Redwood Teachers speak on what they look for when grading.
By: Gabby Vasquez
Teachers at Redwood High School from different subjects talk about what they look for when grading work. Such as Math, English, Video, and Orchestra, which are very different subjects with very different kinds of teachers.
Mr. Sergio Dussan, who teaches math at Redwood, says, “that the work is done correctly and that they’re using the right vocabulary.”
When Mr. Dussan was asked if he was looking for perfection in work, he says, “Yes. I’m always pushing people to do the best work possible. So I’m trying for accuracy.”
Mr. Dussan doesn’t believe he is a hard grader; he says, “Maybe harder [the way he grades] than other teachers.”
Photo Gigantea.
Dr. William Henshaw, the video teacher at Redwood, believes that effort is number one when it comes to grading schoolwork. He says, “Everybody’s at different learning levels, and so I don’t want to punish people for being less able, but the willingness to grow and develop is most important.”
Dr. Henshaw prioritizes effort, he says, “When students don’t try, that’s when I think they don’t deserve a good grade.”
Dr. Henshaw’s goals are for his students to learn and grow from his class and to understand. He says, “digital efficacy”, which ties into digital technology.
Dr. Henshaw says, “I think we’re so fixated on grades and GPA and not learning and growing and developing iterations, like fixing something and making it better. And I feel like that’s more important than [getting] an A.”
Mrs. Kelli Feehan, an English 2 Honors teacher, feels that completion does not equal an A. When grading, she asks, “How well do you analyze questions fully and deeply and thoughtfully and thoroughly?”
Mrs. Feehan also understands how students may view her. She says, “I think kids would probably peg me as a hard grader, but I think when there is a level of expectation and kids learn that, they’ll rise to the occasion.” Feehan believes that her students can push themselves to rise to a standard for the grade that they want.
Mr. Elijah Avila, who teaches orchestra at Redwood, says, “I[Grades are] all performance-based”, meaning everything is graded based solely on how students play.
For a playing test, Mr. Avila says, “Every note that they miss is half a point off their grade. So the more you practice, the more you mark your music and annotate, the more notes you’ll get right.”
Mr. Avila also acknowledges that he is considered a hard grader and notes that it is a completely different thing compared to a class like English or Math.
gabby vasquez
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