I've been thinking about the fact that we will all be responsible for posting grades electronically in our schools. It is easy to sit down and think of all the reasons that I hate the person who invented power school and infinite campus, but there has to be a silver lining.
My younger brother has never been a fan of school. He is incredibly intelligent, one of the most charismatic people I've ever known, and he would rather hit his fingers with a hammer than pick up a book. For years my Mother tried working with the teachers to find a way to monitor his progress, and it was only through the daily emails and having my Mother sign off on his homework that our family was able to get my brother through high school. He wasn't as lucky in college. He failed out of two community colleges and eventually found a job where he is happy and successful. If it weren't for my Mother's meddling and constant supervision, there is no chance that he would have graduated.
So here is the silver lining: the annoyance and time will be worth it if we can get one more student to graduate. This is why we are all here. We want our students to be successful, but not every student wants it for his or herself. If I can have a parent or a family member fighting with me to save the student, then I'll take whomever I can get.
I love the positivity. I remember talking about this in class and thinking to myself, "But it helped my mom keep track of my brother's progress." I didn't know there would be such negative reaction to something that was actually a big help for many parents. Though I do see how parents and students can get a little crazy over their grades and how time consuming it can be for teachers, but I always revert to my family's positive experiences with posting grades electronically. Then again my mom never yelled at a teacher for not posting any grades either.
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