Teacher Fired For Giving Zeroes
Being a teacher is something I could never do. I have one child and sometimes she tests my patience when I'm trying to explain something for the fifth time. She's actually a really good student, which I assume means I'm not a great teacher. And that's with my one and only child. I can't imagine having a room full of kids that you have to get through to.
In spite of that, for some reason we seem to be making teacher's jobs even harder. Unsupportive parents, limited disciplinary measures, strange new curriculum, etc. This story I read today about a teacher, a 52-year-old woman named Diane Tirado, in Florida who was allegedly fired for giving out zeroes to kids who don't turn in their homework seems outrageous to me. Apparently the school has a policy that you can't issue grades below 50%. Which means the grades are ACTUALLY 0-50% instead of 0-100%. I mean, a kid who doesn't even show up for school would get half the score of someone who completed an assignment perfectly. Pretty bad lesson to teach in my opinion.
I think some of the students there know this too. One student commented: "You showed me to be responsible for my work and the things that I do." Wow! What more could you ask for?
The school released a statement saying that she was "defiant" and she wasn't just fired over the grades. I'm not sure how this will turn out, but if you'd like to make a comment of your own, check out this thread on Facebook.