In the district where I work, parents can decide which courses they want their children to take. In other districts in our area, that is not the case. Students can only get into advanced courses if they have the correct combination of standardized test scores and teacher recommendation. That leaves a large number of bright motivated students out of luck, and quite frankly, that’s not fair. Some students and parents are even unaware of the availability of Honors courses for their kids because they’ve been told their kids aren’t “Honors material” when those students might be able to perform just as well in the course as those student tagged as “gifted” their entire lives.

High School should be a time for students to stretch themselves in an attempt to reach their full potential. We should be encouraging as many students as possible to make that leap. I’m not trying to be flip here, but why wasn’t the best student in your “regular” class placed in Honors? It sounds like she would have done great – and received the Honors credit on her transcript along with her effort. Also, if you had placed her in Honors, it might have encouraged her to stretch herself in other classes as well.

What you did with that “special education” student is awesome! It’s the the kind of stuff that makes education fun. I might have gone one step further though and switched her into my Honors class is her schedule would have permitted.

Last year, I also taught about 150 students last year so I hear on the class size issue. It would have been nice if that “regular” class of 42 could have been cut in half, wouldn’t it. I have another post on this blog on class size. Apparently, those districts that small class sizes have better results on standardized tests.

I tend to do better with students who want to succeed and don’t expect to be given a grade without trying. It has nothing to do with not getting along with parents. I have great turnout at my conferences and terrific relationships with parents.

In my “regular” class, this year, I had one of my favorite students ever…she had been a “special education” student all her life and was also convinced by the label that she was exactly that. Three to 4 weeks in, her timidity had given way to intense curiosity. Instead of straggling, she caught fire in my class. She excelled. She loved Government class, and came daily for help and to get recommendations for additional reading, viewing and to ask questions on the topic. To ME, she was the Honors student.

At the end of the year, her mother came into my classroom to personally thank me. Allie, the young lady in question, will be my student assistant this fall. She still struggles to write the proverbial 5 paragraph essay…as you so soundly point out, that is not what makes great writing anyway. She has passion, humility and drive and that is all I ask.

There are “Allie’s” in almost all classrooms, parents and students should always be able to choose whatever challenges they want to take and I think anyone should be able to try an Honors level class. What I am saying is that the standard of work should not be lowered for a student simply because some years back a test determined they have great intelligence.

I have been teaching 13 years and love the job, but I don’t think that shoddy work should be passed or given high grades. By the way, the student who turned in the poorly written research paper also failed her English class, so I am not the only person who found her work lacking.

cheers, Altercation!!

In my “Honors” classes, I have had some students who maybe were stretching themselves a little and struggled through. So what? Kids should be encouraged to stretch themselves. That doesn’t bother me in the least. What does bother me are the bright, hard-working and, at times, brilliant kids aren’t even being given a shot a honors. This year, I personally switched a large number of students from my regular class into honors. Those students and their parents thanked me for helping to give their children a fair shot. Then, guess what? They did great!

There are a lot of problems in Yekdeli’s post, but one thing that stands out is the use of “little genius” term to describe students. Just because a student is in Honors doesn’t mean that you don’t have to teach them. You still need to walk them through assignments and teach them what you want them to learn. I didn’t hear much of that in Yekdeli’s post. What I heard was a lot of whining by an obviously unhappy teacher because she had to deal with students and parents.

Sorry, Yekdeli, but dealing with parents and children are part of our job. In public schools, we are all overworked. Yes, the class sizes are large. You have problem teaching a class of 35 “Honors” students? Try teaching that same class size in a regular class. I’m betting you can’t do it.

One thing that all public educators need to understand is that parents are the stakeholders. They pay the bills, elect the schoolboards, and provide the clients that we work with. They have every right to oversee their children’s education and engage in educational dialogue with their children’s teachers. If you don’t like dealing with parents and their children, – or if maybe you are just burnt out, – then maybe it’s time to change careers. . . But don’t stand in the way of parents and children who only want to get ahead. That’s not what education is supposed to be about.
All students need to have the same opportunities. Parents should be given all the options so that they can decide what opportunities their children will have.

It is made clear on the syllabus that an Honors class requires: more critical thinking, more analysis and more writing than the “regular” class. Accountability and rigor are important. I am friendly, welcoming and MORE than available to help students who wish to succeed. I encourage, cajole, compliment and praise, but I also critique and hold them to high expectations.

This year, I have so many “D’s” and “F’s” in my Honors class, it is pitiful. Some the kids are well able, but are lazy. Some really should not be in a class that requires as much of them. Some have been told by teachers that they are little geniuses, and that, they feel, should be enough to get by.

I was an “Honors” level student myself. The problem with putting all kids in the same level of classes is that it is positively TORTURE for kids who CAN do more.

I found my life made a living hell by lazy kids who wanted to copy my work, be in my “group” in class, and basically disrespect the requirement to WORK hard! Some teachers also use higher level kids to “help” lower level kids. This sort of forced altruism also made me angry, since it was sometimes not to my benefit to do this, as it seemed I was being made to do “extra” work and given no credit for this.

Teachers are overworked and classrooms of 35 high school students of all ability levels including special education/learning disabilities and ESL all in the same classroom is a trial indeed. I say…track ALL kids and keep classes smaller so that kids can get the attention they need. Encourage and push them to succeed, but don’t call the class “Honors” unless it really deserves the moniker.

When academics are concerned, I don’t consider authentic assessments a “discrimination” that is harmful. It is not a “prejudice” and that is the difference. Some kids are actually harmed more by becoming discouraged by their lack of success.

I am a Latina student and the daughter of a mother who graduated high school and a father who dropped out in 8th grade. There were 9 kids in my family. My dad worked at a meat packing plant. My parents valued hard work and encouraged me to work as hard as I could to succeed. Sometimes this ethic seems to be missing in my students today!

Today, I had a student in my Honors class come in and try to turn in a piece of rubbish as research. The students had 6 weeks to do the project. I gave out a clearly worded assignment sheet. They chose their own topics. I have talked endlessly in class to the students about the requirements, and have been available EVERY DAY early in the morning, in Study Hall, and after school…what astounds me is that this girl NEVER felt she needed the help. What she called “research” had no sources, misquoted laws, contradictory statements and opinions of friends and her mother passed off as “research”. It had no list of works cited and didn’t even attempt to follow the assignment sheet.

I kindly suggested a wholesale rewrite and pointed out the difference between opinion and research. She insisted that “She has often been told that her writing and work is really good”…I am wondering if that is by someone like you…who feels that telling the truth is more harmful than reducing an inflated sense of one’s abilities that will haunt a person in their collegiate endeavors.

I say YES you have to earn the grade, and the title “Honors” student.