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The School Act
Posted 6/4/2012 1:06:00 AM

The High School No-Zero policy has you talking.  A longtime high school administrator writes to say he thought he’d seen every stupidity that could be inflicted on students, but “The No-Zero policy trumps the lot.”  Let’s have a look at the Alberta School Act. bit.ly/KEctTf  Section 18 (1) e says a teacher must regularly evaluate students and periodically report the results of the evaluation to the students, the student’s parents, and the board.  Section 20 (c) says the principal must evaluate the teachers.  No where I can see does it say the principal is involved in evaluating the students.  If the teacher fails to evaluate the students, wouldn’t that be in violation of the Alberta School Act?  In offering an “incomplete” instead of a zero, isn’t that substituting a behavior for a mark?  We’re told the no-zero policy helps more students get through the system.  I'll bet it does.  More on that, tomorrow.

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Posted By: Bob Layton  

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  1. Cheryl posted on 06/04/2012 06:08 AM
    Bob, looks to me like another policy to excape holding those being paid to do a job well accountable. The lazy way out. And it's not helping the student prepare for the real world where not finishing your work is accepted unless maybe your an educator. I'll be keeping this policy in mind when they go on strike again this year as their contract is up for renewal in August even when all that money was thrown back at them by Ms. Redford.
  2. Kate posted on 06/04/2012 06:25 AM
    If more parents would talk to their kids and attend school council meetings they would be aware of this and other issues. I was on a council that had to fight the school to have the teachers send home homework. There was a push to eliminate homework because of concerns over who was doing the homework and interference with extra curricular activities. The parents attending (and there are so few that go) fought this policy as they wanted the kids to have the experience of studying so that post secondary would not be such a shock. Administration will listen to the parents but the parents have to go to council meetings and they have to talk with their kids. Another issue that came up this year was course recommendations, many parents seem unaware that 20-2 courses lead to 30-2 and if you want your kids to go to post secondary, most university programs demand 30-1 which in turn means one more senior course in grade 12 (or grade 13). Grade 13 steals 1 whole year of salary from your child. Education is a partnership between you, your child and the school - be an active partner!
  3. lynn posted on 06/04/2012 08:02 AM
    I would like to see the same "no zero" policy at places of employment - which would mean that I would still get a paycheck even though I didn't complete my work. (tongue firmly planted in cheek)
  4. Joy posted on 06/04/2012 09:01 AM
    The "No Zero" policy is just another way of shoving kids through school without having to actually educate them. My daughter was dating a young fellow whose reading and writing skills are so bad that he is afraid to apply for jobs now. He is working for someone who works around his inabilities. He is a high school graduate. I know older fellows who barely made it through the 8th grade with better skill levels! Why is this happening? I noticed that educators are quick to label children with learning disabilities rather than just find a way to teach them. I noticed that parents are willing to apply the same labels rather than dicipline or help them. It's just a big bag of excues that adds up to "Not my problem". Then it becomes EVERYONE'S problem!
  5. Lil posted on 06/04/2012 11:08 AM
    Dear Mr. Layton,

    Thanks again for bringing the rank stupidity of our "public education" system to light. (Or should it be called our Empty Head System?) As a former teacher, I can tell you that such policy as "no zero" is producing ... welll ... ZEROS! The dumbing down of students shows itself no more poignantly than with the "something for nothing" riots in Welfare Quebec. Of course, Alberta pays for most of the idiocy coming from that province. Is the rest of Canada going to subscribe to the destroying of our future and sell us into the "Nanny State" of Socialism and despair?? What the whole policy does, is allow teachers to be "incompetent" without accountability.
  6. Rhonda posted on 06/04/2012 11:18 AM
    We are not doing any favors to our kids by making them think that you can get by in this world without effort, but that is exactly the message we are sending by policy's such as this. I believe it's the same people that tell us we can't give out awards at school for excellence to individuals because it may "hurt someone's feelings" , or "you can't keep score at a sports game" ,that has also put in place this "no zeros policy". Do they not realize they are creating a whole generation of kids- now turning into adults, that can't cope with disappointment- because they have been not been exposed to failing because of lack of effort on any level. I believe this will not serve anyone well in the end.
  7. David W. Lincoln posted on 06/04/2012 01:32 PM
    Bob, I am convinced that the most harm is done by those who mean well, but are afflicted with selective vision. After all, their hopes and dreams must triumph over all opposition.

    The price of that is, they receive less credibility from me than they desire.
  8. Al posted on 06/05/2012 09:37 AM
    I'm surprised that the media has not yet tumbled to the main reason behind the "no zeroes" policy. Just like in business, "Follow the money". When students at the high school level do not achieve a certain level, the school loses funding, even though you have been chasing the student all year for attendance and marks. They can dress up the policy with words about "self esteem" and other stuff but it is really about the money. What happens at the high school level then drifts down to the lower grades as accepted policy.
  9. Mark posted on 06/08/2012 06:51 PM This comment was edited by a moderator at 08:20 AM on 06/11/2012
    Please, please do not be putting this blame on the teachers. Virtually every teacher that I know disagrees with these policies that are coming directly from Alberta Education and the local school boards. Teachers are taught what they are told to teach if they want to keep their jobs, even if they hugely disagree. Two teachers I know spoke up and voiced their concerns, that this was pitiful, and the next school year they were declared as surplus and lost their jobs. IT IS NOT THE TEACHERS, IT IS ALBERTA EDUCATION AND THE LOCAL SCHOOL BOARDS!

    Bob replies: I totally agree. The teachers are not at fault, here.
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