The grading system in some public schools has really changed over the years – in a major and crazy way. And in one Florida school district, the “new normal” for grading has cost a longtime teacher her job.
Diane Tirado is a teacher of 17 years who was teaching 8th grade U.S. history at West Gate in Port Saint Lucie. But she was just fired. The reason? She gave some students a grade of “zero (0)” on an assignment. That’s because the students were given an assignment but many of them turned nothing in, even after having two weeks to complete the work.
The school’s policy states that a teacher cannot give a student a “zero” grade. The lowest grade that a teacher is allowed to give is 50%.
Tirado did not believe a student should receive any credit if they turn in absolutely nothing, thus showing that they put forth zero effort on the assignment. Tirado’s rationale is completely logical.
Soon after Tirado gave the grades she did, she was fired but given no specific reason for being fired in her termination letter.
Tirado wrote a message on a white board to say goodbye to her students:
“Bye Kids, Mrs. Tirado loves you and wishes you the best in life! I have been fired for refusing to give you a 50% for not handing anything in.”
The school district’s chief information officer said the following:
“[There is ] no District or individual school policy prohibiting teachers from recording a grade of zero for work not turned in.”
But Tirado explained what happened at her school:
“The district does not have a policy for it on the books, they have an under the cuff policy for it and lots of the schools are doing it with permission of the school board. What happened with my school is that they happened to put it into the handbook in bold red. They have it in print but the other ones do not.”
Tirado also spoke out on Facebook.
“Teaching should not be this hard,” she said. “Teachers teach content, children do the assignments to the best of their ability and teachers grade that work based on a grading scale that has been around a very long time. Teachers also provide numerous attempts to get the work collected so they can give a child a grade. By nature, most teachers are loving souls who want to see students succeed. We do above and beyond actual teaching to give them the support they need. Are we perfect? NO. We make mistakes like all other human beings, but I know teachers work their butts off to help children to be the best people they can be!!!”
What’s next for Tirado? She says she is not interested in teaching in a public school again. And that certainly comes as no surprise. Who would want to subject themselves to such nonsense again?
Meanwhile, the public school system continues to lose teachers like Tirado and to make a bad name for themselves. And students suffer as a result.
~ Conservative Zone
this explains a lot about how kids act now adays. they are not taught to get the job done…that 50% is acceptable. so why put in the effort if you don’t have to. the school district should be ashamed. also, the parents that would allow a teacher to be fired for doing her job. as a parent I would expect my kid to do his/her best to do the assignment…if he got a 50% after doing his best…I would say good try better next time……………..BUT not to even turn a paper in????????????////nope no way
Approximately 50% voted Democrat…we now know where these brainless voters came from…and that is not counting the “resurrected”…
Haha
And people wonder why our youth expects to get something for doing nothing.
Pure and utter lunacy. This must be part of a bigger plot to destroy America. I can think of no reasonable or valid reason to “coddle” children in school. Raising a bunch of entitled , weak minded, people is surly not in the best interest of this country. Wake up America, stop this BS now. Vote GOP and put America upright again.
It is the policy of getting every child on equal ground. U can’t get the illegals 2 b completely literate in 1 or 2 generations, so u stupefy the legal children. This of course helps 2 control the “useful idiots”.
This is why I will never allow my grandson to attend one of those government indoctrination center’s mistakenly called schools,the real teachers are either retiring or finding employment at private schools and all that’s left is well it is what it is.
A district the mandates a grade of at least a 50 for doing nothing is a failing school district. I taught AP economics, and if I gave a 50 for doing nothing I would expect to be fired, this was very backwards! This woman did her job-no work, no reward. Does the district reward it’s administrators pay for doing nothing. Just exactly what are the trying to accomplush? A reward for doing squat is not a reward it is a bribe!
Facebook blocked this .
So just showing up is half of the assignment and half of your grade? When I was young, I didn’t get an allowance for just being there. I had to do chores around the house. Later, the boss never paid me for showing up. I had to actually work. Granted one must show up to work. But it is the work for which one is rewarded. One does not get paid to do nothing. So to reward a student for showing up is robbing the student of achievement, learning and growth. It is also an insult to the intellect of Teachers and Parents. Eh, but everyone already knows all this. So why give a reward for nothing. Hey everyone, come get your free stuff.
