Lee Iacocca

In processing the quote from Lee Iacocca, I find myself a bit divided. I do agree with the statement, my biggest struggle falls between the "completely rational society" and "the best of us would be teachers". The first portion, about the rational society, we shall never live in a completely rational society, at least not without humanity evolving from unanimous spiritual and intellectual enlightenment. The second portion, the best of us would be teachers, I am torn on because I do believe that the best would be the ideal ones to pass along the knowledge to the next generations, but who would that leave to bring about progress and stability to this ideal society. I suppose if the society was "completely rational" we could use the "best" of the oldest generation, much like the tribal elders of past, that educated the generations of the ways of life. Now, after picking apart the statement, I would have to say that, overall, it is a very complimentary statement. I have pledged to myself to try to uphold my part to not only educate, but to expand curiosity and open thoughts and perspectives during my time as a role model. I hope to live up to Mr. Iacocca's statement, whether I'm one of the best or not and rational society or not, it is my obligation.

bad test

I would first have to see the percentage of pass and fail. If the fails where to high it may be the test, or I didn’t teach it well. But if this parents child the only one, or one of the few that failed I would have to say it was not the test itself. You would also have to know the student. We all have the students that want to play everyday and not pay attention. If this student fell into that group I would be happy to show the parent the class work ethics chart I keep. The parent could when and why the student lost points, and therefore was not paying attention. This is not to say that this would work every time but it certainly helps to have your bases covered.

Proper Testing or Student Performance

Suppose a parent of one of your students called you today to complain about his/her child's poor performance on your classroom tests. The parent concludes by asking you, "Just how sure are you the fault is in my child and not in your tests?" How would you respond to this parent? What would you think about? Justify your response. I would respond to the parent positively. I would be a little offended, but I am able to take criticism. It could possibly be my tests. Or it could be a combination of both my tests and the student. I would offer a conference to discuss issues in detail. I am already aware of all of my student's academics abilities, personalities, and peer interactions. I keep all of my student's work and I am able to show parents their child's work. I'd let the parent know I offer tutorials on Thursdays. I'd offer the parent to come sit in on a class session. I would try to the best of my ability to resolve the situation in a positive manner.

Am I at Fault?

Suppose a parent of one of your students called you today to complain about his/her child's poor performance on your classroom tests. The parent concludes by asking you, "Just how sure are you the fault is in my child and not in your tests?"

How would you respond to this parent? What would you think about? Justify your response.

 

This is a very interesting question. Two weeks ago, I would have been able to stand firm on the opinion that the fault was neither in my teaching nor my tests but in the child. After taking a look at the rules for creating effective tests, I realized that many of my small mistakes can affect the student learner. I haven’t always taken the time to outline the objectives that I will teach and match them up with the questions that I put on the test. My multiple choice answers were not always in columns. As I reflect upon this, I can recall students placing the wrong answer on the line or even circling the wrong answer. For many students, we just called it a “careless mistake” with my knowledge as the teacher that they knew the information. However, that mistake may have been the difference between a letter grade.

 

As far as a response to the parent, I will probably suggest that this be a conversation we have the student together. This will give me an opportunity to listen to the student’s feedback on their previous exams. It may be best to take an exam that the student did poorly on and go through the correct and incorrect answers while having the students to justify the incorrect answers. This would provide the student to explain any questions that they may not understand or acknowledge that they knew the answer but may have circled the incorrect answer. I would hope this will give me an idea of whether it’s the knowledge of the student or my exam.

 

Testing Conference

This is a very tricky topic just because there are so may angles that the parent, student, and teacher could debate. The one thing I would try to do as early as possible is to schedule a parent meeting with both the child and the parent(s) to see if all three or four of us can get a clear understanding of my expectations, the test itself, and a solution. One thing that I would assure the parents before the conference is that it is nobody's fault why the student failed the test, all of this would be discussed during the meeting. Once we figure out all of the factors which may contribute to the low grade, then we can start discussing what happened. One reason why I would want the student to be present is that if the student really struggled during the test, I would want his or her opinion of how the test could've been written differently so that the student can understand future tests better. Something that may happen that could be unexpected is that a child may have a learning disability to comprehend certain types of assessments and that might require further testing. In my opinion it's a win-win situation for everyone that is involved. The final thing I would do in this parent teacher conference is I would ask the parents if they understood the test as well. If the parents see the test, then they can get a better understanding of the structure of the test and what is expected. The bottom line is, I don't want to play the blame game, I want to come to a solution so that everyone involved is happy. I feel that there is too much blame going on now, and no solutions being offered. I believe having a face-to-face conference is the best way to come to a solution.

