I'm quizzing my kids on "Demand" tomorrow. They won't do as well on this quiz as they did on their stock market quiz. I'm going to have them grade their own. Of course they'll all magically get "A"s, but it doesn't matter. The threat of a quiz helps them focus, and they learn from their mistakes when they grade themselves (even if they cheat). Plus, it sucks trying to teach a class when half of them just failed a quiz. They seek revenge.

I like my grade system. I'm very transparent. My kids check their grades as soon as they come in every day. I rounded their GPAs to three places. Now, they know where they stand better. Trinicia Jackson in fourth period has the highest grade with a 3.75 A.

Barry Washington (AKA "Why I teach for America") has an A too. He failed last semester! It's awesome watching him excel. I wish him success. He handed me a business card the librarians made for him. He has a painting company. It's when I think about students like Barry that I realize how much the students change me. There's so much talk about how teachers change lives, but our lives get changed too.

I'm not excited about my lesson tomorrow. However, so much of a lesson is in its delivery. So, even if I plan a crappy lesson, I can still try to sell it with a good delivery. That's what I'm going to try to do tomorrow.