By Jerry Brodkey, posted December 7, 2015 –

Math can be a source of fear and anxiety. I worry about my students and my own children. How will they navigate these treacherous waters?

In my classes, I often see tired, overwhelmed young people. Students are juggling academics, sports, jobs, family responsibilities, college applications, and more. Some students’ families are undergoing severe economic problems. Many students are worried about grades, worried about not being perfect.

I believe that just one teacher in a single classroom can do some things to help. Over the last years, I have consciously made an effort to try to minimize student anxiety and stress while at the same time promoting excellent achievement and a deep understanding of the curriculum. What specific actions seem to be working?

Grades are a harsh reality for students and for parents. Even so, I can do some things to deemphasize the power of grades and lower stress in my classroom:

Allow Homework Flexibility

I always allow at least two nights for homework assignments, and students may turn in any of the unit’s assignments for full credit anytime up to the day of the exam. At Back-to-School Night, I tell parents the same thing that I tell my students: “If you haven’t started your math homework, and it is eleven o’clock at night, what I would like for you to do is to go to bed. Rushing through an assignment is not conducive to learning. Doing an assignment so that you can check it off in a planner is not helping you learn. Slow down, come in for assistance, work with friends, even turn in work after a deadline.”

I tell students that on certain days we will be going over specific assignments and that it will be to their advantage to have tried the problems by that time. If they can’t do it by then, do it later. It is all about learning.

Drop the Lowest Exam Score

I generally give eight or nine exams each semester. I automatically drop each student’s lowest test score. Anyone can have a bad day or be feeling poorly during an exam. Students always have to do test corrections and write a reflection paragraph after every exam. If students do poorly on a test, they are expected to come in for help and make sure that they learn the material. It is always about learning, not about test scores or grades.

Don’t Spotlight Grades 24-7

Throughout the year, I am constantly trying to diminish the importance of grades. Many school districts have programs that nightly notify parents and students of updated grades. I don’t use this. To me, these nightly updates overemphasize grades and cause unneeded anxiety. I do the minimal amount of reporting with regard to grades that the administration will allow. I post students’ grades the old-fashioned way—on a sheet of paper after each exam (with the names coded for privacy). Students can look at this sheet and compute their current grade. We talk face-to-face, not always easy for students to do. Parents are encouraged to call or email me. I try to always phone them back, discussing what we can do together to help their child be successful.

Offer to Write an Explanatory Letter

For any senior student who did not get the grade he or she had hoped for and is worried about how this will affect college admissions, I offer to write an explanatory letter to the admissions offices explaining the student’s grade. Every year students take advantage of this offer. Almost always, I can write extremely positive letters. Often students who get Bs and Cs are my most impressive students; they might be tackling a tough Calculus class when other students might never have even tried. A student who tries, takes responsibility for his or her achievement, and puts in extra effort is to be admired and praised. Do these letters make a difference? I don’t know, but if I were an admissions officer, they would to me.

When students ask me anxious questions about grades, I often find myself apologizing for this distorted educational world they must navigate. It’s not healthy; it’s not what learning should be about. In my own small way, I do what I can to minimize the damage.

JERRY BRODKEY, jbrodpmiler@yahoo.com, retired last June after nearly forty years of public school teaching, the last thirty-two at Menlo-Atherton High School in Atherton, California. The hardest part of retirement, he has found, is missing his students and colleagues, so he hopes to continue teaching in the future. Jerry enjoys hiking, traveling, reading, and sports and is looking forward to spending more time with his family in the San Francisco Bay Area.