Test or student, who or what is at fault?

This situation has a lot of layers to it and should be analyzed before any decisions are made. If a student is consistently performing poorly on tests (notice this is multiple so there may be a pattern) I take a look at the overall performance on each test by the entire class. If the class performance closely mirrors the one student’s, then yes, there may be a problem with the test. However, if the rest of the class is outperforming the one student on the test(s) then, most likely, the problem is not with the test.

Hopefully, you have this information ready when you talk to the parent. I would be well prepared to communicate all details about that particular student’s efforts in class and how he or she compares to their peers. I would also have an action plan ready to suggest to the parent if they do not offer one first.

In the end, professionalism will be the most important factor in the teacher’s conversation with the parent. Being prepared, polite and proficient should allow the situation to be resolved easily.

Testing confrontations

I must say that I have not had this situation arise yet and I hope it never does. I have, however gotten a few parent phone calls and emails about their child’s progress in my class. I have more students that simply won’t do the work assigned to them than I have students who do poorly on tests. I do, however, have a robust plan in place if such a moment arises.

The good news is that by using a learning Management System called Edmodo, I am able to stay in direct contact with students (And their parents/guardians if they choose to sign up for a parent account)and it is a one stop shop for due dates, deadlines, study guides, helpful links, etc. This is by far, my biggest defense to such issues. Once a parent sees exactly what their child is doing, or NOT doing for that matter, this usually quells even the most protective of them. Once they can see first-hand that the fault lays with their child and not with me, then that takes the wind out of their wings so to speak.

As far as the testing results go, the good news is I adhere to ALL IEP and 504 accommodations , along with providing study guides and ample warning on the content of each test/quiz well before it actually occurs. It also helps that I always give my quizzes on Fridays nearly every week of the semester so there can be no confusion as to how or why a student did not do well on the test.

Mr. H

Who's fault?

Before my students are given a test or a quiz we review the entire thing the day before. I make it clear to all my students to pay attention to the review and to take notes. After the students take the test or quiz I count to see how many students passed. According to that number I am able to tell if the students understood me and the test. If majority of the students did not pass, let’s say 55%, then I will reteach the material and give them a different test or quiz.

Test Justification

In the event of a parent confronting me about a test grade and confronting me on the accuracy of the test, I would have to take a number of things into consideration. The first thing would be the percent of students that did pass the test. If the class has an overwhelmingly high number of passing grades (higher than 50%) then I would bring that to the attention of the parent. The next factor would be how long we had been covering the material for the test and if the students were given a study guide. If the test was over a topic that had only been covered for a short time and the student in question had been absent a lot, then I might be lenient with the allowance of a re-take. Also if the students had been given a study guide, often they are, I would not be as lenient with the allowance of a re-take. I also would explain to the parent that before each test begins I go over what each portion of the test is, the directions for each section, and what is expected for the format. Any student with a question is to ask at that time. I would always take any criticism openly and be flexible with students. I do make all of my own tests, and my students all know that I am not a person that lives a life with no error. So, I would take a parent complaint very seriously, step back, and evaluate my test and it's content.

Who's Fault is it?

I would say that overall I feel pretty confident that the material on my tests is covered in class, and as a whole we review for tests. I do not believe in trick questions, relying on the students to “just figuring it out”, or hanging my kids out to dry. There are a lot of factors that would have to play in to my response to the parent such as: the student’s effort on other assignments in my class, the student’s attendance record (which I never had a problem with before this semester), the student’s overall grade, and their note-taking during lessons. If all of those factors were in favor of the student, then maybe I would have to step back and re-evaluate my tests. I can also add, that in school I feel that I was always a good student when it came to classwork, homework, and projects, but I really struggled as a test taker. Maybe we could look into a possible pull out group for the student, or we could break the test down into sections so it wouldn’t be so overwhelming. So after all my rambling, I guess I would say my simple answer is that initially I would not put all the blame on my tests, but after ruling out other factors, I would consider re-writing my tests (which this unit is teaching me I already need to do).

Where lies the blame?

