Case Studies for Teacher Problem Solving - #19 Sarah Hanover
Sarah Hanover is a first year math teacher that has had no problems with any of her students. But one morning the school secretary summoned her to the math office to take a phone call. She could have decided just to take a message, but this phone call was from an angry parent. The call was from the father of James Kilson, one of the more outstanding students in one of her pre-calculus classes. He had an average score of 98 on his tests, but James never did his homework. She ended up giving him a B on his report card. This is where James' father comes in. He believes his son should get an A in the math class. He decided to give the math teacher a call to express his anger over his son's math grade. The phone call was very awkward for Sarah. This was the first phone call she has ever received from a parent that she did not initiate contact with first. The phone call was heated. Mr. Kilson argued that homework should not be a requirement to get an A in the class. James' father argued heavily on the point that high school students need high grades in order to get into one of the more highly competitive colleges. James got all A's on his tests. Mr. Kilson believed his son's grade should refl
In this case study, an angry parent initiated relations. If this meeting becomes confrontational and hostile, does the administration intervene? This is the first time Sarah Hanover has had to deal with this. She might have to bring in the Dean to remedy this situation. One thing Sarah did not do was actually tell James that she was having a meeting with her father. How would James have reacted if she did tell him? In my opinion, Sarah did the right thing in not telling him. The whole situation could have become a distraction to James and possibly the other students in her class that day. James probably already knew his father was going to call. If he didn't know, he would find out eventually. This is a tough situation because James is a bright kid who has a good future in front of him. Making relationships with every student's parents is difficult. If a teacher feels that they provide an approachable learning environment then they are doing their job. However, Sarah could have demonstrated better communication skills in this situation. She could have informed James' parents about the homework problem earlier in the school year. She should have told them it would have a big impact on his grade. Although this might ignite a big parent/teacher conflict, Sarah could have used subtlety and tact to get her message across. Near the end of the case study, Sarah was questioning her own grading system. Effective grading systems must incorporate clear criteria and standards. Sarah's grading standards were not fully explained in the case study, but in my opinion, Sarah did have an effective grading system. If Sarah is in any way uncomfortable with her grading system, she could have gone to alternative ways of grading. Below are short summaries of some alternative grading systems that Sarah could have put into effect (Hendrickson & Gable, 1999): "Parents and teachers who work together are less inclined to blame one another for lack of student motivation, poor performance, or misconduct." (Stone, 2002)
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2230
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)
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