once the teachers uphold their basic responsibility, I'm sure that there will be a drastic decrease in the failing students.

Ha! wrote on Apr 13, 2007 8:45 AM:I have yet to see a TVUSD teacher 'work harder' over the past 6 years. All I've seen is less hours in the class room, less communication with parents, and more personal time for teachers, more late start Mondays and more excuses by the teachers as to why our API scores are stagnant or showing minimal growth. How about reviewing the benefits of those late start Monday's Carol? Have yet to see the 'benefit' of these extra 'collaberation' days other than seeing an increase in the union's strength and more whining by the teachers.

Ron wrote on Apr 13, 2007 8:56 AM:and you wonder why our jobs are going overseas..... If you can afford it, bail out now. If you can't, write your Congressman and get them rolling on vouchers. It's a failed system, why are we pumping more and more money into a failed state? Frankly, I think it should be a pass or fail grade, let's really clear out the herd.

Stealth Blogger wrote on Apr 13, 2007 9:28 AM:If not for a passing "D" in German Lit, I never would have graduated from SDSU!

Go for it: wrote on Apr 13, 2007 9:41 AM:I agree that students live with parents who want their children to get good grades but fail in their responsibility as a parent to help them get the grade. Most people just grow up in families who think the kids should get the education from their teacher and not at home. Some parents are not educated themselves, once I heard a man say, "woman don't need no college, all they do is stay home and take care of kids." His wife worked at a factory job and he was a drop out but he knew how it was suppose to be. Having worked in the system I've seen a lot.

Michael wrote on Apr 13, 2007 9:50 AM:Perhaps we should apply the same rule to the quality of the teachers and of the instruction. Then if we group the "F" students with the "F" teachers and put them under the tutelage of the "A" teachers they MIGHT qualify for the "C" grade that your psycho-babble grading methods will elicit. More to the point, look at the bell curve. You can't just wish a group of people into a better, or worse standing. Each of us has God given strengths and weaknesses. We should be doing more to help those students that are getting poor grades to find their area of strength. Giving a "D" student a "C" is not going to help that student. On the contrary it only reduces the educational standards.

Dfuunything wrote on Apr 13, 2007 10:58 AM:Reality check: not all kids wear the same size shirt nor do they have the same type of support at home. One thing I beleive there is no doubt nor disagreement is that the family and it's definition has changed "since you were in school". fuunything huh. Think about the real problem before you propose solutions "surprise"

Alf wrote on Apr 13, 2007 11:22 AM:Decades ago, the "A" was the equivalent of an "Outstanding" job performance review in the working world, "B" was "Above average", "C" was average, "D" was "Shape up or you're fired" and "F" was "You are fired". What is really sad is that, even with the horribly "dumbed down" material as compared to 30 or 35 years ago, even with calculators in class and used on tests, these kids are still failing. I believe in keeping the "D" grade only because it allows one to be less than average while still not failing. On the other hand, it is long past time to stop inflating grades and to stop social promotion. Let kids learn a life lesson, if you fail, you must try again. Another lesson is that failure carries with it something known as consequences, real consequences. Unashamedly, Alf.

Lyn wrote on Apr 13, 2007 11:35 AM:As a teacher of more than 20 years who also has worked in what some call the "real world," I have sometimes felt like a lone wolf in advocating a no-D policy. I can assure you that the majority of students do rise to the challenge. I also can assure you that the majority of students in the D and F range do not complete their work, do not come for extra help, often have high absence rates and have their focus somewhere other than their education for a variety of reasons. Anyone with a low opinion of teachers should spend a few days observing in a classroom before making rash generalizations about teacher competency.

