Teacher says she was fired for giving zeroes to students who didn't turn in their work

[UglyCasanova]

https://abc3340.com/news/nation-wor...didnt-turn-in-their-work-09-25-2018-134627104

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (WPEC) — A teacher in Port St. Lucie, Florida claims she was fired for refusing to give students partial credit for work that is never handed in.

“I got fired. I was packing my stuff, and I was not going to see the kids,” Diane Tirado said.

Mrs. Tirado has been a teacher for more than 17 years. The 52-year-old began working at West Gate K-8 School this year as an eighth-grade social studies teacher.

She says she gave her students two weeks to complete an explorer’s notebook project but says some of them didn’t turn it in.

That’s when she says she learned about a no-zero grading policy, written in red in the school’s handbook, stating, “NO ZERO’S – LOWEST POSSIBLE GRADE IS 50%.”



What kind of insanity is this? How does it help the kids at all? It seems like a ridiculous policy designed to inflate the school districts numbers. The superintendent can go wow look at the big improvement we're making! But then the kids get to college or work and it's going to be a tough lesson to learn.

 

[shortylickens]

Yeah the school isnt doing those kids ANY favors. Just making them soft and stupid.

 

[Stokely]

I was most of the way toward getting an elementary ed degree when I switched gears and went into IT. When I interned and started speaking to teachers, I knew I wouldn't make it...I have a huge problem with asshats in authority and the school system is a giant example of it. Hell I have enough problems dealing with pointy-haired bosses in IT!

It's a shame because it's an important job, way more than what I do now. Couple this and some other issues* with shit-for-pay here in FL at least and I was out.

*One of these was hearing about male teachers (I'm male) getting blackballed just for being accused of inappropriate behavior toward students. This was WAY before metoo. One guy got run out of the job after a girl accused him, she later admitted she made it up because she was pissed about a grade she had received...but he was screwed. Then you get into dealing with the parents....

Edit: just wanted to add that unfortunately I know that some schools don't have a policy like this here in FL...how do I know? Because my son forgets to do his homework more often than you'd think is possible, and gets a big fat zero for it.

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

https://abc3340.com/news/nation-wor...didnt-turn-in-their-work-09-25-2018-134627104

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (WPEC) — A teacher in Port St. Lucie, Florida claims she was fired for refusing to give students partial credit for work that is never handed in.

“I got fired. I was packing my stuff, and I was not going to see the kids,” Diane Tirado said.

Mrs. Tirado has been a teacher for more than 17 years. The 52-year-old began working at West Gate K-8 School this year as an eighth-grade social studies teacher.

She says she gave her students two weeks to complete an explorer’s notebook project but says some of them didn’t turn it in.

That’s when she says she learned about a no-zero grading policy, written in red in the school’s handbook, stating, “NO ZERO’S – LOWEST POSSIBLE GRADE IS 50%.”



What kind of insanity is this? How does it help the kids at all? It seems like a ridiculous policy designed to inflate the school districts numbers. The superintendent can go wow look at the big improvement we're making! But then the kids get to college or work and it's going to be a tough lesson to learn.

That's dumb, that would imply that the scale shifted so that one can pass with a 40% avg (based on scaling 70% as normal passing). Who on earth would approve a no-zero grading policy?

 

[pauldun170]

1. Florida news, aka Conservative Nutjobs paradise.
2. Me thinks she was fired for other reasons. You normally don't get fired for something like this.

 

[ch33zw1z]

Not surprising, all about those numbers. I guess running it like a corporation preps them for life.

 

[pauldun170]

Judging by that whiteboard message, I'm guessing she was let go for other reasons.

That whiteboard message screams poor judgement on the teachers part.

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

2. Me thinks she was fired for other reasons. You normally don't get fired for something like this.

I mean, I'm far more upset about the 'no-zero policy' than I am about her being fired for it. Something like that can jack up entire grades of kids until someone realizes how idiotic it is.

 

[dainthomas]

*One of these was hearing about male teachers (I'm male) getting blackballed just for being accused of inappropriate behavior toward students. This was WAY before metoo. One guy got run out of the job after a girl accused him, she later admitted she made it up because she was pissed about a grade she had received...but he was screwed. Then you get into dealing with the parents....

That would definitely be the worst part. Particularly getting them to do anything.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

1. Florida news, aka Conservative Nutjobs paradise.
2. Me thinks she was fired for other reasons. You normally don't get fired for something like this.

I most certainly believe it's possible to get fired for that. That's why it's in the teachers handbook. This is a school that wants to teach as little as possible, churn kids through the system quickly and efficiently and most importantly keep scores up so that money keeps pouring in. Kids that fail upset the apple cart.

I'm smelling Scopes Monkey Trial here. She had probably been warned about it previously and knew she was going to get shitcanned. That's what she wanted. Now she can get the debate, maybe fix the system and eventually get back pay for all the time she's out of work.

 

[Jaskalas]

School has a grading policy.
Teacher refuses to comply with the rules.

School has no choice but to take action to enforce its policy.