Before this unit on test writing I would automatically assume it was the fault of the student. Perhaps the little darling didn't study or slept during the review. However, after learning how to actually "write" a test and not rely on the ones supplied to me I would certainly have a different opinion. Maybe. If I had written the test and the child failed and the parent called here are my thoughts: 1. I would reflect on the child's daily performance and share his studious behavior or lack of studious behavior with the parent. 2. I would explain that we reviewed the material in class the day before the test (something I always do, usually in a game type format) 3. I would also show the parent the study guide the student had available for use in preparing for the test. 4. Lastly, I would explain that the test material represents the content taught and that modifications are made as necessary (IEP, etc.) If it was a hands on skill, it was a hands on test. If knowledge based, written test. In addition to that I would also show the parent the material I used to create the test so they understand I am not pulling random questions out of a hat.

Quotes and Thoughts

After reading through the "open mic" posts I thought perhaps we should be philosophical with this post. I have selected two quotes, hoping you will gleen some inspiration. Please post what comes to mind after reading these quotes. "Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success." (Dale Carnegie) "Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose." (Bill Gates) "Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success." (Dale Carnegie) To me this quote almost makes me feel as if the failures and mistakes that every new teacher makes are okay, the mistakes ensure growth. We must take the failures and build on from there. It's not easy to look your failure in the face and say, "okay, I screwed up… but let me have another shot at it! I'll do much better next time." But in the event that you do take that discouragement and make it your motivation success is right around the corner. This can also be used to help motivate your students but my first though was how it related to me and my struggles. "Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose." (Bill Gates) To me this quote makes me feel realistic, to realize that success in one thing does not ensure success in everything you will encounter. But the success can get to your head, it can make you feel as if you can't be taken down, you won't lose. We all know that is unrealistic. You have to remember to stay humble and do your best in everything you do but not to get discouraged if you do encounter a failure. And to definitely not let the success get to your head. Stay real my friend. :)

Philosophical Post

"Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success." (Dale Carnegie) All the people who I consider to be successful have experienced failure. Those failures were a blueprint for them on how to gain success on their next attempt at whatever they were pursuing. Even if they decided to change what they were pursuing, they always used the previous failure to gain success at their next endeavor. When people attempted to discourage them, they used those words of doubt to steer them towards their next success. "Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose." (Bill Gates) I don't 100% agree with the quote. I personally think success without some failures can seduce people. I know that if I hadn't experienced some failures along the way I wouldn't be as cautious as I am with certain career and life decisions. I think both quotes can take on the perspective of what the reader considers successful.

Success

I like both of these quotes, there is so much truth in them. To truly understand something, one must find it's faults and understand what doesn't work before understanding what does. That is a point that I try to drive home to my students. One of the first steps in engineering a product is failure. Only after evaluating and understanding that failure can you progress from it. I believe that is why so many students find my class "easy", not that the tasks are simple or the work is simple, but I feel that if they are putting forth the effort to learn they will pass. I understand that not everyone can be be completely successful in the numerous areas that I cover, so failure at the task does not mean a failing grade. I believe, failure is the true form of progress, that is why the saying is 3 steps forward, 2 steps back.

It is okay to fail

"Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success." (Dale Carnegie) "Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose." (Bill Gates) I love the fact that we learn from mistakes. I am always telling my students that it is alright to "fail" at something, because that's how we grow. I am a bit of a perfectionist (shocking, right?) but sometimes I enjoy when I mess something up in class, like spell something incorrectly on a Powerpoint, or tell the class how to do an editing trick that doesn't work. I enjoy making mistakes in front of them, because it shows them that I am human, and I hope it makes them feel better for their own mishaps when they see that I am messing up as well. If we always do everything correctly, and we always get exactly what we want, how can we ever expect to get better or improve? If we always succeed, the one time something doesn't go our way, we could be devastated. I agree with the quotes, that show us it is alright if we fall down, because we will learn how to get up and try again. Plus, life would be boring if we never had any roadblocks or obstacles to overcome.

Inspirational Quotes

The following quotes that you shared have inspired me in ways I didn't expect.

 "Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success." (Dale Carnegie)

"Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose." (Bill Gates)

 Both of these quotes made me feel better about my current situation as a teacher. I know I am new at this, but this week was particularly hard for me. I had two IEP meetings back to back and the first one was just so sad. I was in a room full of people, counselors, fellow teachers, psychiatrists, and the parents of this student. To see him so unwound and not willing to come to school really hit me hard and made me really see the side of one of my students I had no idea about.

The second IEP was polar opposite of the first. The second IEP meeting I had was one that made me feel really good about being a teacher. It was a student with definite reading issues but he is one of my best students. He is so respectful and a pleasure to have in class. Comparing him to the previous student was like comparing apples and oranges.

