This is a question teachers spend their lives answering. Today I am giving an assessment in the computer lab. A portion of this assessment was taken from an essay we read together as a class after reading Their Eyes Were Watching God. It was a scholarly essay with some difficult language. We wrote the most salient words on the board and discussed them carefully that day. They stayed on the board two more days and we talked through them again in each class. I told students they needed them in their notes and would be tested on them. Today a student came to me nearly in tears, saying that she did not do well on the assessment because I had not told them yesterday to study for this specifically. Here's how I wish I could respond: "Uh-oh, I didn't make it easy for you to jam the info into your head at the last minute? I wanted you to actually know the concepts based on the teaching, not last minute cramming."
Another student said she had missed the day we first discussed the terms. Did she get the notes from another student? No. Hmmm, is this my problem? I know I sound like a heartless high school teacher. Perhaps I'm becoming one.
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