Texas State Law

[Alphabet]

According to my World History Teacher(whom I hate very very very much), Texas passed a law in which Teachers cannot give penalties for late work(Ex. Teacher assigns detention just because you didn't turn in a project).
My W.History doesn't like it because even though the state is trying to prepare us for the college and the real world, and she believes that the no-penalty law doesn't prepare us, because in the real world, your boss will most likely give you a penalty if you turn in an project late.(fired anyone?).
I like the law because I still haven't my flash cards for her class, and I need to start working on some Hammurabi project. I'd rather do it right than incomplete, and it gives me more time to finish.

tl;dr What do you think of the law?
I like it, but I have to turn work in by the end of the six weeks, and I'm a huge procrastinator.
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If you can find the link to the law, it would be greatly appreciated, for I am too lazy

[miniPhil]

The law doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. I'm sure I'd love it if I was in school in Texas but I don't see how it prepares you for real life. As your teacher pointed out you will be penalized in a job if your work is late. Collages also penalize late work.

[Forgotten Show]

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/03/13/national/main4864057.shtml

As it stands, it sounds like this is simply a pilot project in a small part of Texas to see if it will work. It also sounds like this isn't even implemented yet, just something being discussed.


Bad Memory

[Alphabet]

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/03/13/national/main4864057.shtml

As it stands, it sounds like this is simply a pilot project in a small part of Texas to see if it will work. It also sounds like this isn't even implemented yet, just something being discussed.


Bad Memory
It makes sense, since my city(Irving) usually test everything. I hate being the guinea pig sometimes. We're one of the few districts in the US that are testing out laptops(can be taken home and doing most of our schoolwork on them) I'm in highschool but we still have homework. . .of course.
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[enchrimei]

hmmm... in UK, teachers will penalise for late work. At university, you can expect a certain % deduction in your mark if you hand it in late. If it is 24 hours late, you will get zero marks and not pass the course...

Personally, I would hate to be punished for handing work in late so it's a big motivating factor for me to get it done. But I also procrastinate too, so all my essays are rushed and I would probably enjoy the no punishment rule...

It's a good thing uk don't have the texas pilot law thing - I would never hand in any work if I wasn't scared of the consequences...

[DOOM!]

Detention is a dumb idea on it's own. Getting detention for not finishing your work takes dumb to the second power.

[Eris]

hmmm... in UK, teachers will penalise for late work. At university, you can expect a certain % deduction in your mark if you hand it in late. If it is 24 hours late, you will get zero marks and not pass the course...

Heh, in Sweden, I've handed in lab reports and stuff like 5-6 months after the final exam of a class. Got full marks. But this was at the physics institution. Physicists are hardly known for being strict about anything.

[Ryuuzaki HD]

I didn't do my homework for the last 3 years of school, it doesn't make a difference.

[Cobra Commander]

Do you live in Dallas?

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/081508dnmetdisdgrades.48e6cc22.html

[Wio]

My W.History doesn't like it because even though the state is trying to prepare us for the college and the real world, and she believes that the no-penalty law doesn't prepare us, because in the real world, your boss will most likely give you a penalty if you turn in an project late.(fired anyone?).
This is a bit funny considering how teachers' unions have lobbied for and (and have been granted) bureaucracy that has made it nearly impossible to fire a teacher after they teach a number of years.

Anyway, I'm a bit curious as to what "penalty" entails. I mean most of my teachers penalized you through grades as opposed to detention.

[Alphabet]

Do you live in Dallas?

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/081508dnmetdisdgrades.48e6cc22.html
I live near Dallas, specifically Irving. I'd rather not go to DISD though, they have very high expectations and they speed through subjects faster, as far as I heard from my cousins.
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[RexCars]

Students should be self-motivated, anyway.

[Eris]

Students should be self-motivated, anyway.

This, and by punishing students with detention you're effectively telling them that you also think that school something bad. After all, why would you punish them with detention of school was enjoyable?

[RexCars]

Learning can be fun.

http://crabfisher.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/reading-rainbow.jpg

[lilminx]

not everybody is self-motivated so sometimes punishing them is good. it makes the student work so that after if he wants to do something,he can because he has done his work,instead of thinking why he didnt do it

[Eris]

not everybody is self-motivated so sometimes punishing them is good. it makes the student work so that after if he wants to do something,he can because he has done his work,instead of thinking why he didnt do it

Actually, studies in behavioral psychology have shown that punishment is a very poor way of making people change their behavior. The carrot is almost universally better than the whip if you want to have any sort of lasting effect.

[Bluemoon22]

Wow, I've never heard of something like this before. I think it might be interesting to see how creative teachers get to work around this. They could find other ways to reward students for handing work in on time.

I'm a procrastinator as well. What works for me is to break things down and then reward myself when I finish something. Simple, but it does work. Lately though I've been so busy that I absolutely have to stay on top of things. I would also have to say, try to get used to getting things done in a reasonable amount of time so you're prepared for college. Some of my professors are more lenient than others, but most of them don't accept late work at all.