To Michael wrote on Apr 13, 2007 11:42 AM:Right on! How come no one else sees that teachers should be evaluated by students and parents? And why, when a parent makes as VALID request to remove their child from an "F" teacher’s class, is it ignored? Shame that there is no equality for students and families when it comes to choosing class placements. Some teachers hardly teach at all, while others of course are dedicated, organized and responsive. BIG DIFFERENCE in student attendance, attitude and performance. Same at home: parents who encourage, assist, praise and communicate see the best results. Those who discourage, ignore and verbally abuse will see results too - an F at school and the same for their parenting. But honestly, the teachers do ignore emails, phone calls and requests for conferences. The principals stand behind teachers they KNOW are weak; no honesty ever. No child left behind? HA HA HA

PK wrote on Apr 13, 2007 11:52 AM:First, to those of you out there who say D work does not cut it in the real world, you are missing something. If a person is doing D work in the real world, they find another job that are a capable of doing at a C level. Children do not have that option. One child may get an A in Geometry, but another child just doesn't get it. It's called diversity and in the real world, it is a necessity. I would also like to strongly agree with "No Surprises" as I have a struggling student and when I can get the teacher to communicate, my child's grades improve, but if there is no communication, I guarantee my child will fail. Then I get the phone call from the counselor asking "what are WE doing at home to help my child". WE are trying to get the teacher to let US know when MY child is not turning in THEIR homework!

To No Surprises Here wrote on Apr 13, 2007 11:55 AM:It is the responsibility of the parents to monitor a student's grade. More often than not, the teach is unfairly blamed for the failures of a student. Kids lose the sense of ownership over their grades because mommy and/or daddy will simply blame lack of teacher communication for their shortcomings. As an educator, I am responsible for a little more than 100 students. While I do contact parents whose students are failing, it is impossible to contact every parent on a regular basis. Parents hold teachers to an unfair standard, expecting many of us to always be working, answering e-mails, or making phone calls. I don't know how many of you log in 12-14 hour workdays, like many teachers do. Parents keeping their students in check is ultimately the best solution, proven fool-proof for decades.

KL wrote on Apr 13, 2007 12:15 PM:I'm tired of parents always getting the blame for kids not scoring well in school. Teachers go through the necessary schooling and get their credentials in order to teach, for crying out loud! A GOOD teacher can educate his/her students with nothing but the textbook and a piece of chalk. At least they could in the good old days before the "self-esteem" and "no red pens" idiocy got in the way. The majority of our state's budget goes to public education now, but teachers still say they don't have enough money and that parents are the "primary educators" of their children. I do not have teaching credentials...am I qualified to teach my child calculus? More importantly, why should I have to??? Why are my children coming home saying they don't understand something and the teacher isn't explaining it to them? I'm tired of having to do a teacher's job and not getting paid. And don't say educating my children IS my job. I do my job when I send them to what are supposed to be some of California's finest public schools, and I let them know that they are expected to work hard and get good grades. My job is to raise moral, law-abiding children and encourage them to be everything they can be. My job is to make them understand how important education is, and that what they do now in school has everything to do with what they become as adults and whether or not they will be able to afford to raise their own families. Unless I decide to homeschool my children, then it is the TEACHER'S job to teach my children math, english, science, etc. They are receiving my hard-earned tax dollars to educate my kids, and that's exactly what I expect of them. Regarding the grading system, I agree with "Michael" that giving a "D" student a "C" is not going to help that student, but giving a "D" student and "F" isn't going to help, either. A student should get the exact grade that the student has earned. Let's stop with all the "psychological tricks" teachers and school districts try to come up with in order to boost grades and just demand that teachers TEACH and that students get the exact grade they honestly deserve!!

Teacher wrote on Apr 13, 2007 12:39 PM:The D grade is important - it makes the C average and respectable. I give lots of D's. If you get rid of it, then C becomes the new D. Don't get rid of the D. Let's not fool ourselves into thinking that changing the grading system raises standards - it doesn't.

