Vignette 4: What Counts?

January 31st, 2012.


     The situation that is described in this vignette is a troubling one.  A student, named Juan, has received a lower-than-usual mark in Language arts.  The teacher has been consulted by Juan's parent, and it is explained in this way: while Juan does complete excellent work, he doesn't like to sit still and learn in class.  His mark is reflective of the way that he behaves in the classroom, as well as his work.  The parent is dissatisfied wit this and turns to the principal.


     There is no way that a child's grade should be influenced so much by his behavior inside the classroom.  Little Juan had been receiving marks of 80 on his assignments, and he was docked 22 percent because of his behavior.  I don't blame the parent in this situation for bringing this matter before the principal.  A student should be marked and graded based only on their completion of curricular objectives.  Past this it becomes too cloudy.  His teacher would have to begin marking every student in the classroom based on their behavior, and that is no small feat.  


     I think that there are instances where behavior can effect a child's mark, but that isn't up to the teacher to decide.  If a child is acting out in class and disrupting the lessons continually, they will do poorly on their work because of this.  If a student appears to have trouble listening but does well with their work, then other steps need to be taken.  Perhaps the child should sit by themselves for certain parts of the lesson to ensure his classmates aren't disrupted, but his mark should never be intentionally docked due to behavior.
  
     I pity Juan for having  such a teacher.  This teacher explains that Juan, "just doesn't listen during instruction."  I would beg to differ!  If he is continually receiving a mark of 80, he obviously knows what he is doing.  I think there is a possibility that this student listens in a different way than his teacher is familiar with.


This is a tough situation, but I believe the teacher is in the wrong here.  A child's behavior should have little effect on their overall grades.