Students' Responsibilities

The purpose of this blog is to outline some of the many responsibilities that students have.  The first one is to catch up on their work when they are absent.  Some students have missed school already for a variety of reasons and as you can imagine, we continue to work in their absence.  We cannot stop and wait.  Therefore, when an absence occurs, it is the responsibility of each student to catch up on ALL work that was missed.  In some cases this will mean using some recesses to do so.  To minimize this, some things can be sent home.  I recommend that a sibling or a friend take home work for the absent student when it is possible so that they don't fall far behind.  If a parent calls the school and leaves a message with Mrs. Fowler, I will be able to prepare work that can be done at home and ensure that it is ready for pick up.
The second responsibility is for the students to use correct oral communication because that will translate into better written communication.  Of course the students need assistance and guidance from the adults in their life, so I know that I can count on that from the parents and guardians of my students, since I continue to provide that in my dealings with the students (even though some are challenging me on this!).  I recently reviewed written responses that our class completed in Family Life, and in addition to the list that I posted in an earlier blog, this is what I read (the correct usage is in bold - please correct your child if you notice them speaking incorrectly):

• gonna instead of going to
• guy instead of boy/student/teammate
• till instead of until
• might of instead of might have
• could of instead of could have
• would of instead of would have
• should of instead of should have
• supost instead of supposed to
• you of instead of you have
• on accident instead of by accident

In addition, please encourage students to enunciate each syllable of words.  Some students are dropping the endings of words, especially part of the -ing suffix.  Some students say runnin' instead of running, for example,  and this displays itself in their writing too!  Finally, when referring to a sport or athletic event, the word versing is used incorrectly (this term actually refers to poetry and music, not sports).  Many students say "I am versing you tonight" or "My team versed your team".  Both of those statements are incorrect.  It is correct to say "blue team versus red team", "I am challenging you tonight", or "My team played your team".  I know that they hear these ideas through their extra-curricular activities, but please join me in insisting on correct grammar, usage, and proper English.
Thank you very much for your assistance, understanding, and cooperation!  It takes a village to raise a child!