TVUSDMSMOM wrote on Apr 13, 2007 12:40 PM:My daughter is suffering from the program @ TMS. They have pushed her off saying she is a "Low Average" student. Since when is an average student a failing student. All that matters in the end with this district is the test!!! Homework grade maybe accounts for one test grade (although they pile it on), this is especially true in Math and Science. My child is a good kid, she pays attention in class, is not distruptive, she has been tutored (Alegbra all summer), she has parental support, but tests extremely poor (she does not fit the mold as we have been told over and over). Her teachers don't understand why she doesn't do better. But, of course, their hands are tied in the ability to help her, all due to the district guidelines. These teachers need to start teaching these middle schooler how to study for their tests. (As CSU provides for their students, absoulutely free.) If they are now expected to take and be scored only on tests and quizzes they need to be taught how to perform better on these. Can you believe that I was told how well my daughter will do in college, by the TMS staff, because there she'll be able to work with professors who know how to deal with the testing phobia?!?! Nice advice, huh? Everyday we pray that she'll be able to graduate at TVHS, but we're not holding our breath. Looks like home schooling or independent study may be our only hope. This is only one child stuck in the TVUSD disfunctional system!!! BTW-My eldest is a senior and CHS so I do know what challange lies ahead!!!!!! What happened to stimulating the creative child??????????????? Where is VOC ED in TVUSD???????? Drop outs will only increase if system is not fixed.

Concerned-1 wrote on Apr 13, 2007 12:44 PM:An F or a D in life won't get you very far. Kids with these types of grades need to get extra help and put in the extra effort to catch up.

Alf wrote on Apr 13, 2007 1:18 PM:I have a tremendous degree of respect for most teachers. What I do not respect is the attitude by parents and students that we must entertain children in school in order for them to deign to listen and learn. This attitude is exacerbated by too much video, be it television or computer games and the "right" to have cell phones in class and the creating and reading text messages in class. Asronished, Alf.

To the Teacher wrote on Apr 13, 2007 1:24 PM:How do you expect parents to monitor grades if teachers won't provide the simple courtesy of responding to inquiries be they email, phone or request for meetings? Perhaps by osmosis, telepathy, smoke signals? Teachers hold the information. They refuse to reveal that information and then cry about having to work 12-14 hour days and not having enough time to meet with parents. Not in my lifetime have I ever witnessed a teacher putting in these types of hours and I was raised in teacher's households! The 'we work all day' dogma works on the ignorant parents, but not those who know the truth. What we do witness, though, are teachers standing out on the street corners waiving signs about being underpaid, supporting sick-outs that jeopardize our kid's safety, late start Mondays, and making sure that every sick day and personal business day teachers are entitled to are utilized every year. You're only fooling yourselves if you think that the general public believes a word you say anymore. You work a 6.5 hour day, on average and you work 180 days a year for over $70,000 per year. Get Real.

Alf wrote on Apr 13, 2007 1:52 PM:I really wish, "To the Teacher", that you knew just two K-12 teachers personally, I sincerely do. Then you would know just how far away from reality your 1:24pm post is. Astonished, Alf.

BobbyJo wrote on Apr 13, 2007 2:34 PM:Maybe the time has come that the school system needs to think "ouside the box". The school system should make the parents partially accountable for their kid's failing marks. The consequence: Make these parents and child attend classes(that their child failed)together for a few days. The parent can then get a first hand look at their child's interaction, participation, attentiveness, and demeanor in the class room which would provide the parents a clearer insight to issues leading to the failing grade. Repeat as necessary.

To KL wrote on Apr 13, 2007 2:38 PM:I could not agree with you more!! I will do my part by making sure my child gets enough sleep, eats a good breakfast, makes it to school on time, and learns to complete her homework. However it is the teacher's job to teach my child. Unfortunately, when one's child has an elementary school teacher who admits she doesn't even understand the math problems, it's evident there is a major problem with the whole system.

well... wrote on Apr 13, 2007 3:14 PM:I think I would rather have the Doctor who scored the A's and B's then the Doctor who scored a D and passed. Chew on that