You know, socialism, they go and do what they have to, no one gets more than the next person, there is no incentive to do more, guess that is what they are preparing the kids for, so sad
Let the Nuns teach again. I graduated from Our Lady of Lourdes grade school in Omaha, NE, in 1950. I quit high school at the start of my Junior year because I was bored with the teaching. I joined the US Air Force, I took a high school GED and then a college GED and passed both with no prep classes. I have started and sold three businesses and I hold a Commercial pilots license. All this because the nuns at OLL made sure I learned how to learn. The nuns don’t worry about who they flunk. or who’s dadddy has the most influence in town. From the time the school system started teaching the “New Math” in the mid 50’s, kids are leaving grade school with less and less education.
What a shame. Sounds like she was probably a good teacher and there are not enough of them today!
While not a fan of most Unions for teachers and their Tenure policy I say thisTeacher needs to SUE the School Admin and the School District persons for WRONGFUL TERMINATION and to ensure no Lawyer will take their side of the law suit she should ask for no less than $1Trillion from each member of the Admin she sues and not just that much money but also all Court costs and every legal fee. This is the type of Teacher we need in America not the type we mainly have. We need Teachers who teach not those who pass kids just to get rid of them or they play sports. Sadly K-12 are not the only grades are not the only grades who do this. Many Colleges and Universities do it as well. Which is why many Pro Athletes are worthless to the work force if they get hurt and are unable to play. Sadly Parents are the drive behind this IGNORANCE of not failing Students. They are also the cause of all sorts of other IGNORANCE as well. I mean kid CANNOT play a sport they sue and it does not matter if the kid is actually good at a sport or not. The worst parents have Children that are good and could actually go pro. The problem is they don’t plan for the Child getting hurt and being unable to play. Now this TEACHER should not only be given her job back with a large raise but all Teachers EVERYWHERE that does not do as she did should be fired and banned from anything to do with Children including their own for life. This Teacher was right to do as she did and she should be awarded not fired. Children need taught the TRUTH that you CANNOT get something for NOTHING. This School’s policy of no grade lower than a 50 is why there are so many on welfare and other assistance programs. This IGNORANT policy teaches children they can and should be given something for NOTHING instead of teaching them the FACT that if you want something you MUST work to get it.
Teacher of 17years She is an veteran in her job Now, she is bad This is ridiculous !
I started teaching junior high in 1961. The textbook was difficult and over the years textbooks were watered down to such a degree that by 1995 they were mostly picture-books for children. Discipline was strict enough that classes could be conducted in a speaking tone; by the time I retired in 1995 the children were so unruly it was hard for ANYBODY to learn. Just one disruptive individual can destroy the learning environment and over the years my classes had acquired more than that because of the erosion of discipline…there was no consequence when a “student” shouts profanities at the teachers and shows off for his, or her, other lowlife chums. I wasn’t allowed to “hurt the child’s self esteem”!
Throughout my teaching career every day was one of enjoyment…anticipation of the kids’ reaction to the experiments and activities each day. Unfortunately, this became less and less rewarding, especially the last few years.
When I retired I left behind several years of unused sick days but now I won’t even substitute teach in public school.
This is the norm with public education. The administrators are so afraid of the minorities that they have hamstrung the teachers. We saw that in New Orleans in 1965 after integration took place. Instead of bringing the poorly educated black kids up, the school board dumbed down the education because of the radical uneducated parents. My elementary school went from being the top K-6 grade school to being one of the worst. So did my junior high school.
just more dem. bullshit that they have done to the country over the years. u didn’t think they just now started to ack this way.
What’s the big deal? Giving a student an A after they took no tests, attended no classes and never showed up for school is mandatory to qualify being a Democrat.
WHY AND WHO BLOCKED THIS ARTICLE?
Isn’t that the definition of “Zero”? The students and the board seem to meet that definition.
