Tired of this......

I wish this was hypothetical.

I have a senior student, we'll call him Bill.
Bill is in an advanced studio class, which should be a signal he like art and has done some of the previous classes successfully. Bill stopped working in the middle of the first semester. He didn't do half of the projects and didn't turn in the digital portfolio, which is the semester exam. This semester I emailed parents, counselors and principals that the student was over-engaged with his phone and wasn't working in class. My previous interaction with parents and administrators led to nothing but more aggression, so I decided to shape the class where the student could work as he chose, as long as he turned in work. I gave three weeks worth of project and allowed students to work in any order they chose as long as a project was turned in every week.

He turned in nothing, but spent plenty of time on his phone. When I asked what preparation work he had done, he replied he was working at home. The end of the semester is here and he has produced nothing and has one of the lowest scores I've ever given. I don't know what more a teacher can do than give students assignments and expect them to turn in work. I try to design engaging pieces. We did covers for CD's and poster sized printouts. And yet somehow in spite of that I fear the blame will fall on me.

Just last week the mandate went out for all students to upload work to their portfolios (not the art one-the one they are supposed to keep as "a district of innovation." And when said students hadn't uploaded work, it was blamed on teachers. I presented information three times. Yet it appears that students are to bear no burden for their work or their responsibilities.