Grades are coming!
It's that wonderful time of year--the first progress reports. For some students, it is the first indication they have of their progress in a class. Hopefully, that is not the case for my students, since grades are available on a secure web site. Of course, I get an awful lot of "failure" messages when I send the "grades have been updated" message. That means I have a lot of incorrect e-mail addresses.

Anyway, as the progress reports arrive home, there are a few things to keep in mind. First of all, the grade listed is a grade in progress; it is not set in stone and it is not going to be in the student's permanent record. There is still time for improvements to the grade. That said, students play a very large part in whether or not the grade will improve.

Another point to consider is that the first progress report can be a little misleading. There isn't very much in the gradebook as of yet. One missing assignment could cause a student's grade to plummet. Two missing assignments are pretty much a disaster for any student's grade.

Students have been coming to realize that they can come in for help and to make up work pretty much any time. For some students, just the act of coming in to complete one missing assignment has made a huge difference for some students.

For other students, the effort to speak French is making a huge difference. There are a few students in each class who are completely committed to French and who are working very hard to only speak French. This has already caused some of those students to be more comfortable expressing themselves in French and more comfortable when listening to others speak French.

Although not everyone will be pleased with the grades on their progress reports, I want everyone to know that I have enjoyed every one of my students. It has been a pleasure to get to know them over these first six weeks and to see the different facets of each student's personality. Every student has brought something unique to each of my classes, which is something I enjoy during every class, every day.