Reality Check Needed wrote on Apr 13, 2007 3:21 PM:In response to No Suprises Here, you need to accept the fact that yours is not the only child in the class. I personally have 178 students a day (some I have twice for a total of 215 students). If i made contact with parents each and every time their innocent little angel didn't do their HW, or received a poor grade on their test, I'd not have time to teach (or am I supposed to give up my personal life - including the time I devote to raising my own child?). I know you don't want to hear this "excuse", but it is reality. Also, knowing this reality, I do not butdon my child's teachers with the responsibility of raising him. I keep track of his homework, of his tests, and his grades. I know that if I do not see his tests or if he consistently has no homework then he must not be doing what he is expected to do. As such, i am teaching him something that too many children lack today - a sense of PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY - and that is the fault of parents like yourself. I know I send home progress reports 4 times during a trimester detailing each and every grade a child earns. My students' parents should EXPECT to see these since I made this policy known day 1. If they don't see these, they should be questioning their child, not blaming me. Its no wonder so many teachers a re fed up and leaving the profession.

KICK THE FLUNKERS OUT wrote on Apr 13, 2007 3:22 PM:I say this. Kick the persistent and recalcitrant flunkeroonies out of school permanently. They contaminate the serious student and should be put into a trade school or a school for the "academically challenged."!!

Teacher/Parent wrote on Apr 13, 2007 3:50 PM:I am both here in Temecula. Not TVUSD, but near. My daughter is a sophomore and her Alra teacher told her calss that out of the 16 students, 11 are failing. AND that was after he graded on a curve. This teacher makes in excess of $85,000 a year plus benefits. He should be embarrassed that so many of his students are failing. If this is truly the case, HE is failing, not them. It makes me sick that they make so much money, yet just fail these kids without offering extra help (or changing his teaching strategies as he is obviously not a good teacher). There are still 8 weeks left and my daughter won't pass. Why try? I usually back teachers 99% of the time over my kids, but this time I do NOT.

Teacher/Parent wrote on Apr 13, 2007 3:51 PM:Please excuse my typing errors, I really can spell. I am on the beach and the sun was shining on my laptop. I meant Algebra and class.. sorry

Former Teacher wrote on Apr 13, 2007 3:54 PM:Some parents and students just don't care. FOCUS on the students who care regardless if their parents care or not. I tried getting my "D" students to care and even if their parents did care, the student was not motivated. Many times a student will have a "D" grade one quarter and a C or higher the next.

To BobbyJo wrote on Apr 13, 2007 3:54 PM:If a student is failing, it is obviously the parents' fault. After all most teachers will give extra credit as a way to help students learn more about the subject and improve their grade at the same time. Here are some of the extra credit opportunities my child had while in high school: bring in Kleenex boxes for the teacher; bring in the teacher's favorite candy; color in hundreds of dots on a single piece of paper; write one word hundreds of times on a piece of paper. Carlsbad provides such fine opportunities for education, if a child is failing, it only makes sense to blame the parents.

competition wrote on Apr 13, 2007 5:11 PM:they're beating us in math and science in asian countries. asian students score higher than american students. we need to demand the best. whatever works lets do it. You can't pass a course with a D in college anyways its the same as an F to me. A D is a glorified F+. Nothing beneath an A or B is acceptable. Who wants to hire an underachieving C student anyways.

Reality Check wrote on Apr 13, 2007 6:52 PM:needs to change jobs. One that allows excuses for refusing to do one's job.

