Now: This
Dear 7b,
I’ve been your English teacher for some time now, and there are lots of things I really appreciate about the class, such as the very good writing skills many of you display, the engagement with which you have taken on the recent reading, the helpful nature I see between you, and your ability to be both positive and enthusiastic.
However, there is still a long way to go when it comes to behaviour in a group environment, study habits and responsibility in general. Of course, you could blame the teachers and claim that it is our job to discipline you and force you to work, and I’ll agree that that is part of our job, but the more time we have to spend on that part, the less we get to spend on the actual learning part, which to me is the one we should be focusing on.
In that spirit, I’m now asking each of you to have a long hard think about how you act in class, and what your job and your responsibility is during lesson time as well as homework time. The issues the staff discuss when it comes to your class aren’t that complicated. Here’s a list of examples:
Not bringing pencils and paper or other materials to class – even tests.
Taking each other’s phones.
Playing games instead of working on the computer.
Not listening to or reading instructions, and then wasting valuable time asking questions that were already covered in those instructions.
Commenting on everything you do as if you were vlogging for YouTube.
Shouting out your own personal eureka moments or irritations as if you weren’t in a room full of others who need to focus.
Calling a teacher’s name repeatedly, when they are clearly involved in a conversation with someone else, and sometimes even walking over and literally standing in front of the other student to interrupt.
Not doing homework.
Leaving the classroom without permission, sometimes more than once in a lesson.
Talking during tests.
Looking at other people’s tests during tests.
Plagiarism.
Come on guys, this is just not good enough. It’s disrespectful to classmates and teachers, and it’s doing nothing for your academic success. I refuse to believe that you can’t do this, and I am tired of everyone thinking that someone else is the problem. There is not a single one of you who is in the clear here. Everyone can do something to improve the class environment.
For my subjects, it is easy to assume that the grades will be high, and although this is true for English, the grading criteria for Mother Tongue are closer to those for Swedish, and so require a much more advanced level. You just need to put in the work. If you miss class, it is your responsibility to check – before the next class – what you have missed and to catch up. You can always stay updated via Schoology (take a moment to show your parents your Schoology!), so there is no excuse. For the rest of term, I will not be accepting any work that is late – you will have new chances in yr 8 and 9.
You can do it. Please choose to.
Tough Love/Claire