 

[GoodRevrnd]

That's dumb, that would imply that the scale shifted so that one can pass with a 40% avg (based on scaling 70% as normal passing). Who on earth would approve a no-zero grading policy?

Not quite that bad, but the district here does a "grade point weighting" between quarters to get your final semester grade. So you could have 0 for quarter one and 75 for quarter two and they get averaged for a "passing" D.

I bet variations of no-zero are far more common than you think.

 

[Meghan54]

What kind of insanity is this? How does it help the kids at all? It seems like a ridiculous policy designed to inflate the school districts numbers. The superintendent can go wow look at the big improvement we're making! But then the kids get to college or work and it's going to be a tough lesson to learn.

The only thing you need to know is....it's Florida.

 

[kn51]

lol. I can't imagine that job. Just teaching at a community college was a WTF moment.

 

[Homerboy]

School has a grading policy.
Teacher refuses to comply with the rules.

School has no choice but to take action to enforce its policy.

I don't think anyone is too cofnused about the firing itself. People are confused/angry/dismayed about the policy itself.

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

Not quite that bad, but the district here does a "grade point weighting" between quarters to get your final semester grade. So you could have 0 for quarter one and 75 for quarter two and they get averaged for a "passing" D.

I bet variations of no-zero are far more common than you think.

Well, yeah, I think that's usually normal, but the fact is you can still get a 0 for first quarter, right? This is sending the message that the minimum a quarter can ever be is 50, which means you've effectively shifted the grade weighting down so that 40% is acceptable as a grade for a D-.

 

[GoodRevrnd]

Well, yeah, I think that's usually normal, but the fact is you can still get a 0 for first quarter, right? This is sending the message that the minimum a quarter can ever be is 50, which means you've effectively shifted the grade weighting down so that 40% is acceptable as a grade for a D-.

When calculating your semester grade that first quarter 0 gets refactored to a 50. The idea is if kids blow it they still have reason to keep attending/working toward passing. Of course, now kids also know they can blow it and still pass.

 

[realibrad]

1. Florida news, aka Conservative Nutjobs paradise.
2. Me thinks she was fired for other reasons. You normally don't get fired for something like this.

Well, considering that St. Lucie is a majority Democrats town, that would be weird. 56-57% are registered Democrats.

 

[pauldun170]

Well, considering that St. Lucie is a majority Democrats town, that would be weird. 56-57% are registered Democrats.

Doesn't matter. Florida rules apply.
Its like news coming out of my neck of the woods where its all crazy trump supporters.
It's still NY therefore swings the the big D

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

When calculating your semester grade that first quarter 0 gets refactored to a 50. The idea is if kids blow it they still have reason to keep attending/working toward passing. Of course, now kids also know they can blow it and still pass.

And here I thought that either not getting my ass kicked by my parents or being held back was a good enough reason to keep attending/working toward passing. I guess these particular kids just need to know that the world will adjust to their inadequacies if they don't feel like trying hard enough.

 

[realibrad]

Doesn't matter. Florida rules apply.
Its like news coming out of my neck of the woods where its all crazy trump supporters.
It's still NY therefore swings the the big D

Yes, but we are talking a local issue. Just because the state is run by Rs at the upper does not mean local issues are not local.

This is almost certainly an issue of trying to boost graduation rates for more funding. I have a family member that works as a teacher in Central Florida and its a mess at the local levels. If anything, the Rs here want to give as many zeros and kick out as many kids as they can. This would not fit their M.O.

 

[GoodRevrnd]

And here I thought that either not getting my ass kicked by my parents or being held back was a good enough reason to keep attending/working toward passing. I guess these particular kids just need to know that the world will adjust to their inadequacies if they don't feel like trying hard enough.

Kids don't exactly get held back any more and most parents are either incompetent or working too much to raise their kids right (or both).

 

[[DHT]Osiris]

Kids don't exactly get held back any more and most parents are either incompetent or working too much to raise their kids right (or both).

I don't know if this is a generalization, as I only know one family with kids. They're pretty hopeless though, and undoubtedly their kids are going to be fucking horrible (already are), so I'm inclined to believe you based on anecdote alone.

 

[realibrad]

When calculating your semester grade that first quarter 0 gets refactored to a 50. The idea is if kids blow it they still have reason to keep attending/working toward passing. Of course, now kids also know they can blow it and still pass.

I would have been one of the kids to use this so I could slack off. I had a class in HS that was 90% tests and quizzes and the remainder was homework and other things. So, I realized I could get an A if I got perfect scores on the Tests and Quizzes and did a few extra credit things. I never did a single thing of homework for that class and I loved it.

Pretty much did the same thing for my US history class. The teacher offered a bunch of extra credit early on which allowed me to do next to nothing at the end of the class.

 

[brandonbull]

1. Florida news, aka Conservative Nutjobs paradise.
2. Me thinks she was fired for other reasons. You normally don't get fired for something like this.

That what happens when Progressheviks need to give everyone safe space participation trophies.