FIAE- Chapter 10

This chapter, after reading the last three chapters, really makes me think about how “mean” or strict I will be as a teacher. It talks about the conditions under which a student would be able to redo an assignment if they do poorly on it the first time. I think that this is a hard situation to consider. This may be one topic or situation that will be decided on when I have come to know my classroom environment and my students better. I believe that if I am too lenient then my students can take advantage of a good thing, of something that was intended to only be there as a means of last resort. There is no way to fully prevent this circumstance from appearing in the classroom. There will always be students who want to redo something or earn a higher grade or even just want bonus points. But keeping the lines of communication open and really connecting with the students are the only ways to help yourself as well as your students succeed on any assignment or with any material.

The number one thing that comes into question when deciding whether or not to allow a student to redo an assignment, project, quiz, or test is the condition under which they did poorly in the first place. If a student has a hard time with taking a paper test and I noticed that they know all the material when talking to me, maybe an oral exam would be more beneficial. If they knew the material but a personal or another extraneous circumstance outside of the class prevented the student from concentrating then maybe a redo is the best scenario. However if a student, when speaking with me, simply does not know the material, did not study, and took no pride or effort in preparing for the quiz, test, assignment at hand- why would a redo benefit this student? I think it would be more beneficial for them to take the lower grade, suffer the consequences of being unprepared, and learn from their mistakes. The only trouble with this way of thinking is that some students may not care whether or not they receive low grades. This is when motivation and great teacher-student interaction comes into play.