Sarah Maxwell Report Card Advocate

[happy atheist]

 "Captain of Flowing Streams Christian School Water Sports Team" is our newest post count title!

And I am a terrible, terrible person.

[mango_fandango]

1 hour ago, happy atheist said:

 "Captain of Flowing Streams Christian School Water Sports Team" is our newest post count title!

And I am a terrible, terrible person.

Is your real life name Steve Ray Maxwell? If not, you're not a terrible person. Not in comparison to him anyway.

[happy atheist]

4 minutes ago, mango_fandango said:

Is your real life name Steve Ray Maxwell? If not, you're not a terrible person. Not in comparison to him anyway.

I am not a Maxwell, but I am the fun killer.

[Trynn]

Keeping in mind that I only went to real world schools in kindergarten and 7th grade, I never got anything other a letter grade in each subject. I think in 7th grade I also got letter grades (not sure I still have those reports but my parents have all the ones I got from SDA schools.) and in kindergarten I believe I just was rated on a scale of 1-10 on things like sharing, learning my alphabet, skipping.... You know, things a 5-6 year old typically learned in kindergarten in the mid 1990s.

I started school in 1994 and graduated 2007. So that gives you a time frame. I am in the US, but mostly went to adventist schools all my life.

[happy atheist]

My kids got incredibly complicated report cards up through middle school, and then in high school just letter grades. Along with the letter grades there was a set of preformed feedback with a numerical code, so we'd get a bunch of 02 or 04, which translated to "works well independently" or "participates well in groups" or whatever. I don't know what the negative ones were because my kids never got them </brag>

[Jana814]

1 hour ago, happy atheist said:

My kids got incredibly complicated report cards up through middle school, and then in high school just letter grades. Along with the letter grades there was a set of preformed feedback with a numerical code, so we'd get a bunch of 02 or 04, which translated to "works well independently" or "participates well in groups" or whatever. I don't know what the negative ones were because my kids never got them </brag>

My junior high/ high school (schools are on the same campus but different buildings) did the same thing. A letter with a number. From what I get (I have a few dog clients who's kids go to the same schools I did) they still do that. 

[blessalessi]

Oh don't give Steve ideas.  He will devise a report card system that codifies "bad" student behaviour and cross-references to the If/Then punishment chart.

[happy atheist]

I just found one of my kids' report cards, and the reason I don't know what the negative comments are is that they only show you the ones your kid had, not the whole list. Which seems weird.

Maybe the comments my kids got are just middle of the road. Maybe there's a whole other tier to it: "Best in Breed, Science Group" or "Has Class Participation Super Powers."

[19 cats and counting]

When I was in K-12 school (1985-1998) report cards were a 4-1 (4 being excellent, 1 being poor) in K-2, letter grades (A-F) in 3-5, and percentage grades in 6-12.  In elementary school, each subject was broken down further and let parents know if a kid was getting concepts, paying attention, etc.

In middle and high school, there was the option for a comment (selected from a list as everything was computerized) but they weren't mandatory.

[smittykins]

I started kindergarten in 1971 at a small, rural district with K-12 in one building (there were separate wings for elementary and junior/senior high), and letter grades were used until fifth grade with space for teacher/parents comments.  Beginning in sixth grade, numerical grades were used.

[OnceUponATime]

ah report cards:

in early grades it was grouped by subject then key skills. There was either a 'needs help, has a small grasp, understands, excels' ranking system or a number system that meant the same. Under every subject was a box for extra info. Then there was a general box where the teacher would write something about you as a person (of the "your child has all the markers for autism but we will ignore it" type). We had no formal testing so no letter grades would have been possible.

Later grades/different school (and schools altered a lot by report contents/layout)

if there were exams to give grades from they were given otherwise it was kind of similar to earlier grades. With the one exception that this school in every subject (each was an A5 page) had decided that attitude/behavior was a key skill and was graded. We did have an overall grading (doing well, must apply more effort type scale) that we got.

K9-12 grades (approximately)

We got grades, but also comments from teachers. The breakdown was gone so no more key skills, no more behavioral assessment (unless there was a problem). I also noticed that comments got less meaningful later in the year (except if a teacher was recommending dropping a subject). The last report at the end of the year usually had "x has been a good student and a pleasure to teach". In earlier reports you would usually at least get a comment like "x should concentrate more on her own work instead of helping classmates. On one occasion this probably caused her to get 99% instead of 100% on a test" or "while general chemistry skills are good, x needs to put more effort into memorizing colors".

We had a 'homeroom' teacher (in middle/highschool) This person read us the daily school notices every morning and took the roll before we headed to the first class. For some reason this teacher, who usually never taught you, had to also write a page long report on you as a person. How they managed this when they saw you 10mins max a day I never knew. It was always full of those generalized comments that could fit anyone.

I started school in the 90's. I burnt all my report cards when I went off to uni, I enjoyed that

[Anonymousguest]

2 hours ago, smittykins said:

I started kindergarten in 1971 at a small, rural district with K-12 in one building (there were separate wings for elementary and junior/senior high), and letter grades were used until fifth grade with space for teacher/parents comments.  Beginning in sixth grade, numerical grades were used.

