Teachers are damned if they do, damned if they don't

A couple days ago, this appeared in the N.Y. Post:

Student’s stunning plea: Why did NYC let me graduate high school?

The student admits (unapologetically it seems) that she didn't put in any significant effort to pass her classes, and couldn't even be bothered to show up for class most of the time:

Quote:

I don’t like receiving what I would call a handout, but that’s what happened. New York City gave me a diploma I didn’t deserve. . . . I had a lot of trouble getting up in the morning. I didn’t really go at all. I think I showed up about five times in the first marking period. In the second marking period, my attendance was also poor. I got a 55 for both, an “F.” My teacher saw me in the hall and pulled me aside. She told me, “In the third marking period, if you come in every day and do all your work, I will pass you.” I showed up about 10 days maximum the third marking period. It was only about a month long, because of senior activities. I did the makeup worksheets she gave me, but I never turned them in since my teacher was out at the end. We had a substitute. I was absent for the final exam on Thursday, and absent for the makeup final on Friday.

In the end, the teacher gave her a 65, the bare minimum to receive credit for the class and have enough credits to graduate.

It's pretty obvious why the teacher would do this in the current political environment where teachers are held accountable for their students graduating, but the teacher herself confirmed exactly why she did it:

Teacher explains why she passed student who ‘deserved’ to fail

Quote:

“It was not an ideal situation,” McHale acknowledged to The Post at her Queens home. “If we don’t meet our academic goals, we are deemed failures as teachers. There is a tremendous amount of pressure on us as teachers.” “I thought it was in her best interest and the school’s best interest to pass her.”

Quote:

The teacher said she believes that her student spoke out because “I think she felt a sense of, ‘Why isn’t the standard higher?’ But if we set the bar higher, we would be a failing school.” She explained that Mejia passed all her state Regents tests and had strong scores in the history exams. “Her attendance was extremely poor, but she was a very intelligent student,” McHale insisted. “There is a fairly consistent policy that if they pass their Regents, it is strongly suggested that they pass in the class,” the teacher said. “She did pass her Regents exam, and it’s generally accepted that if a student passes their Regents exam, it suggests some kind of readiness for college.”

So, yeah, exactly what I thought. Really, it's hard to blame the teacher here. Student put in no effort whatsoever, and didn't even bother to show up to most of the classes. And yet the teacher is expected to make sure the student graduates and is seen as a failure if the student doesn't succeed.

People complain about "failing schools", but a large part of the problem is the students and the students' families.
If more of the parents were like the "tiger moms", or even just reasonably engaged and interested in their children's studies, this wouldn't be a problem in the first place.

I don't blame the teacher in this case at all. The student not showing up, not doing the work, isn't something the teacher can control. She tried her best to cajole the student to show up, but the student blew her off. But teachers and the school as a whole are "held accountable" for the graduation rates of students, and for how well they do on the tests.

One possible tweak I might suggest is to not have classes starting at 8:00 in the morning. Why not start at 9:00 instead and have school finish an hour later in the afternoon? But that's a secondary issue. "I can't wake up in time to get to my first period class" is still not a valid excuse. Go to bed earlier.

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