Timely return of assignments by BS teachers?

Golfgr8
Sat, 28 Aug 2021 14:05:25 +0000

Happy to clarify about Deerfield.

Here’s the story in a nutshell:

At schools like Deerfield, you are expected to be self-motivated and insightful about your capacity to keep on pace with the work. You are also expected to be your own advocate. Don’t wait for the teacher to say something like “PrepKiddo, you seem to be having a tough time so come to office hours”. Now, don’t get me wrong, there ARE plenty of great boarding schools with teachers who offer more guidance, feedback, and personalized learning.

Yes, Deerfield is an extraordinary place with an amazingly gifted, creative, and engaging community. However, Deerfield is also academically rigorous. The students there are competitive with themselves and sometimes with each other (when you get into upper grades). Many students have come from JBS, other private schools, or have repeated a grade. So, they already have experience with managing their course load and their time.

This is the other truth bomb about Deerfield: “You are at Deerfield, act like it”. Teacher’s expect you to be competent and confident from Day One. There are no “training wheels” for Freshman, either. Maybe it’s that cold New England weather that makes them icy? There is a level of maturity that is expected of students - that includes self-monitoring and self-assessment.

It was our kid’s experience that teachers just don’t give a lot of positive verbal feedback. Instead, the feedback is reflected in the grades and course comments. Don’t expect a “pat on the head” or “hand holding” - unless you are a FacBrat, then you get lots of praise.

In Math and most sciences, you will get timely feedback within a day or two. Kiddo had one math teacher that sometimes didn’t give back tests for a week, or longer. Other Math and Sciences were within the week - except for larger research or lab projects. In some cases, you might not “get your grade” or “score” on a test or paper for longer than a week. Again, it depends on your teacher. Some folks might get lucky and get a really responsive teacher. My kiddo had teachers who were less concerned about it. Especially, Mr. 89 because he already has decided what your term grade will be so your individual assignments are just busy work for him.

English and History often variable - sometimes a few days, sometimes a week or more. Depends on the teacher.

If you want or need more feedback than you receive, you must seek it out yourself. This goes for all schools.