I am vehemently opposed to politically correct rules instituted in softening the reality of a non-performing child. If a child doesn’t deserve any more than an “F” grade it is ludicrous and disingenuous to give that child any higher grade. Preventing teachers from giving a mark they feel is reflective of their students’ achievement is outrageous.
Lynden Dorval is not the person you should be firing. It is the very people who concocted a stupid rule that prohibits giving students a zero grading, who should face the chop. David Staples is right to call Dorval a hero:
Lynden Dorval, 61, has been a teacher for 35 years. He’d be in in the class room again today, except he’s suspended.
Why?
Because Dorval can’t in good conscience go along with a misguided new scheme cooked up by educational theorists and school administrators.
Under this scheme, it’s no longer possible for high school teachers at Ross Sheppard and numerous other Edmonton schools to give a student a mark of zero on a test or an assignment, even if the student refuses to hand in the assignment or write the test. Instead, students are given a mark based on the work they do complete.
This policy has been in place at Edmonton junior high schools for decades, Dorval says, but it is now making its way into local high schools.
Ross Sheppard’s principal brought it in last year. Dorval refused to go along with it then and was reprimanded. He again refused this year. He was reprimanded some more.
Finally, on May 18, after a meeting with Edmonton Public School Board superintendent Edgar Schmidt, Dorval was suspended.
In his letter to Dorval, Schmidt said it was mandatory for Dorval to follow the instructions of his principal. “You chose to disregard the requirements and thus repeatedly behaved unprofessionally and blatantly undermined the authority and responsibility of the Principal.
“You must turn in your school keys … You are not allowed entry into Ross Sheppard School or its grounds without your Principal’s permission. If you defy this directive, you will be considered a trespasser and charged …”
If Dorval doesn’t buckle under and go along with the new way of marking students who don’t do their work, he says he will lose his job.
I met with Dorval on Thursday and immediately thanked him. It’s not often any of us see real heroes, people who put their reputations and jobs on the line to uphold a righteous principle. Dorval fits that category. By refusing to accept lower standards in our schools, even if it cost him his job, he’s standing up for all parents and students.
I should say that Dorval is a reluctant hero. When I ask how he’s handling his suspension, his eyes fill with tears.
“It’s been pretty tough. … I didn’t expect to end my career in such a dramatic and sudden way.”
Education needs people of principle. It needs people prepared to go against the trend and fight for transparency and fairness.
Firing Dorval would be typical yet extremely damaging.
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