"I Love that Teacher!" #flipblogs

My Algebra 1 kids got back a test this week. It was a deep test, what I like to call a "thinker test." It was very accessible but also required kids to dig a little deeper. I really liked the test.

But many kids did not do as well as they would have liked. There was some minor panic amongst students (I always tell kids that I will tell them when it's time to panic!). I posted grades at 10 PM one night and had a student in my classroom at 7 AM the next morning to discuss her test.

I've been a big believer for several years in giving kids the opportunity to learn or relearn material they have struggled with. To improve their understanding and - in doing so - improve their score. As I blogged about here, I am a big believer in hope.

I have had an extensive retake and redo policy for a few years. But right now that particular policy is not a good fit for me.

I decided to try test corrections again. There are many test correction procedures throughout the interwebs, but I decided to go with Math Giraffe's policy.

(I must note that I still think grading corrections will take longer than grading new tests, but I think the other parts of the retest procedure were more difficult than the corrections procedure...maybe that's another post.)

Anyways...yesterday I returned the test and explained the test corrections procedure. The looks of shock and fear slowly calmed as students realized they might not be grounded for the rest of the grading period.

Today students came in proudly declaring, "I'm ready to turn in my corrections!" (They're not due for a week.) A few came this morning to ask questions about their test.

One student said, "I told my mom about the corrections and she said, 'I love that teacher!'"

It is not my goal to be liked by every student and parent. It hurts my heart a little bit, but I know there are those out there who don't particularly care for me. And that's OK (or, at least, I try to convince myself it is).

But it IS my goal for every student and parent to know I care about student learning. That I believe in hope. That I will do what I can reasonably do to ensure students experience success. That I have my students' backs.

It all goes back to that relationship thing. Relationships with my students are important; relationships with my students' parents are important. The stronger both of those foundations are, the more positive - and successful - experience a student will have in my class.