SHOW NOTES: 

Hey, Anne here. Thanks for hitting the “Listen Now” button. I know there are sooooo many other things you could be doing with all your free time now. Glad you chose to spend some of it with us. In this episode Jen, Sharyn and I discuss how we’re keeping sane at home. Then we get into the good, the bad, and the crazy of Emergency Remote Teaching. Finally, I interview two “Teacher Mommies” who are navigating how to manage homeschooling their own small children while trying to teach everyone else’s.

We recorded this from our own homes (you know, practicing responsible social distancing), using a combo of Zoom (who wishes they had stock in that company now?) and the Anchor App which lets us call in and use our cell phones as mics. The audio isn’t always perfect and I had to do a lot of editing when the Internet quit or slowed or whatever it does when a bizillion people are all on at the same time. So be gentle in your criticisms.

In any case, I hope you find this entertaining, and informative or  well, maybe you just need some background noise to fill the void your real friends would if you were out to lunch with them at the local restaurants that are all closed up. Whatever your motivation for listening is, we’ll take it!

Don’t forget to download and rate us on Apple ITunes or all the other listening platforms you are using. This helps other people find us (as well as potential sponsors, c’mom Sponsors!), and help me, build back my currently devastated retirement accounts so I can retire next year, and not live under a freeway.

Visit our Website http://transparencyinteaching.com/

In this episode we start with a little about the history, the how and the why, of grading. (Did you know that grades were originally A, B, C, D and E?? Where did F come in?).  Then we get into grading practices used today and how they affect our students. We debate methods like percentage based, standards based, and narrative grading and how they might be implemented in real classrooms (How logical is narrative grading when many of us have 150+ students??).

We talk about:

Ultimately, we come to the conclusion that there is no conclusion about grading.

What’s your take on this topic? Leave us a comment and add to the discussion.

Leave Voice Comments here,  or visit our website at TransparencyinTeaching.com to find links to resources and other materials (read Anne's Rant on grading) for this episode.

Please rate us on Apple iTunes and elsewhere! It helps others to discover this podcast and learn about these important topics. (and, frankly, we just want to feel popular)

Link to the story sent to us from our listener, Maria:

Teachers are walking away from their careers in Alabama because of unruly students

References used in this episode:

Anne, Jen and Sharyn discuss why they became teachers and why they think so many teachers leave the profession. They give their suggestions as to what needs to change and what new teachers should consider when applying for a job. 

Anne, Jen and Sharyn share a little about what to expect in their off the wall new podcast that takes you into the "teacher's lounge" and lets you listen in to real conversations from real in the trenches teachers as they discuss the real stuff that happens in today's classrooms. Their "no holds barred" talk and frank uncensored opinions will have you laughing. while getting you to think about what your friendly, neighborhood teacher is really dealing with in the classroom.