Accountability is one of those educational buzzwords that is probably
overused, but I am not sure if it is practiced as much as it is preached. I
think requiring accountability of our students is akin to being a fair and
credible teacher. If we outline requirements and ground rules and then do not
hold our students accountable for those, we lose the chance to teach real life
lessons and we also lose credibility in their eyes. I truly believe students
want fair boundaries that they can rely on.
I am personally quite strict about deadlines for assignments and make-up
work. Yes, sometimes I feel bad that I have to give a student half credit or a
zero because he or she failed to turn in the work on time, but they usually
learn after one mistake, then we do not have to have the problem again. The
student quickly learns that what I told them on the first day of school is true
and it is always going to be true. I think from that comes a degree of trust
for them. Of course they are upset when they get the low grade, but the vast
majority learn that as long as they go by the rules, they will do well in my
classroom, as in higher education and in real life.
I also think that by holding my students accountable on a very consistent
basis helps alleviate the perceived teacher’s pet or favorites syndrome. If the
students notice that the rules always apply to everyone, and that I do not
grant special deals with the “good students” they come to believe I will treat
them fairly, which is something we all want from our own superiors, right?
Now, that is not to say that there are never times to give a student a
break, of course. As teachers we all know that our kids suffer amazing personal
catastrophes occasionally, and we must be empathetic to real life challenges.
On day one I also make it clear that if there is an unusual situation, they
should tell me as soon as possible so that we can set about finding a solution
to help them meet a deadline or find an alternative that will work for their
situation. I think it is usually obvious when there is a genuine problem and
not the run of the mill “my grandmother died for the tenth time this year”
excuse from a student. My students appreciate when I work with them and
therefore, tend to follow through as discussed.
The other side of accountability is holding ourselves accountable. Just as we
expect our students to meet deadlines and follow through with what they say
they are going to do, we must do the same. If I tell them that I am going to do
something: be it check on a grade question, look up a confusing grammar rule or
call their parent about their test score, I better do it and do it when I said
I would. Again, if we want our students to trust us we must follow through.
As teachers, we often ask our students to bare their souls to us in their
writing journals and discuss their personal thoughts about what they read, so
we must establish a trusting relationship. Our kids often live their lives with
few absolutes, so I figure that even if they only see me for an hour a day, at
least I am one person they know will be consistent and dependable and they know
the rules will be the same, even when the rest of the world seems upside down.