Vignette 5

In the scenario given, Joan is taking the position that the mark students receive should be based upon what they are actually capable of achieving and that work habits will absolutely affect the mark that a student receives, but that the two things should be separated. It had been suggested that the staff start to give quizzes at the beginning of class and if the student is late they will get a zero on the quiz, which therefore should motivate students to come to class on time. I feel that doing this sometimes is an alright method, but it should not amount for much of the students mark, and that exceptions should be possible since many times that students are late are not the student’s fault. This leads right back into the fact that grades should measure achievement. In all actuality, it is very possible that a student can come late and still achieve at a high level, but it is disruptive to the teaching process and is therefore unacceptable. Lates on assignments are also mentioned and I do feel that there should be penalties for late assignments, since without them, it will be too easy for students to put off assignments past the due date to perfect them and it will allow for too much procrastination.