Tech Ed

Middle School has meant a huge up-tick in homework for Emma, but it has also come with a new schedule. Emma goes in and comes home an hour before the other girls. She has been amazing at using this time after school to sit down, eat a snack and get her homework done. She settles into the new desk with a bowl of munchies, puts her ear buds in and get to work.

This discipline does not extend to organizing her folders, but so far only a few things have been lost in the paper piles. Her floor is generally strewn with folders and random papers and of course clothes. She has a lot of challenging classes and is doing very well in them but one of her special classes has recently been giving her grief. 3 days before the end of the term she came home with a progress report in Tech Ed. The report showed 5 missing classroom assignments and a grade of D. She reluctantly gave me the report to sign. I am proud to say I didn't freak out on her. She relaxed when I went over every missing assignment with her. 3 of them she said she turned in and the other 2 she said she missed due to orchestra performance practice. We sat down and she made a list detailing all of the missing items and prepared to turn this in with a request to make up the items she missed because of orchestra. She only has Tech Ed every other day and when she requested make up work the teacher informed her and the rest of the class that any make up work was due that day.  What?!?

Emma resigned herself to getting a D. She didn't see any options. I contacted the teacher. No mid-term report came out and the timing of the progress report did not give any opportunity to turn things in. I wasn't the only parent to contact him and at the next class he handed out makeup packets, which they had the weekend to complete. He did email me to say he found her 3 missing assignments. She also put in a lot of effort on the makeup packets and she told me he said "it looks like someone wants an A" when she turned it in.

I am glad we had this experience. I think it showed her that she needs to request work from teachers when she misses class, and that things can be done to bring a grade up. It also taught me that I need to be in touch with her teachers more often and at least a few weeks before the end of a term.