Interesting, same school type and similar time period, but we had letter grades all the way through. They did calculate on a point system for transcripts to colleges. But otherwise it was letter grades. And no 10pt scale like they use now. My son is a senior at colledge and I still have trouble thinking of an 80% as a "B".

[johnhugh]

Notice with the downloadable tits report cards the subjects are listed in alphabetical order so Bible is at the top. 

Dosnt Artist Mary's Art get graded Stevie? 

[bluelady]

I teach at a grades 7-12 school. Our report cards give a number grade for each subject, a scale (c for consistently, etc) for work habits for each subject, and then each teacher is required to give an individualized comment for each student. The guidelines for the written comments are fairly rigid. We have to talk about an area the student succeeds at, an area of weakness, and how they can improve. 

 

I can see how report cards can be unnecessary for homeschoolers, provided that as a teacher/parent your record keeping is on point and you're having ongoing discussions with your child about his/her performance. 

[VodouDoll]

It so Maxwell of them to say report cards are to communicate progress to the parents, never mind that this feedback is important for the students too. Who cares about what the kids want or need? God forbid Teri actually put any effort into educating them.

[prayawaythefundie]

Fundies care about the real world????? That''s new.

[CyborgKin]

12 hours ago, prayawaythefundie said:

Fundies care about the real world????? That''s new.

I think she was referring to a different real world.

[Jana814]

I think the only thing that Steve cared about is if his kids were able to quote passages from the Bible. He probably didn't care if they learned to do math, or science. Just that they are able to quote the Bible. 

Didn't Mary have to outline a chapter in the Bible in order to graduate?   

[Palimpsest]

24 minutes ago, Jana814 said:

I think the only thing that Steve cared about is if his kids were able to quote passages from the Bible. He probably didn't if they learned to do math, or science. Just that they are able to quote the Bible. 

Didn't Mary have to outline a chapter in the Bible in order to graduate?   

No, she had to finish outlines of every single chapter of the stinkin' Bible.  As she took longer to graduate than anyone else, outlining the Bible may have been a new requirement for Dying Trickle Living Streams Christian School.  Teri really needed to boast about 30 years of homeschooling.

@happy atheist, you are bad and I love you for it!

[blessalessi]

They all had to do the bible outline, it is one of the "school" graduation requirements.  I think I remember that Mary worked through one summer holiday to get ahead on school but still took 2 years and that summer to complete the final year's work.  

Maybe Teri broke out an advanced maths textbook and taught Mary to count as far as 30 during that summer..... and an idea was born!

[Black Aliss]

On 2/5/2016 at 10:40 AM, mango_fandango said:

Is your real life name Steve Ray Maxwell? If not, you're not a terrible person. Not in comparison to him anyway.

But if you're a good person, you're still going to hell. Only terrible people who are saved by grace go to heaven.

[mango_fandango]

On 3/28/2016 at 6:32 PM, Jana814 said:

I think the only thing that Steve cared about is if his kids were able to quote passages from the Bible. He probably didn't care if they learned to do math, or science. Just that they are able to quote the Bible. 

Didn't Mary have to outline a chapter in the Bible in order to graduate?   

That's part of their family mission statement, that their kids would have a "saving" knowledge of the Bible. It's mentioned in one of the books. I can't find which book it's in, but I've seen it somewhere.

[SPHASH]

Read Steves latest Seriously shit.

[iweartanktops]

15 minutes ago, SPHASH said:

Read Steves latest Seriously shit.

Can you post it, please? Or someone? It's not on the blog, right? 

[blessalessi]

http://articles.titus2.com/r-your-kids-missing-the-boat/

Quote

“R” YOUR KIDS MISSING THE BOAT?

This was posted on March 30, 2016 by Steve Maxwell.

Praise God, we still have the right to homeschool our children. I’ve met homeschooling parents who are very committed to having their children finish their schooling with mastery of the four R’s. In the current “feel good,” “learning must be fun,” “we don’t want anyone to feel bad” educational mentalities of today, solid preparation is sorely needed, and many homeschooling parents are rising to the call. Some, however, may have forgotten the value of the four R’s.

“Reading” —whatever happened to it? It seems like reading has been replaced with videos. Sit back, take it easy, and your children will be entertained and spoon-fed. Reading is the key that unlocks unlimited resources. Always be careful about what is being read. Lord have mercy on the children whose parents let them read all sorts of evil books.

“Riting” is a key medium of communication. More than just penmanship, emphasis on grammar and spelling is necessary. In addition to writing, learning to carry on an intelligent conversation is vital. Teri and I visited a woman on hospice and her daughter recently. They spoke so highly of the time Mary and Anna visited previously. They loved how the girls were such great conversationalists.

“Rithmetic” is thought of as less important these days with the availability of calculators. When is the last time you checked out somewhere and the cashier counted back your change to you? As long as we have money, we will need to know how to add and subtract.

Yes, I said four “R’s.” The fourth “R” is Responsibility. Often the most neglected “R,” responsibility is foundational for preparing a child for life. Every person needs to take responsibility for his choices. We as parents need to teach our children responsibility. Sadly, we are seeing the consequences of a society where irresponsibility reigns.

“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.” (Galatians 6:7-8)

Steve

We tried having a dedicated thread for the Seriously articles but it kept getting lost in the main snark board.  Maybe we could try again now we have the Titus2 v2.0 board available to us?