What, so now you’re telling me I have a D?

Dear teachers, if we put the effort it, we expect to see the same in return.

A grade report, when looked at in a mature and responsible way, is a wonderful thing. These reports not only help us stay on track of things, they prevent unhappy surprises.

Grades are technically supposed to be released to students and their families about every two weeks, in between interims and the end of a grading period, as dictated by the administration. The whole point of the system is to promote awareness and responsibility on the part of the student.

When teachers fail to send out these reports according to the established schedule, it hurts the student. It’s helpful to know how much a big test has affected your grade before the end of the quarter and too late to try to play catch up.

So many teaches complain about students who fail to turn in their work on time. Is it fair for these teachers to do this when they themselves fail at the same type of accountability?

As students taking seven classes, studying for tests, applying to colleges, completing homework and attending extracurricular activities, we are still expected to stay on our game – essentially all of the time. We will be the first to admit that our schedules get hectic and sometimes we miss a thing or two, and it’s understandable that teachers face the same stresses, but a student shouldn’t have to spend months or even weeks unaware of his or her progress in a class.

Some teachers do keep students updated very regularly with grade reports; however, there are many who fail at this practice completely. This is not fair to the students who are expected to turn in their assignments on time and be prepared for tests the day they are scheduled.

In fact, it comes to more than just grade reports. Teachers should also be able to grade and return papers in a timely manner. We get tests back we don’t even remember taking because it was so long ago. How is that supposed to be helpful? Many times we receive papers from the previous quarter…finally graded but little help when returned an entire grading period too late.

Every teacher should hold themselves to the same standard that they hold their students. If students are expected to turn in their homework and take tests on time, then teachers should have no problem sending out grades every two weeks. On the other hand, if teachers never update students on their standings in class, then students really shouldn’t be expected to put the effort in to get homework done in a timely manner. If the teacher doesn’t put the effort in, then how can he or she reasonably expect students to the same in return?