To Reality Check wrote on Apr 13, 2007 8:33 PM:Is the negative attitude displayed in your post also displayed in your classroom? Perhaps you need to conisder whether or not teaching is the right profession for you.

skallop wrote on Apr 13, 2007 9:35 PM:We are grateful the "D" grade was removed. A "D" is not an acceptable passing grade. If the "D" is brought back, then it should not be considered a passing grade. Teachers are responsible to teach, parents are responsible to parent, follow through, and pay attention to their child's schoolwork and homework, and the child is responsible to do his schoolwork and homework. I have a child at TVHS who has been failing various classes all year. We communicate with the teachers, we have our child on a weekly progress report, we ask questions, offer help with school, pay attention, give consequenses for failed or incomplete work, and make our child go to tutoring, etc. Our child continues to fail because he doesn't study, doesn't turn in homework, or turns in incomplete work, no matter how much we check and verify things with his teachers. There is no one to blame except our child. Because there is no "D" grade, we raised the bar in our home and our child cannot bring anything lower than a "B" home. He is smart and capable. Because the grading curve drops dramatically between a "C" and an "F", kids have to work harder to pass. That's the way it should be regardless of whether there are "D"'s or not. A "D" should not change whether kids are passing or failing quicker or easier. A "C" and above is the only acceptable passing grade and no one should sell themselves or their children short by accepting less.

DC wrote on Apr 13, 2007 10:02 PM:Can we drop the F, too? Then I can get into Yale and become President one day.

murrieta resident wrote on Apr 14, 2007 11:20 AM:I am a high school teacher for a neighboring district. I know that all the students in my classes over the past 15 years that received a "D" or "F" have earned it by their own choices: 1. not attending class 2. not participating when they do attend class They also have no idea what it means to set a goal and work hard...this is something they should have learned at home by the age of 7.

michele wrote on Apr 15, 2007 10:41 AM:I have two children that attend TVUSD. Both children have seriously struggled with the math and science. We have spent alot of money tutoring my kids. 6th graders go to middle school and our taught like they are military school and the teachers spend more time teaching them how to write in their reminder binders than actually teaching. Both my kids struggle with tests. My husband and I are very involved parents, but the teacher seriously matters whether a child learns or struggles. Communications is the key, but when you are told that the grades are updated on-line and they are not current or the teacher doesn't call back what more should the parent do? Sit in class with their child on a daily basis? Maybe. My BS degree is in Business not teaching. TVUSD teaches to test well on the state tests. If your child does not fit their mold your child is left behind.....

blame game wrote on Apr 15, 2007 7:49 PM:Oh, lets blame the teachers that the kids are failling, the police that they are committing crimes and the neighbors for not making sure they were safe. Come on parents! Kids are lazy and don't want to do homework, we all were, as a parent You have to stay informed and nag your own kid to do the work. The teacher who had 11 out of 16 students failing- I get it. It's not his fault. The kids and the parents are to blame. Stop blaming everyone else and start raising your kids. Show your kids you care and get on their ...'s!!!

to "competition" wrote on Apr 16, 2007 3:41 PM:Don't you remember? We hired an underachieving C student to be our President! And if the 2004 vote is any measure, that's more than good enough for North San Diego County voters.

PK wrote on Apr 17, 2007 9:22 AM:To all of the teachers. The district gives you a resource of communication with the parents that does not require you to spend 15 hours a day. It is the internet. From what I have been told, to put the grades on the system that is available to you is a simple Excel spreadsheet. If you would simply update the grades at least weekly, parents could see when the students are not passing. My daughter has 6 classes and only one of her teachers updates her grades on a weekly basis, one does it once a month, one does it right before progress reports (a little too late) and three do not do it at all. Push the district to provide you with software that will automatically notify when a student fails (I know it's out there, my step-child's school in San Diego has it). Children do not tell their parents when they are doing poorly, so how else is a parent to know? If a child was responsible enough to let a parent know when they are doing poorly, they wouldn't be doing poorly.

Concerned parent wrote on Apr 17, 2007 10:39 PM:I don't believe the system we currently have. The end result is many kids will and do drop out of High School if they can't get a C or better. If they miss one too many days of school due to illness then they need a B or better to pass and so on. The end result, we did not raise our standards to better our education system, we just encouraged more kids to drop out, why try work at passing if it doesn't seem possible. How stupid are we. I would rather see my kids pass with a "D" then drop out all together because they don't care. change the system, the system sucks.