Iam a retired teacher from Hillsborough County in Florida (Tampa) I to was challenged with the concept of giving 0s when students turned in nothing even after giving them extra time for a late grade. So I developed the policy of grading as follows A-4pts, B-3pts, C-2pts, D-1pt and F-0pt. By doing this in our grade books a 0 doesn’t hurt as much. True is the fact that today we used grading software where some require a percentage grade. This doesn’t answer the question of what the teacher experienced altho having been a member of the teachers union cant believe they can terminate a teacher over grades like this. My understanding is that no administrator or supervisor can make a teacher change a grade since that is in her/his professional standards.
People doing the right thing always get screwed! I will bet a parent on the school board who has influence and money wanted her fired because his kid was one of those who never turned in a paper! I guarantee you money was behind her firing and I will bet some black parents complained also!!!
WHAT A SHAME. BUT, THAT CAN BE EXPECTED TODAY. THE BIG KIDS CAN ALWAYS TAKE UP FOOTBALL AND EARN MILLIONS OF DOLLARS. WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WOULD WANT TO TEACH TODAY.
THIS TEACHER NEEDS THE MEDAL OF HONOR FOR DOING WHAT SHE DID AND FOR TAKING THIS CRAP FROM THE ADMINISTRATION WHO KNOW NOTHING ABOUT TEACHING!
IT IS TIME TO REMOVE THE PRINCIPAL/ADMINISTRATOR AND HIRE SOMEONE WHO CARES ABOUT THE FUTURE OF OUR CHILDREN. IF I WERE THE TEACHER, I WOULD GO TO COURT AND LET THE LEARNED JUDGE MAKE A DECISION AS TO WHETHER THE TEACHER WAS WRONG IN WHAT SHE DID. THE JUDGE DID NOT GO TO LAW SCHOOL TO DO NOTHING AND GET GRADED, HE WENT THERE TO LEARN. IF IT WAS MY KID THAT GOT THE ZERO, HE/SHE WOULDN’T GO OUTSIDE FOR THREE MONTHS AS PART OF THE PUNISHMENT. I CANNOT PUT IN PRINT WHAT THE REST OF THE PUNISHMENT WOULD BE. GOD BLESS THIS TEACHER AND ALL THE TEACHERS THAT HAVE TO PUT UP WITH ADMINISTRATIVE BS.
We certainly wouldn’t want to hurt a kids feelings by telling them “No”.
Many (if not most) of our public schools have become nothing more than socialist indoctrination centers, where the only thing that’s taught is that socialism, and political correctness is the only thing that’s important.
If I still had school age children, I would definitely home school them, and teach them REAL history, and not the rewritten liberal version that they teach kids now!
This is the overall dumbing down of the American school systems, where the majority of children go to school. Here we are talking about those children who simply do not do the work! Of course, we are also talking about the parents of such children who also expect their child to be passed alone with or without effort! Oh, and most of them (if they can read at all) will at least, in their first time to vote, vote for the Dems who want to keep them stupid; they are much easier CONTROLLED when they are stupid! Some might actually wake up after graduation and return to study, learn, and not only try to be a productive members of society but prove they are not the losers in this nation!
My late wife was a high school social studies teacher. The county school system had a policy limiting failures to a certain percentage of a class. She always adhered to the policy until her last semester when she turned in passing grades for all of her students.
This Is What You Get When You Have Liberal Idiots Ruining The School System
In the school I taught in there was no policy regulating the grade on individual assignments, however, the grade for each term (report card grade) could be no lower than 55, even if the students actual average for that term was 25. The hope was the student would snap out of it and do much better in later terms so a grade no lower than 55 might allow the student to squeak out a passing grade (65) by the end of the year. This, unfortunately, was a hope seldom realized.
