I never asked this at any of the schools we looked at, but I am curious to know whether it is common for a school to have an online platform where all the teachers assign homework. Are there schools where the teacher verbally states or writes the assignment down on the board somewhere and kids write it down?
At my child’s current school, all the teachers use the same online platform to assign homework so this is something my child has been accustomed to. They apparently have some type of rule that if the assignment isn’t given in the online platform, students are not expected to do it.
No @mairlodi, not all schools use online platforms for assignments/homework. Boarding schools seem to have more variability regarding technology in the classroom and with general administration. For example: Some schools do have systems like “MYStPrepSchool.com” or ‘PrepSchoolInTouch” for homework, grades, faculty info, records, etc. However, there is much variability in the BS world. It has been our experience that not all teachers use “white” boards, some use “black boards”. Some also make kids write their test essays in a blue book, some on a computer. Some use iPads for Geometry, while other teachers use paper/pencil. Some use text books, other teachers do not. Assignments may be submitted via the online portal directly to the teacher, while some teachers want a hard copy.
All different - not just by school, but also by teacher to teacher at our school.
I believe my kid’s school did use an online platform but because I didn’t have access to it, I don’t know what was on it. My sense is that different teachers used it differently. I do recall that one math teacher posted photos of the wHite board so that the students could actually take notes (rather than copying the board) whereas another encouraged them to take their own pics.
My kid’s school uses Canvas, which is the LMS of choice for many if not most colleges now. The school switched from Blackboard to Canvas at about the same time that my university did. Having used both, I clearly prefer Canvas. Either way, all assignments are posted and submitted online. Canvas also has a variety of tools that help stay organized, informed, and on schedule.
It’s the LMS of my college. But even then, it is not used in every class,which was my experience in BS as well. And it has never been my experience, even where the instructor did consistently use the LMS, that if an assignment/notice/etc is not listed there, that it should be treated as though it does not exist.
^^ Yes. My sense from DS is that even where the school uses a platform and it’s used pretty. Insistently by teachers, there are always teachers who do things their own way, add assignments late, or announce things in class that aren’t posted, so it’s a good learning experience for students taking responsibility for double checking and paying attention in class.
Also, different schools seem to give parents different degrees of access to assignments and all grades. I hear of some people having complete access to the platform anf being able to see every homework and quiz grade along the way, whereas we can see only the schedule, attendance, and we get mid-trimester and final grades.
Yes, though parents don’t have access to it so I don’t know what it is called. Our school requires all students to have an ipad, and so much of the work, is assigned, don, and turned in on some sort of e-platform. Parents get grades emailed to them 2x a semester (more frequently if your kid gets support from the learning center or if they are below a C- in a certain subject (called being “on progress reports”).
@hellomaisy I think that not having access as a parent is one of the biggest adjustments or readjustments when your kid goes away to BS. Coming from a middle school where you can have access to an online platform, see grades, see assignments, etc… - it’s been an adjustment. Your kids now have responsibility and it can be a big learning curve. Some schools give mid-term grades and final grades, but nothing else posted online. If your kid is not a good reporter, then you may not hear much. I hear nothing :-t
One of the joys of boarding school – you have been released from hovering over assignments and grades; that’s your kid’s job now (always has been, really) and part of the independence they enjoy at BS. You are now free to enjoy unlimited G&Ts at the club with Biff and Muffy and worry about something else, like which tennis or equestrian outfit you should wear to Parents Weekend.
If anyone really is concerned about academic communication, just wait until you get those first extremely detailed term reports. Martini time then. We’re here for you.
We’re in the category that gets only mid-term and final grades (and an occasional advisor email about something really good or really bad). I do not think my son would survive HS at home with my hovering and nagging, and I shudder to think what finals week would be like close up. Now it’s just a pep talk via text and “be sure to get some sleep and exercise!” We are all so much better off this way, and I think he’s finally gotten the message that I do not like surprises.
I feel so bad. I always lose the passwords and can’t get into the systems. I’ve never even checked homework before BS. But I do remind about long term assignments. I did check kids this year ( at new schools) just to make sure it was all good. Have been known to peek at online report cards before they come in the mail or kiddos have seen. I did check the portals to make sure no warnings or anything crazy. I do ask one of my kids what’s going on this week and how does it work with activities. Trying to help kiddo get more organized.
Does this make me a bad parent? I care about grades really I do but my parents never checked on us and we were great students.
To clarify, when I said I’ve used both Blackboard and Canvas, I meant that I’ve used them as a faculty, not as a parent. Parents don’t have access to the LMS at my kid’s school. We only get mid-term and semester grades, mid-terms teacher reports, and semester adviser reports.
I am told that in the olden days before the magma cooled and while dinosaurs roamed the earth, teachers used a chisel and stone tablets (OK, a black ball-point pen and card-stock paper) to report grades (hence the term report card) which they sent home with the kid (the rich schools sent via mail) 4 times a year for parental review and signature. That was about the extent of parental review unless the kid bombed a test and needed that signed.
I’m surprised that some of the current generation of parents has so much free time that they would want access to assignments and quiz grades.
@Happytimes2001 - I check ours pretty frequently in middle school, especially right now since my kids have missed some school days for interviews etc and need to turn in makeup work. I don’t think j peeking at it is a bad thing as long as your kids are still responsible for the all the work and communication with the teachers and not you! I will probably need to let go a little bit also, but it is probably reassuring when they are Way from home to be able to see that they are doing well!
Agree. Paper-based semester report cards is all our K-8 private school gave us until just 4-5 years ago. Then they went electronic (Whipplehill) with full parental access, and our obsessive-compulsive lives have never been the same.
I am not so interested in access for parents to grades and assignments because I do not have access to that now on my child’s online system. But my child has never had to write down or otherwise keep track of any assignments given by teachers in middle school so he is not accustomed to it. He tends to be on the disorganized side, so I may ask him to start trying to keep track on his own.
Checking on scores all the time at BS is not good for your mental health. As your golf coach I am advising you to not count up your score until you are done with the round [-X
DS’s school uses canvas and another system (maybe google classroom), depending on the teacher or assignment. He also has classes where he’s just told in class. I get this not from checking online, but because he mentions it in passing while he FaceTimes us and I’ve seen him check two different platforms (he has usually got his phone, tablet and laptop going while talking with us…ADD???). DD (middle school at home) also has an online platform/portal for assignments and grades in addition to google classroom. I don’t check grades/assignments unless asked to.
Although our lack of hovering has gotten us the occasional teacher email (never a pleasant moment), we’ve tried to be hands off other than what @CTMom21 does…make sure you get sleep, do you need more Kleenex, try Motrin and vaporub, lots of vitamin C…and the occasional ‘do NOT have me receive another one of those teacher emails ever again!’
