middle school teachers: Clicky poll

megann831 · September 2011

I teach 2 8th grade language arts classes (they are block periods so only 2 groups of kids). They just took their 1st test on Friday and my one class, which I'm already really happy with the effort they are putting in, did great. The majority of the class scored above an 80%, there were a couple of 70%s and 1 60%. I haven't scored the 2nd class but I'm not expecting much, their behavior, effort, and the level they came in at is much lower than the other class. My school is big on recognizing students with sticker charts for homework, how many books they've read, ect. I'd like to recognize the students, in both classes, that did well. I want the ones who did well to feel proud of their effort and the ones who didn't put any in to realize that they can do better, but I also don't want to make anyone feel bad or discouraged. How would you do it?
[Poll]

LolaNJoe · September 2011

I'd say congrats to the class and not mention names, especially if there's only a few people who wouldn't be on there. It'd be easy for classmates to see who didn't do well, which would kind of suck for them. The more generic "congrats on 85% average" makes it clear to each student individually if they're below average, on par, or doing exceptionally. I'm not a teacher, but as a student, that's what I'd want a professor to do.

pammieface · September 2011

i think that recognizing kids who did well is a great idea--the kids who disrupt class are usually the ones who get the most attention, so this is a chance for hard workers to shine. on you poll, i chose not to post scores, though, because among students who are continually high scorers, a lot of competition to be "the best" still exists, and i would want to curb that--you don't need someone feeling smug because she "beat" four other smart kids, you know? or at least i wouldn't. the only time i specify a student's grade to the whole class is when i'm telling them who got the single highest score on something or when i'm naming all the students who scored 100%. (i teach high school, by the way, so maybe things are different in a middle school...?)

trigal · September 2011

It's one thing to list accomplishments, but do not hold students to the same definition of success. A 75% can be one person's demise and another's person's A+. So, be sure to do something like "most improved" or something like that.

That said, I teach high school and I do a "brownie challenge." Whichever class gets the highest average, gets brownies.

kaylynne · September 2011

Sometimes I tell them ahead of time what our class goal is (one of my classes had a lot of students failing, so their goal was to get above 70%, the honors class usually has a higher goal), then I post a list of kids "who helped us reach our goal" without their individual scores. The kids that want to know what the individual grades were find out on their own by comparing papers outside of class.

I've also done an improvements poster, where I list the names of the kids who improved their grades from the last test/report card/week (regardless of what the scores actually are).

IrishBrideND · September 2011

I tell them their class average, and then I recognize, by name, any 100s. The class average thing works really well with the honors classes. If their class average was a 91, and the other honors class was at a 93, they get really competitive and work even harder.

I teach 8th.

rubyiu · September 2011

Telling scores other than privately is a huge no no at my school, and at all the ones I've worked with. I'd have a conversation with the class who didn't do well and have them write goals for their next assessment, and how they are going to reach them. Have them look at them again afterward and mark is they have met them or not.

cahistoryteacher · September 2011

I have a rewards system for students who recieve 100% on a test. I call them power ups- like in a video game. If they get 100% on a test they can choose from one of the following: an extra bathroom pass for the term, getting the study guide early, choosing their seat in the next unit, or 10 extra credit points for themselves and 100 class points. I put the names of the students who got a power up on a sticky note on the wall with the power ups, so it's posted but not big. I do not publicize individual scores, all my 100% kids said I could put their names up and if they said no I wouldn't have. When I have kids who don't do well we sit down and look at what went wrong and have some private conversations about what can be fixed. Usually we can identify what went wrong- like they panic with multiple choice, they didn't study, they were having a bad day etc.

benmel31 · September 2011

I teach 7th grade reading with both regular ed and special ed students in my classes. I'm torn on recognizing publicly the students who do well. I would not share grades with the classes. I agree with PP that a 75% may be great for one and terrible for another.

I do like the idea of the "brownie challenge" and may steal this. I do think you can motivate students when challenged. Sharing a class average is very different from announcing individual scores.

fuzzylogic · September 2011

rubyiu:
Telling scores other than privately is a huge no no at my school, and at all the ones I've worked with. I'd have a conversation with the class who didn't do well and have them write goals for their next assessment, and how they are going to reach them. Have them look at them again afterward and mark is they have met them or not.

Isn't a huge no-no by LAW? FERPA?

