My Lost Battle for Academic Integrity

<p>Life for an American public high school teacher is not easy.</p> <p>Perhaps this is an understatement; it&rsquo;s more akin to a daily battleground of competing interests. Students want easy grades; parents expect nothing less than an A grade; administrators want to please the parents, and the teachers&rsquo; integrity is often compromised.</p> <p>Trying to provide a well-rounded education while meeting the demands of standardized testing, college preparedness, and curriculum guidelines is exhausting.<strong>&nbsp;Balancing these conflicting interests has affected my mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being.</strong></p> <p>I&rsquo;m toast.</p> <p>Why? Grading is a chaotic power struggle orchestrated by the Wizard of Oz, with some bumbling administrative lurking behind the curtain. There&rsquo;s no point in trying to understand the absurdity and the wizardry of a world where A grades are supposed to materialize from thin air &mdash; conjured by parental pressures and contributions.</p> <p>I speak from experience.</p> <p>I never was a very good wizard at this, which is probably why I was considered the toughest AP English teacher on campus. Grades were earned in my classes, much to the dismay of the celebrity parental powers that be.</p> <p>Grading periods always made me sick to my stomach.</p> <p>Sure, I&rsquo;d like to give everyone an A. As one student said, &ldquo;I tried so hard.&rdquo; This is why there are two separate parts of the report card. One for assessing behavior and work ethic, and one for academic performance.</p> <p>Duh.</p> <p><a href="https://medium.com/middle-pause/my-lost-battle-for-academic-integrity-ae559c8d1c1f">Read More</a></p>