Posted on 01/02/2003 3:41:05 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
Inside Dan Rawlins' classroom hangs a small sign posted by a former student:
"Beware of his smile, for it spells doom."
Rawlins, a former Emory University professor now teaching biology at Gwinnett County's Brookwood High School, is so ruthless in his grading, so unyielding to cries for mercy, students who have never gotten a grade lower than an A-minus struggle just to pass.
Inside Rawlins' classroom, the bendable rules that have carried so many students through 10 years of schooling no longer apply.
"I don't give them any credit for trying," Rawlins said. "I grade them on whether they get the right answer."
Tough teachers are scattered around metro Atlanta, their reputations looming large as a high school football stadium. Some spark fear for the volume of work they assign, others for refusing to accept papers turned in 15 minutes -- or seconds -- too late.
Despite political pressure to raise standards for all students, truly tough teachers are generally the exception rather than the norm in Georgia classrooms.
Often seen as eccentrics, legendary tough teachers may be ostracized by parents, principals and even other teachers, because so much is at stake. The HOPE scholarship promises a free college education to students with a B average, making every C a cause for panic. Parents, well-meaning but often guilt-ridden because they work long hours, want to make life easy for their children, teachers and principals say. They pressure tough teachers to soften their standards and even to change grades.
Tim Callahan of the Professional Association of Georgia Educators, the state's largest teacher organization, is well acquainted with the problem.
"What a teacher has to do is be fair and upfront about the requirements of the course," he said. "You've got to ask for parent participation as well."
In some cases where a tough teacher stands firm against a parent, lawyers have to get involved, Callahan said. The outcome of the case often rests on how clearly the teacher spelled out expectations to the student.
Earned reputations
Marie Bidegain, a French teacher at Marietta High School, assures her students on the first day that the stories are true about how hard her course is. A teacher in the school's rigorous International Baccalaureate program, Bidegain rarely gives a grade higher than 95.
"No one is perfect," she said. "Since French is my native language, I think I've mastered it. But for a student to master it, it's unlikely."
Bidegain assigns hours of homework and packs her 90-minute class period with instruction. In her advanced class, she teaches a novel written in French by a Belgian author set in Japan. Not without a fun side, Bidegain sometimes serves sushi at 7:30 a.m. Her 2001 graduating seniors brought her roses on the last day of school.
Like Rawlins, Bidegain refuses to issue grades that her students haven't earned.
"Teachers will avoid conflict to make children feel good. We want to make people happy so we pass those kids," she said. "This is wrong."
At Tri-Cities High School in south Fulton County, Karen Morgan's students don't budge when the bell rings. They wait for Morgan to dismiss them. Seemingly small things can set Morgan off: students arriving to class without pencil and paper, misspelled words, papers with frayed edges and whining.
"I'm old school," Morgan said. "The only difference between me and a witch is I don't have a broom. I drive a Camaro."
Stacey Hall, 18, said Morgan's workload seemed unreasonable until she got to Georgia Perimeter College.
"She teaches like a college professor," said Hall, who is studying computer science. "We were required to have a notebook with dividers, to take notes, to know definitions and how to spell. She piled the work on us. . . . Ms. Morgan is what you call a teacher who gives tough love."
Morgan said the students who think she is stern often have no rules or boundaries at home. The very students who claim to dread her class are the ones who return to her classroom to hang out after the last bell rings.
Hall said Morgan's tough demeanor is offset by the concern she shows for her students, especially those who don't think they are college material.
"If it wasn't for her," Hall said, "I wouldn't have made it through high school."
For Rawlins, the Brookwood High School teacher, resistance from students and parents is not a big deal.
"If you're going to have a challenging course, you're going to have conflict," said Rawlins, who has a doctorate in microbiology and applies his teaching principles in his other role as feared and respected soccer coach.
To a class of ninth-graders who are designated as "gifted," Rawlins gives fill-in-the-blank tests without a list of words to choose from. "Your word bank is up here," he says, pointing to his temple.
"We're not special enough to get a word bank," a freshman groans. Rawlins flashes his trademark smile of doom.
Nor does Rawlins mind that at Brookwood's annual charity event, where students pay 10 bucks to throw a pie in a teacher's face, he is the most popular target.
Rawlins' affirmation comes from students who appreciate him once they get to college.
Truly college prep
Christen Pirkle, 18, says she hasn't had to pull an all-nighter yet at Emory University, because Rawlins prepared her so well. "I took the hardest classes at Brookwood you could possibly take," Pirkle said. "I was pushed so much more in his class than any other."
At first, Rawlins' demands frustrated Pirkle. In tears, she stopped by his class after school and asked why he was so hard on her. "He told me in college I would be pushed," said Pirkle, who is studying pre-med. "He needed to show me how hard I would need to work."
Sarah Ford, a freshman at the University of South Florida, sent Rawlins an e-mail recently. "I have taken two bio tests and found out my scores. All I can say is, THANK YOU!!!"
She added: "You were the most intellectually influential teacher of my life."
So what? SOP when I was coming up, but it's been a while. School is just a means to an end, not a way of life. Pass the class and move on.
IIRC, Neil Boortz says it's $13,000 per year in public schools, and a top of the line private school is $6,500 in Atlanta...
In the time we have lived in this house, property taxes- which are driven by the school board- have quadrupled, while Georgia has sunk from 48th to 49th to 50th ranking in schools nationwide.
No, we aren't getting a good return on our "investment..."
Can't tell you how many kids I got in the Army that had never been told "No" and had it mean something. Most thrive under discipline, even crave it once they get a taste.
Free college education? The HOPE scholarship needs to rethink their "promise". They need to make it clear that their offer is to pay for the college eduction of students who work hard enough to EARN a B average, while taking challenging and rigorous classes, not a free lunch for those who find the whimpiest courses or whose parents can bully a teacher into watering down their standards.
And, while we're on the topic of parents, I've seen the type of "parent" who wants to "make life easy" for their child. They actually want to make it easy on themselves. A child learns to work and earn rewards from their parents. It's hard work to teach a child this important lesson. It's a lot easier just to let them do whatever they want and give in when they whine about it not being fair.
Cudos to the tough teachers and shame to those parents who are too ignorant to appreciate them.
FP
I was carrying a 4.0 average my first year and her class was a requirement. She addressed the class on the first day of the semester and informed us that, "If you do everything that is required of you, you will receive a 'C' in this class." She continued and closed by saying "I have not given an 'A' in six semesters." Afterward I went crawling to my guidance counselor asking for a different instructor, only to learn that she was the only one teaching that class.
At the end of the semester, she called me down front and reminded the class that she had not given an “A” in six semesters, until now. She also told me that I was the only writer out of all of the students that she had taught in the past four years. I was completely shocked, because I never felt that I had any aptitude for writing. I give her credit for helping me realize my potential, and helping me to improve my self-esteem. After graduating Suma-Cum-Laude, I presented her and her with a gift certificate for dinner at a very exclusive restaurant.
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