Teacher not marking work

liveyoung

I'm looking for some advice in relation to my step daughters teacher.

My step daughter is 14 and currently studying poetry in her English Literature GCSE course. This started before the summer break and she had submitted one comparison essay prior to the holidays. During the holiday she had another to complete, which we did together and she worked very hard on.

Going back in September her teacher told the class that she had not yet marked the first essay as she needed a break over the summer. (I find this a little hypocritical as the students had been required to write an essay during their break.) They were then set one essay per week, which was taking a big chunk of her weekend - but she did, without complaint (on the most part) and with support.

We have received feedback from the first essay (submitted before the holidays) and the second which was due in the day they returned to school. That's it - 6 further essays have been completed and submitted with no feedback.

Apparently the teacher told the class that clearing out her wardrobe had taken precedence over marking the essays!

I would just like some opinions on how you would deal with this. I feel that the teacher is playing on the students 'respect' for authority. I am not sure how my step daughter is supposed to learn if she doesn't get the feedback on the work she has done. English does not come easily to her and I am most frustrated that she has been working hard and wants the feedback to keep improving. The poetry element of the course ends tomorrow, so not much help now, but I don't want this to happen again when they start Shakespeare after the holidays.

Thanks.

Fen1

Could you write a letter with all of the details to both the Head of Department and the Headteacher? Not marking homework, and then making lame excuses, is an absolute no-no.

balletshoes

okay, as you only have one side of the story, i'd approach your child's school and ask to speak to the teacher. No need to go in guns blazing, just ask what the plan was for these essays that your daughter's class has handed in. Were they all to be marked by the teacher and returned? Will they be? When will they be?

I've had an issue in the past with my daughter's school and a maths teacher, it turned out what my daughter had told me about homework had not been what the teacher had told the class at all, my daughter had just not been paying attention to the whole story.

tomtontom

balletshoes wrote: »

okay, as you only have one side of the story, i'd approach your child's school and ask to speak to the teacher. No need to go in guns blazing, just ask what the plan was for these essays that your daughter's class has handed in. Were they all to be marked by the teacher and returned? Will they be? When will they be?

I've had an issue in the past with my daughter's school and a maths teacher, it turned out what my daughter had told me about homework had not been what the teacher had told the class at all, my daughter had just not been paying attention to the whole story.

This ^^ Clarify things with the teacher before taking things higher. Have they gone over the homework in class?

liveyoung

Yes - I must say my first reaction was absolute out rage - but I also appreciate a 14 year old not always the most reliable source of information!

There is a parents evening coming up and my partner wants to wait until then. I would be happier approaching it sooner - I am welcome to give my opinion, but as her father it is his ultimate decision.

I appreciate the comments which are giving a consensus to how I feel at the moment.

Mojisola

liveyoung wrote: »

Yes - I must say my first reaction was absolute out rage - but I also appreciate a 14 year old not always the most reliable source of information!

There is a parents evening coming up and my partner wants to wait until then. I would be happier approaching it sooner - I am welcome to give my opinion, but as her father it is his ultimate decision.

I would approach the teacher now - if things don't get resolved he can raise it again at the parents' evening. Also, the teacher will be more likely to get things sorted before then to avoid a confrontation in front of other teachers and parents.

pmlindyloo

Marking is so important. Just have a read of this:

http://newteachers.tes.co.uk/news/importance-marking/45966

Having said this I have to agree that you need to ignore any hearsay about 'needing a break' and 'clearing out the wardrobe'.

Without doubt English is the most time consuming marking of any subject on the curriculum and, in the case of essays, has to be done on an individual basis.

I do not know how many pupils are in the class or how many classes this particular teacher takes but can imagine the workload that she has is considerable - many would say 'impossible' if 7 essays have been written during this first term. The marking and lesson preparation for all the classes seems unachievable.

I say this because it seems that writing essays every week is placing an unnecessary burden on both the teacher and the pupil. There are other forms of homework that can be done and then treated with feedback for the whole class, ending with a precis of what should have been included.

So I am wondering whether this should be the approach that you should take?

I do not know whether there is a Head of English for your step daughter's year. If there is, then this person would be my first port of call.

If you can somehow manage to convey that you understand the work load that this is putting on the teacher plus the lack of feedback which is not helpful to your stepdaughter then things might change for the better.

liveyoung

Thank you pmlindyloo, for the link and the advice.

I agree - it seems unsustainable, I have a huge respect for the job that teachers do. Something has just gone amiss here. 6 weeks to try and teach anyone everything about poetry seems crazy - but they have to cover so much in one year that it is unavoidable.

pinkshoes

As a secondary school teacher, i would say email the school (addressed to the English department) oointing out that 6 essays have been written, which each took a considerable amount of time, and would it be possible to have some feedback on these essays so that your aughter can have a better idea of her working level and how to progress.

I personally ONLY mark homework, or independent written stuff from class, as the kids need to see how they are progressing, or any areas they still need to understand.

I teach around 275 pupils, so spend a huge amount of my life marking!! (Currently at the inlaws house with a huge pile of tests being marked!)

FBaby

Is any of this essays part of her controlled assessment work for her GCSE? It very much does sound like it. If it is so, then I do believe it does take longer to be marked, and also it then needs to be reviewed internally, so it does take longer to get the final mark.

A bit dubious that a teacher would actually say that they'd prioritised clearing up the cupboard before marking work though.

peachyprice

FBaby wrote: »

Is any of this essays part of her controlled assessment work for her GCSE? It very much does sound like it. If it is so, then I do believe it does take longer to be marked, and also it then needs to be reviewed internally, so it does take longer to get the final mark.

There is no more controlled assessment for English GCSE's for current Y10's, which OP's daughter must be if she is 14.

This is the first year of it going back to final exams at the end of Y11 in the vast majority of subjects.