NEWS FLASH

This is a memo to those students and their parents who received a Progress report in my class.

As I mentioned in my Progress Report Memo, one's grade at this point is based largely on the 20 assignments in the History Notebook. The procedure for notebook grading is as follows: 
  • Twice a trimester I collect student notebooks to grade the assignments in them. (The students received ample notice for the first notebook check, as well as a week of no homework! Subsequent notebook collections are done without prior notice: notebooks should be up-to-date, complete, etc. at all times. There really shouldn't be any, "But I need time to get my notebook in order!"). 
  •  I usually am able to grade one class' notebooks in an evening, and hand them back to the students the next day, with a grade on the rubric.

  •  The student then has the opportunity to revise specific items for improvement. There are two caveats, however: 1) the improvements must be turned in within one week of the day they received the notebook back, and 2) only the bottom portion of the items listed on the rubric may be revised. If students are unsure as to what to improve or how to improve, they should see me as soon as is possible after they have received their graded notebooks.

  •  The students turn back in their notebook for me to "re-grade" those revisions; I give it back to them; and they have another week in which to improve, if they so desire. They may improve until they receive the grade they want!
Here's the rub: the majority of the students who received a Progress Report did so because they chose not to take the opportunity to revise their notebook assignments. So, the larger question is, "Why not?" You might want to ask this question.

Further, after the Progress Reports were sent home, I had a chat with each of my classes, and extended an "amnesty" to those who didn't turn in their notebooks for revision. I asked that they be re-submitted as soon as possible. This chat was on Thursday, October 15. It is now,  Tuesday, October 27, and only a few students have turned in their notebooks! At some point - soon - this "amnesty" will end! Maybe the shock of a D or an F on a Report Card this first trimester will motivate them out of complacency? I'd rather not go that route; and am sure you'd rather not, either.

Please have a discussion with your child regarding the importance of staying on top of things, talking with their teachers, and being pro-active about their school work! I'm confident, with a little (ok, maybe a lot of) prodding, they'll do the right thing, and ultimately, be successful!
Thank you,
Lance Lewis 
(There is no need to reply to this memo. A discussion with your child should suffice, and maybe a subsequent discussion between me and the student...or, just turning in the notebook!!)
 



 
Last Modified: Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2009
 
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