marcia wrote:
> I think I'd
> rather keep a child interested in art than discourage him by a letter
> grade because his art is not as good as Suzy's.
When I reported grades for special ed students, I had to fill out
paperwork to indicate if the grade was based on any special individual
criteria. I wrote that every student in art was assessed using
special individual criteria. The assessment must be based on the
progress they each made against where they each started, not against
Suzy's. I'll push Suzy harder.
I taught Middle School Art and never liked having to grade students.
I built a strong program, it attracted students. I motivated them,
I pushed them and they did superior work. They retained what they
learned in my classes and demanded the same from future art teachers
they met. I gave a lot of very good grades, but my students worked
hard for those grades. Still, I failed numerous students who failed
to come to school. The district wanted me to fail a student who missed
15 days (in a quarter). I found that a joke. If a student missed over
9 days in a quarter, I failed them. That's one day a week out of class.
I told them day one what my policy was. Many who had attendance problems
kept checking my records to be sure not to miss too much. As I told
them, if I was an employer they would be fired well before that. Of
course I made exceptions for students in the hospital or if they broke
a leg, and once in a while for a student who went the extra mile to
make up work. Art is about the experience and participation. You must
be there to participate. I don't fault a math teacher who passes a
student who masters the concepts and missed school every other day.
Art is unique, let's keep it that way.
Woody, Retired in Albuquerque
