I did something today that I don't do very often.
I let my 1st period class talk me into postponing their quiz until tomorrow. Here are the pros and cons that I quickly thought through:
Pros:
1. We were missing 10 out of our 28 members for AP Tests or field trips.
2. Several of the kids present were taking an AP exam this afternoon and were thankful for the extra time to review.
3. I'd already decided that our schedule was going to have to change because of a semester exam scheduled earlier than I'd anticipated (next Friday!).
4. We'll still get through all of what I'd hoped (we're finishing up with limits at infinity next) and won't have time for more.
5. It gave me time this morning to get my random stack of papers graded (I abhor that stack. It taunts me until I actually sit and attack. I'd rather have 3 classes of quizzes to grade than 10 random papers.).
6. No major make-ups to schedule in the next few days.
Cons:
(crickets)
The only thing I can think of is that it's giving the kids a "day off". I don't like to do that very often because then they expect them... but at this point in the year with them taking multiple AP tests, I think I can sacrifice.
I've had an awesome year with these guys.... I think I can handle being a little more flexible with 10 days to go.
Oh, and there were 5 kids in my last class who were going to "die" if I didn't give the quiz today, so they're taking it now. I considered making them sign a non-disclosure statement before they started but thought that might be a bit extreme. Of course, I did tell them that I wasn't going to grade them any earlier, and after some pouting they were ok with that. :)
I let my 1st period class talk me into postponing their quiz until tomorrow. Here are the pros and cons that I quickly thought through:
Pros:
1. We were missing 10 out of our 28 members for AP Tests or field trips.
2. Several of the kids present were taking an AP exam this afternoon and were thankful for the extra time to review.
3. I'd already decided that our schedule was going to have to change because of a semester exam scheduled earlier than I'd anticipated (next Friday!).
4. We'll still get through all of what I'd hoped (we're finishing up with limits at infinity next) and won't have time for more.
5. It gave me time this morning to get my random stack of papers graded (I abhor that stack. It taunts me until I actually sit and attack. I'd rather have 3 classes of quizzes to grade than 10 random papers.).
6. No major make-ups to schedule in the next few days.
Cons:
(crickets)
The only thing I can think of is that it's giving the kids a "day off". I don't like to do that very often because then they expect them... but at this point in the year with them taking multiple AP tests, I think I can sacrifice.
I've had an awesome year with these guys.... I think I can handle being a little more flexible with 10 days to go.
Oh, and there were 5 kids in my last class who were going to "die" if I didn't give the quiz today, so they're taking it now. I considered making them sign a non-disclosure statement before they started but thought that might be a bit extreme. Of course, I did tell them that I wasn't going to grade them any earlier, and after some pouting they were ok with that. :)
Hey Kristen!
ReplyDeleteSometimes it is important to be flexible. Today was tricky for me too for all the reasons you mentioned.