Bally (bally) wrote, @ 2009-08-31 20:51:00

Current mood:	crazy
Current music:	Sébestian Tellier - La Ritournelle

Again And Again
Do you ever get to the stage where you know you should probably write a blog entry, but so much stuff has happened that even if you did a cut it'd all spill out and take over the Internet? Well, dear momentous reader, it's happened to me. So I'll start with the near-annual post I make on results day.

From the first of August onwards I'd been having trouble sleeping. See, by a quirky piece of luck, the results of all five of my classes were to come out on the same day: August 20th. I know it's pointless to worry - all the work had been done, and the hardest part of results day is opening the envelope. Still, there was no telling my subconscious mind that. Pah.

August 19th was the best. I set my alarm for 7:30 and promptly had trouble getting to sleep when I laid my head down at about 12. I rolled around for over an hour, trying to drop off, and finally made it. And then I woke up just after 5am. Goshdarnitalltoheck.

Once awake, of course, my conscious mind took over, and I stopped worrying. Up until I got into work, that is, when I met the acting head of department, who said "Brace yourself". He gave a few details of how the results were worse than the year before, and then said he'd e-mail the full results list to me. I waited half an hour before it popped into my inbox. Grrr.

It turned out that, on a personal level, things weren't too bad. The way I've come to judge these things is the number of nasty surprises, and there were none. I felt bad for a few students: the one who'd been kicked out of home not long before the exams, and had dropped from an A on his first module to fail overall, and the girl who missed the back page of the exam paper - which, curiously, held the easiest question of the lot - and failed by one mark. I knew about those, though. And there were some pleasant surprises, too - like the lad who turned his first module fail into a C grade overall.

This year I ignored all the inevitable news stuff about standards - they are, of course, falling - and spent a few days wondering about levels of responsibility after a conversation with a colleague who was adamant that we teachers shouldn't feel bad - or good, even - about the results our classes had got, because we are ultimately not responsible for them. Very fair point, but I don't think I'll be able to stop myself feeling some level of responsibility. Humph.

The other stuff I've been getting up to tomorrow.

cosmicavatar 2009-09-01 15:19 (link)

That's such a shame about the guy who was kicked out and failed after starting off so well. I hope he gets a second chance at it. I don't think I agree with your colleague's comments. Sure, teachers may not ultimately be responsible for their students' results, but they are responsible for them on some level, because they're supposed to have taught them what they need to know in order to succeed, and on that level they should share a little feeling about the results, good or bad. However, provided those teachers have made sure they've done their utmost for their students, that's it; the rest is up to the students themselves (unless fate decides to lend a hand for good or otherwise). At least, that's the way I look at it. I can think of good teachers who did their best for me and yet I failed through my own incomprehension (Maths!), but I hope those teachers know it wasn't their fault and don't feel too bad, and bloody awful teachers in spite of whom I passed, thanks to my own hard graft, but they still no doubt think they're brilliant, the arrogant sods. I like to think that you're one of the good ones (and one who helped me pass that exam I would otherwise have failed, which is proof in itself!). ;) (Reply to this) (Thread)

drummergirl 2009-09-01 15:27 (link)

I felt bad for a few students: the one who'd been kicked out of home not long before the exams, and had dropped from an A on his first module to fail overall, Oh my god, that is just truly nightmarish. The poor lad! What happened after he got his results- is he going to re-take the year? I'm glad things weren't too bad with your lot overall. As for what your colleague said, I think the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle! (Reply to this) (Thread)

callie_demeter 2009-09-02 15:00 (link)

There's an element of accountability to the teacher, but ultimately it's a 3 way between the student's effort, the teacher's effort and the support and good environment the parents provide. Which might sound an odd one, but your kicked-out-of-home student is Exhibit A there. You can't study and work without support and somewhere to live, you can't learn with a bad teacher, and you need your own ability to work too. I hope your unfortunate students can retake and succeed. (Reply to this) (Thread)