When I got home that night all I could do was think about the differences between the two students. It’s like it was in that moment I realized just how hard it is to be a true teacher. Understanding that this journey as a teacher will be filled with such difficulties and success make it bittersweet for me. And while I know I won’t reach every single student that walks through my door, maybe through my failures with them they will be my successes with those students I am able to reach.

Mr. H

"Success from Failure"

"Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success." (Dale Carnegie)

I love this quote. I agree 100% with Mr. Carnegie on this philosophy. Dale Carnegie is one of the authors I most respect. His book “How to Win Friends and Influence People” has guided me through my development as a professional in the corporate world and as a budding teacher in the world of education. In fact, this very book is still used by many companies to mold their leadership and management teams even though it was written in the 1930s. I have been through many of these classes and can attest to their immense worth.

The quote above is a restatement of the human fight or flight philosophy. What Mr. Carnegie is attempting to cast light upon is that people can improve themselves if they learn from their disappointments and allow them to motivate them forward to success. Some people will embrace the challenge of failure and use it to motivate them into becoming better at whatever they failed at. At the same time, some people will quit or give up when failure occurs. If you don’t quit after a disappointment, learn from it, then you should eventually be successful.

Everyone experiences disappointment throughout their lives. How you handle each situation helps shape you into the person you are. Are you going to let letdown change your direction (flight) or will you get up and try again with more experience under your belt (fight)? Dale Carnegie wanted people to be the latter of those two. In this philosophy, you become a more successful and influential person with each step forward after disappointment, especially if you learn from it.

Success/Failure

"Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success." (Dale Carnegie) "Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose." (Bill Gates) I can definitely adhere to Dale Carnegie's quote about developing success from failure. It's one thing to hear how failure leads to success and it's another to actually encounter it. I recall my first week of teaching an absolute flop and somewhat being a failure. However, without that first try, I wouldn't have been able to find stamina and courage to continue on as I eventually found some success. Success for me was being able to connect with the students as a human and not just a teacher, whereas the first week was primarily focussing on learning the career of education while learning about the students. I also agree with Bill Gates quote about success being a lousy teacher and the illusion it can portray of never losing. Well, I know as a teacher, it's not always a win win situation. You have your battles and you have your wars. I have simply decided to place my energy where it fits best and that's to see my students become successful.

Inspirational Posts

I can definitely relate to Dale Carnegie's most out of the two quotes. "Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success." When you are discouraged about something that you are passionate about or love and it is not working out, I honestly believe that is when you find out what type of person you are. I believe that in life, the best lessons a person can experience is under adversity. How are you going to respond, what is your attitude going to be like, will you give up easily? Those are the types of feelings a person will have when failure happens and when they are discouraged. Over a period of time and life experience, a lot of feelings of disappointment and self-doubt won't be as prevalent if you learn to take that experience as a learning tool and to not sit in your own self-pity. The second quote is also a good quote because it talks about the people who haven't gone through much adversity. I believe this applies more to the person who didn't have to work as hard to get to the top because I believe that if someone sacrificed everything they had and struggled for their entire lifetime to get to where they wanted to be, so I don't believe that success is a lousy teacher. I believe that success is a great teacher if the person worked for whatever they want because I believe they would've experienced disappointments and struggles to get to where they had to. I don't necessarily agree with this quote.

Beauty from Ashes (or scrapped knees)

After reading through the "open mic" posts I thought perhaps we should be philosophical with this post. I have selected two quotes, hoping you will gleen some inspiration. Please post what comes to mind after reading these quotes. "Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success." (Dale Carnegie) "Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose." (Bill Gates) As I read today's topic, I stand in total agreement. I have had many successes in my career but what has formed me as an individual are a few failures that taught me great lessons. You all know me well enough to understand that I like to be the best at what ever the assignment has been given. I am somewhat of a people pleaser and that side of me will not allow me to quit. My pawpaw used to say "aint no hill for a climber" when I would share my problems with him. I didn't quite get it at the time, but now I understand. He wasn't saying that my problem wasn't a big as I thought it was, he was saying if I am determined enough the problem is just the PATH to get me where I want to go. If I sat down when things didn't go my way, I would never get where I am going (total failure). If I pressed onward, the result would be all the more sweet (total success). There have been many times I have scrapped my knee getting up that hill but the view is breathtaking when you crest the horizon. If I never fell, scrapped my knee, and kept going I might have never seen the beauty that was waiting...