Congratulate the class that did well, give them some sort of reward but have a chat with those who need to do better. The class that didn't do so well, I might give them the opportunity to correct what they did wrong so they can see where they screwed up on the test, and re-test them, and reward them if they do better. However, it would be a one-time-only offer.

erbear · September 2011

This idea rubs me the wrong way. There's no need to reward kids for this...and it'll just make the other kids feel bad. I'd say "Good job to the class!" and move on.

fuzzylogic · September 2011

erbear:
This idea rubs me the wrong way. There's no need to reward kids for this...and it'll just make the other kids feel bad. I'd say "Good job to the class!" and move on.

I have to agree. It's like getting rewarded for doing your job the right way. Who gets rewarded for that? You should get rewarded for going above and beyond, not for doing what is expected.

IrishBrideND · September 2011

fuzzylogic:
erbear:
This idea rubs me the wrong way. There's no need to reward kids for this...and it'll just make the other kids feel bad. I'd say "Good job to the class!" and move on.
I have to agree. It's like getting rewarded for doing your job the right way. Who gets rewarded for that? You should get rewarded for going above and beyond, not for doing what is expected.

So you never even verbally reward students who do something the right way? Not even a kid who has done it the wrong way 50 times and finally got it right? Really?

I mean, sheesh. I will say "Great job remembering your homework today, John!" if he has a history of forgetting it. Simple things like that go a long way, especially with middle schoolers.

fuzzylogic · September 2011

IrishBrideND:
fuzzylogic:
erbear:
This idea rubs me the wrong way. There's no need to reward kids for this...and it'll just make the other kids feel bad. I'd say "Good job to the class!" and move on.
I have to agree. It's like getting rewarded for doing your job the right way. Who gets rewarded for that? You should get rewarded for going above and beyond, not for doing what is expected.

So you never even verbally reward students who do something the right way? Not even a kid who has done it the wrong way 50 times and finally got it right? Really?

I mean, sheesh. I will say "Great job remembering your homework today, John!" if he has a history of forgetting it. Simple things like that go a long way, especially with middle schoolers.

Of course I do, good grief. I'm just saying that in my opinion, perhaps save the rewards for when they go above and beyond what is expected. Or when they make an obvious improvement. Like in the case of the class that didn't do so well, I would certainly give some sort of verbal acknowledgement that they did better the next time, if that were the case.

I'm not a middle school teacher, though, and I don't believe in spoon-feeding or shooting puppies and rainbows up their asses to make them "feel good" about themselves. I teach high school kids, and while I will certainly say good job when the time calls for it, I'm not going to say, "Oh my gosh! You brought your binder to class, I'm so proud of you for remembering!" and other b.s.

erbear · September 2011

IrishBrideND:
fuzzylogic:
erbear:
This idea rubs me the wrong way. There's no need to reward kids for this...and it'll just make the other kids feel bad. I'd say "Good job to the class!" and move on.
I have to agree. It's like getting rewarded for doing your job the right way. Who gets rewarded for that? You should get rewarded for going above and beyond, not for doing what is expected.

So you never even verbally reward students who do something the right way? Not even a kid who has done it the wrong way 50 times and finally got it right? Really?

I mean, sheesh. I will say "Great job remembering your homework today, John!" if he has a history of forgetting it. Simple things like that go a long way, especially with middle schoolers.

That's different to me. Nothing wrong with a verbal "hey, great job!" I do it every single day many times. I just don't think you need a whole bulletin board for it.

IrishBrideND · September 2011

erbear: I was responding to fuzzy. I wasn't accusing you of that. I understood what you meant. I also do not do a bullitin board for things like that.I think its silly.

Fuzzy: i've taught both HS and middle school. I don't shoot rainbows and puppy dogs either. I actually am on the strict side. But if a kid has been struggling with something like forgetting supplies and FINALLY gets their act together and really works on remembering, I will verbally acknowledge it. i don't announce it to the whole class and make it a big deal, but positive reinforcement isn't a bad thing....especially if I've been ridding them about not remembering. Its nice to be able to say something positive when they finally get it right.

I think its a semantics thing. Verbal "rewards" are rewards IMO. Some kids (and adults) consider that a reward. We are all motivated by different things. Some want the acknowledgment, some want something tangible. So when you said rewards, I thought these things were included, especially in light of the OP.

middle school teachers: Clicky poll

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