I received this series of emails this morning from my Almer Mater. I’ve changed the names to protect the ignorrant, but the rest is exactly as it came to me. This gives those that weren’t there a sense of what kind of bullshit both teachers and students have to put up with. (look at me, I still end sentences with prepositions!) Truly amazing that these converstaions still occur between teachers, but it’s a peephole into some of the people teaching our future.

Faculty and Staff:
It has been brought to my attention that clarification is needed on how we calculate grades. Adding the two quarters or nine weeks together and dividing by two will calculate the semester average. For instance, a student might earn a 90 for Q1 and a 95 for Q2. Therefore, the average is adding the two together and dividing by two, 92.5 =93.
Adding the semester averages for each semester twice to the final exam and dividing by five will calculate the final grade. For example, if a student has a 93 for first semester, an 89 for second semester and a final exam grade of a 78, the following would be used to calculate the grade:
93 = 442
Now, we take the 442 and divide it by 5=88.4 or an 88.
In talking with Mr. Keyserling and Mr. Stowe, these formulas should be incorporated into the IGPRO spreadsheets. If this is not the case for your spreadsheets, please contact Mr. Keyserling, Mr. Stowe, Dr. Jackson, Ms. Krauer, Mr. Allen, Mr. Lentz or myself. We will be happy to assist you in correcting the spreadsheets.
Thank you for your time and cooperation.

Dr. Mona Lisa Dix
Assistant Principal
“It’s about creating an environment of teaching and learning.”

Ms. Dickson:
There is a need for further clarification and or justification for why we are adopting a grading calculation policy that penalizes the students instead of helping the student. This new formula takes approximately 4 percentage points from the student as demonstrated in a recent issue about a students grade, i.e., the old formula gave the student a grade of 72.5%, but the new formula gave the student a grade of 68.5%. I question are we helping or hurting the student. It is my understanding that this calculation was arrived at by yourself and Ginger Hopkins; is this a new formula for the entire county or just something for Beaufort High School? Further, is this the formula utilized by the State of South Carolina and when was it published that this change would take place?
If we truly intend to create an environment of teaching and learning, every consideration must be given to giving the student the advantage and not penalizing them. I by this e-mail am filing a notice of my personal dissent to this unfair change in the grading policy and request that we take another look at this to make certain that all of us in the county and the state are on the same page when it comes to student evaluation.
There is never a inconvenient time to do the right thing.

Dr. Walter Eagle
Vice Principal
School Test Coordinator

Dr. Hawk, I agree with your assessment. This new formula is not good. It penalizes the students.
The old formula works to the best interest of the students.
Policy changes like this must be handled much better than this. This is a major policy change.

More people need to be involved in this process than Ms. Dickson and Mrs. Hopkins. According to Ms. Dickson, she and Mrs. Ginger Hopkins discussed the need for the new formula because they felt that the students were being tested to much.

This is not good. This is a trap set for students to fail. Students already have many traps set up for them to fail by some of the very people who have been entrusted to teach them. They do not need another one.

We must have a serious discussion on this matter. We are suppose to be in a democratic society, the collected should have been involved in this process. This includes students, parents, teachers, school board members, and general public.

This is pure madness. It must stop. Let us actually try to help the students instead of hindering them. The new formula hinders.

I applaud you Dr. Hawk for having the intestinal fortitude to stand up for what is right. I which there were more people like you in positions of authority. The children need you.

O. Adejola

While we are all sounding off on the grading policy, I guess I’ll throw in my two cents. The grading policy is great! It’s easy and straight-forward. As far as a grading policy “penalizing” students, I think only poor grades and lack of studying penalize students. I mean, I could make up a grading policy that gives every student in this school an “A” in every class. It doesn’t directly PENALIZE anybody, but is it ethical? Just because the new policy gave the kid a lower grade doesn’t mean that the old one was right. Who says the old one wasn’t severely flawed and now you are using it for comparison? I think “creating an environment of teaching and learning” is about holding students accountable. “You want good grades kids? Here is our school’s grading policy. You will have a final that is weighted this much…fail it and you will be penalized.”

Thank you for your two cents. It shows exactly how much compassion you have for student success and their self-esteem.

Unjust policies also penalizes students. History demonstrates this fact repeatedly.

Supposedly, you are a student of history. Therefore you must be aware of the policy that was put in place during the inhumane system of chattel slavery. This policy said that if a slave ran away from his master, then he was stealing himself. This policy was put in place by European slavemasters.

Because the slave wanted to be free from bondage, he stole himself. He went against a policy that penalizes him for wanted to be free.

This clearly indicates that policies can be penalizing. Although you can acknowledge that poor grades and the lack of studying penalize students, you fail to acknowledge how policies can also penalize.

Once again, I thank you for revealing how much compassion you have (2%).

Parents need to be made aware of your thoughts.

O. Adejola

Truly tempting, but I don’t care to make a business discussion a matter of personal attacks.