Reason 70 to HomeSchool: You Will Understand the Grading System

The school system in Grand Rapids, Michigan has a 51% Graduation rate as of 2007. That’s lower than Detroit, whose students often don’t graduate because they get shot and stabbed. And I guess the typewriters at the Grand Rapids school that make the report cards wore out the “F” key. Now failing students will be given an “H” instead. “F is for Fail. H is for Hurr”

From WoodTV here:

When high school students in Grand Rapids Public Schools fail a class this fall, they won’t get an “F” or an “E” — they’ll get an “H.”

“An ‘H’ is a failing grade,” said district spokesman John Helmholdt. But that new failing grade comes with second chance — students who get an “H” will be able to re-take the class or the part of it they failed the next semester.

Principals discussed the plans with teachers before Thanksgiving, administrators said. The district will offer Saturday school, after school or online opportunities to retake the failed course.

Superintendent Bernard Taylor said he district didn’t want to give students a “life failure,” because of a failed class at age 14, 15 or 16 — an age at which he says most people don’t have their lives together.

Sounds to me that Bernie Taylor is having one of those “life failures” right now.  When half of the kids are flunking or dropping out, I don’t believe that coming to school on a Saturday is going to fix anything.

Usually I’m pretty tough on teachers on this blog-  but that’s because they keep raping the kids.  But in this case, the teachers are being forced to give up their weekends to help these idiot children?

A lot of people are saying that this is a good idea because it gives parents a chance to notice that their kids are failing, and offers them a last chance to get the subject mastered for a passing grade.  To those people, I ask this:  What the hell are progress reports and report cards for, if not to tell parents their kids are flunking??