This is just another version that the political scene of today has merged into every facet of our lives. This is no longer a Nation of greatness, it is one of utter failure because, WE THE PEOPLE, are being taken for granted. It is not us who are takings our FREEDOMS for granted, but that we are being taken for granted by the Politicians, at every level of our government, local, county, parish, state and especially federal. You have a Senator from New Jersey who in his intellect thinks we should throw away our Constitution. He doesn’t understand that our Constitution gave him the ability to become a Senator, he doesn’t understand that this is the only Nation in the World, that has a Constitution that has lasted over 243 years. There are Public School systems that are trying to rewrite our National History, in their requesting historical data to either be removed or changed to a specific event or era in the text books utilized for that school. Now we have a School District taking a valued experienced TEACHER away from students, because that Teacher was teaching those students to be responsible for their actions. If those students are not required to be responsible for their actions as a Child, then how are they going to be responsible for their actions as an Adult. What will the Future be of our Nation if we only provide irresponsible citizens to govern the future of our Nation. It is time that we all wake up to what our Great Grandparents, went through with having the three “R”‘s, Readin, Riten, Rithmetic,, now WE THE PEOPLE have to add that most important fourth “R” RESPECT and if you want to add a fifth “R” RESPONSIBILITY. If we can’t respect ourselves first, then how are we going to get others to Respect us. If we are not RESPONSIBLE for our own actions, then how do we show accountability to ourselves, our family, our school, our community, our Nation. It is time for each American Citizen to stand up and be counted, our individual voice can be heard, from one person to the next, and so on. Let everyone write to that School System and restore that Teacher to her students, and I believe those students will become valued citizens of this Nation.
Easy ti understand why the US is ranked 38th in international academic ratings, and why some high school “grasuates” are unable to read?
This would make a rather important case for a “wrongful discharge” lawsuit.
What I find terribly interesting is the lack of proper English of the adults making comments on almost any of the article boards these days. The use of single letters, the poor spelling, the lack of proper writing style. This is supposed to be coming from adults with college education. Where did they learn to write? What happened to composition and punctuation? I am as scared for the adults as I am the children. How is a child that is not taught cursive going to read any of our founding documents? Much less sign their name. Our school system has been in a shambles for a long, long time. Some of the contributors to this article are proof.
interesting, the student may not be held responsible for their own choices and actions – so the teacher is held responsible instead
only liberalism can produce such counter-intuitive crap
I just tried to share this story on f***ed-in-the-head-book and it was blocked. Apparently being it is from CONSERVATIVEZONE.COM it “violates the Kommunity standards. Thank you markie suck-and-swallowberg, you pile of communist excrement!
THIS ALL GOES BACK TO THE PHILOSOPHY OF MOSTLY DEMOCRATS. GIVE,GIVE,GIVE, AND DON’T EXPECT STUDENTS TO EARN A GRADE. I TAUGHT IN DALLAS AND SAW THIS FIRST HAND MANY TIMES. GRADES WERE GIVEN TO ATHLETES SO THEY COULD PLAY SPORTS.
AND IF YOU’LL TAKE A STEP BACK TODAY, YOU’LL SEE THE SAME THINGS HAPPENING IN OUR SCHOOLS.
STUDENTS ENROLL IN COLLEGE TO PLAY SPORTS NOT GET AN EDUCATION AND THEN WHEN THEY CAN’T MAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL, THEY TAKE NON-SKILLED JOBS AND BLAME OUR SOCIETY.
Wow what comments. I made it through grades 1-12 as I remember. Some of the subjects were interesting, most things I just did with little or no enthusiasm but got it done just to pass. About my junior year of high school electrical/mechanical engineering subjects had my attention 24+ hours per day, alas there was a light at the end of the tunnel. When I retired from the Navy of 25 years I was an Electrical/Mechanical Propulsion systems engineer and a Naval Engineering Officer. When I attained the designation as a Master Training Specialists my hind sight into grades 1-12 showed me what a confusing hap hazard school system I had come through. To this day I doubt that the curriculum of our school system is no where standardized across all 50 states. A high school diploma to me equals You survived 12 years of some hodge-podge assortment of subjects which netted some sort of numeric grade standing but, did you get an education?? Bless the teachers they try. Hopefully one day primary education will get standardized, those whom cannot learn will get their own pick and shovel and a job and get out of the way of individuals whom appreciate the attention. Some will be doers others will press on as supervisors the rest will look to the future and design what we will use.