[Doctor One]

Getting detentions for late work is stupid but getting lower grades for late work is fine and sensible.

[TKae]

I highly doubt it's that they care about preparing you for anything.

In all honesty, this is probably to help raise the High School graduation percentages for the state and increase grades across the board. Just so Texas can make itself look better in the eyes of the country.

Shameless politicking...

Be grateful though. I'd want a policy like that =o

[RexCars]

There are plenty of excellent schools in Texas, and I'll leave it at that.

[Capernicus]

I didn't do my homework for the last 3 years of school, it doesn't make a difference.

I'm a teacher. In my class, not turning in your HW makes a huge difference:

a) you lose hw points
b) you haven't practiced at home and your skills/knowledge is weaker
c) you almost certainly will get a low score on the chapter test
d) you prove yourself lazy and uncaring so the teacher isn't as motivated to help you than say someone who has turned in HW and still doing bad in the class


Actually, studies in behavioral psychology have shown that punishment is a very poor way of making people change their behavior. The carrot is almost universally better than the whip if you want to have any sort of lasting effect.

This is true, but the current system doesn't utilize the reward incentive that as universally as it does the punishment incentive. It does on some levels (ie praise from teachers, scholarship opporunities, etc).


I highly doubt it's that they care about preparing you for anything.

In all honesty, this is probably to help raise the High School graduation percentages for the state and increase grades across the board. Just so Texas can make itself look better in the eyes of the country.

Shameless politicking...

Be grateful though. I'd want a policy like that =o

This is just stupid. Firstly there is large federal pressure on states to make education about preparing students for college/university. I realize that not all schools communicate this as successfully as others (ie schools in areas of low income or large minority populations) but for the most part it is there. Secondly, I don't think this law prevents giving a lower grade for late work but rather prevents other disciplinary action. Thirdly, you really wouldn't want a policy like that. It encourages laziness, procrastination, and does not prepare you to be apart of the workforce.

[Gjallarhorn]

Ain't no law in Texas.

http://slyoyster.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/clinteastwood.JPG

[TKae]

This is just stupid. Firstly there is large federal pressure on states to make education about preparing students for college/university. I realize that not all schools communicate this as successfully as others (ie schools in areas of low income or large minority populations) but for the most part it is there. Secondly, I don't think this law prevents giving a lower grade for late work but rather prevents other disciplinary action. Thirdly, you really wouldn't want a policy like that. It encourages laziness, procrastination, and does not prepare you to be apart of the workforce.

And the way they measure the preparedness for college and life is through grades. It's all about statistics that they can warp.

Politicians passing a law that encourages laziness and procrastination?

Yeah, that would NEVER happen!

[Capernicus]

And the way they measure the preparedness for college and life is through grades. It's all about statistics that they can warp.

Politicians passing a law that encourages laziness and procrastination?

Yeah, that would NEVER happen!
Where did I say that politicians would never pass a law that encourages laziness and procrastination? I said you wouldn't want such a law. Your transparent effort to grasp at straws in order to form a rebuttal has failed.

[Red&Stiletto]

I don't like that. I mean, if you're late, you're late. It should be the teachers personal preference on how to deal with such behavior. I'm not saying they should hand out detentions every time someone doesnt turn in their homework but I think if it becomes a problem, it should be allowed to be dealt with.

I understand that some people out there can not do any homework and still make A's in their classes but if a student isn't doing their homework and is doing bad in class, I think detention is a reasonable punishment.

Personally, I think school is almost a waste of time these days. The four-by-four plan, while insuring that all students are well educated, also prevents students from being able to fit in classes that will help train them for their future jobs or classes that they wish to take to maybe aquire scholarships or such. And I did grow up with the rewards incentive instead of the punishment incentive until I was in the sixth grade when they started making everything illegal and I can promise that the latter is less effective because I went from an A student to a C student. Now I'm a A-B student but still.

[TKae]

Where did I say that politicians would never pass a law that encourages laziness and procrastination? I said you wouldn't want such a law. Your transparent effort to grasp at straws in order to form a rebuttal has failed.

Better than living in a fantasy world where what we want and what we get are one in the same.

It's politics -- they say one thing, they give us another. I'm not gonna launch into a discussion about healthcare here, but let's face it -- tens of thousands of protesters against a policy that's being pushed ahead goes to drive the point home.

I didn't say it was what was best for anything. That was NEVER my point. What I said was that the politicians weren't caring about anyone but themselves with this law. They want their state to look better so they can get re-elected by making claims they improved education across the board.

And, because of the tendency for voters to believe statistics -- the worst form of fact -- they probably will.

But I never said this was ideal. I'm just saying that the ideal is rarely what's achieved, or, as in this case, aimed for.