Concerned parent wrote on Apr 17, 2007 10:47 PM:I don't believe in the system we currently have. The end result is that many kids will and do drop out of High School if they can't get a C or better. If they miss one too many days of school due to illness then they need a B or better to pass and so on. The end result, we did not raise our standards to better our education system, we just encouraged more kids to drop out, why try work at passing if it doesn't seem possible. How stupid are we. I would rather see my kids pass with a "D" then drop out all together because they don't care. I can't believe the strictness and lack of helping students in the TVUSD system. Once middle school begins the system seem to be discouraging, negative, you can't be trusted attitude toward our kids. We need to change the system, the system is not working. Only working for those who aren't struggling. Some kids will get away with anything and others are always in the wrong no matte what due to bias teachers, principles, and so on. I have lost all faith in our TVUSD school system. What a joke.

See a pattern? wrote on Apr 18, 2007 10:39 PM:Seems like all of the features about TVUSD get tons of comments afterward. Things are still a mess in TVUSD. When will it get better?

S wrote on Apr 19, 2007 10:16 PM:To See a Pattern: Yes, I do. It will get better when we, as a community, recreate a culture that values learning, eschews music and other media that glorify gang behaviors and defiance of authority, and holds children fully accountable for the decisions they make. We need, actually, to get the focus off the "grade" and back on learning for learning's sake---and better yet, learning because it is a PRIVILEGE in this glorious country, a privilege that other countries do not have. Instead, we are raising a generation of people with entitlement complexes: let's admit that there are both parents and students who want high grades with as little work as possible, just as there are hundreds of, dare I say, overprivileged children in the valley who have whatever iPod, car, or other expensive material object they desire without having to WORK for it. We need to return to the basics, return to a more traditional time in our society, go back to the good ol' days in this country. Where are the 1950s when we need them? As for the teachers, I am sure some could communicate better, but then again, that's why our kids bring home progress reports. We as parents need to be the most responsible for our childrens' learning and approach to school. Respect for learning and school begins at home.

briana wrote on Feb 26, 2008 4:19 PM:This is probably the most agrivating thing that the school district has done to us. I am in my SEVENTH preiod right now because I FAILED my english class last semester with, im pretty sure, over a 60%. And here I am doing a research persuasive essay on the "D" grade policy because i think it is REDICULOUS

WA teacher wrote on Mar 15, 2008 10:32 AM:To Briana,

Based on your email, I'm pretty sure that one of the reasons you failed your English class is because you don't bother to check the quality of your writing. Your post contains errors in simple capitalization and punctuation and spelling rules that are taught to grade school students. These are indicators that you either don't know the basics, or don't care about doing quality work. This is exactly the reason why we should not allow "D's". And for everyone else out there who is criticizing teachers, the best of us are working to try to get young people like this to achieve the most they possibly can, to be able to leave high school and go to college or trade school or pursue whatever they desire and be certain that they are prepared socially and academically for it. The constant criticism of the teachers is really disheartening - I agree with those who have posted here regarding the influence of the media and the problems with attendance, entitlement, and parental involvement. Many kids don't come to school with the attitude that they are there to attempt to achieve anything. This starts at home. More and more I find that the students who arrive in my classroom each year must be cajoled and entertained simply to participate at all. Absenteeism and failure to turn in work are what lower many students grades to below passing. And yet many teachers are still fighting this, encouraging students to achieve (or at the vey least, to try) and are there to help them when they do. Why would any parent be satisfied with the idea that a teacher or school or district supports a "D" policy that effectively says "We encourage your child to get by"?

student wrote on Jun 5, 2008 6:46 PM:Im doing an essay on this subject right now. Im an OK student (B's and C's) who has screwed up several times and failed a class because of a 68%. This is getting ridiculous. A student may do well in an important subject like math, and fail a class that doesn't matter, like history and miss out on important credits because of a grade in the 60% range.