The Pizza Story

The Pizza Story, A Cautionary Tale

Once upon a time, in a pizza shop far, far away, pizza makers made pizzas. Not just ordinary pizzas, but extra-deluxe pizzas with tons of toppings, including chocolate sprinkles.

Each pizza shop made a different type of extra-deluxe pizza, depending on the tastes and experiences of the pizza maker.

Then came state pizza standards, and the pizza expectations changed. 

“Extra-deluxe pizza is way too much — no extras like chocolate sprinkles! Making deluxe pizza is OK, but you should all try to make the same deluxe pizza.”  

“Hmm…” thought the pizza makers, “Chocolate sprinkles probably don’t belong on a pizza anyway, but why does our pizza have to be the same as another shop’s pizza?” 

Soon, though, the pizza makers adjusted to making deluxe pizzas according to the same recipe. It wasn’t too bad — there was still a lot of pizza variety and creativity.

Then came district pizza essentials, and the pizza expectations changed again. 

“Deluxe pizza is too much — all those toppings are non-essential (too fancy, too expensive, non-standardized, not very SMART…). Get rid of the toppings and focus on the essential pizza.”  

“That seems kinda harsh,” thought the pizza makers, but eventually they learned to focus on just the essential, no-frills pizza: crust, sauce, and cheese. 

Occasionally, the pizza makers still had enough time to dust the surface of the pizza with a few chopped herbs or red pepper flakes to make the pizza more tasty. 

Then came competition from other industries demanding time and space inside the pizza shop, and the pizza expectations changed again. 

• “What about something to drink? You can’t serve pizza without a drink. Make sure that you serve some water with the pizza (essential, no-frills water, of course).”
• “What about some fruits and vegetables to go with that pizza?”
• “What about events before and after the pizza?”
• “What about dessert?”
• “What about a nap?”
• “What about non-pizza announcements and presentations?”

The list of pizza competitors grew and grew, adding tremendous pressure to the pizza makers’ daily expectations and routines. How would all of this affect the customers?

With myriad demands from different stakeholders both inside and outside the pizza shop, making quality pizzas has become an extraordinary challenge, requiring pizza makers to cut into the very essence of pizza itself. The choices pizza makers face today are limited and often paradoxical — ultimately they make no one (except maybe the crust, sauce, and cheese corporations and their lobbyists) happy…

“I guess I’ll just have to take away something from the essential pizza,” says the pizza maker. But if you take away the crust, sauce, or cheese, it’s no longer a pizza. What happens when a pizza is no longer a pizza? 

“I’ll serve smaller pizzas,” says the pizza maker. But then customers only get a small bite, and leave feeling hungry. It’s better than nothing, right? What happens when customers are deprived of their recommended daily serving of pizza? 

“I’ll hand out the essential pizza ingredients in the pizza shop, then have my customers bake the pizza at home. We’ll call it the Homework Pizza,” says the pizza maker. But it takes hours to bake pizzas at home, some customers don’t have pizza ovens, and some customers prefer going out to other restaurants rather than staying home and baking pizza. What happens when customers balk at having too much pizza homework? 

“I’ll ask my customers to gather the essential ingredients, bake, and eat the pizza at home, then we can discuss the pizza in the pizza shop tomorrow. We’ll call it the Flipped Pizza,” says the pizza maker. But then the pizza shop is no longer necessary. What happens when no one makes pizza and just wants dessert? 

“My customers didn’t show up today, so I’ll excuse them from their daily pizza,” says the pizza maker. But then we starve our customers. What do we do for customers who frequently miss their essential pizza shop visits?

It’s really tough being a pizza maker these days. I feel sad for the pizza makers and their customers. I hope stuff like this doesn’t happen in schools…

Confronting the Missing Assignments Monster

Missing assignments have long been a problem at our school—students choosing for a variety of reasons to just not turn in their schoolwork. It's a frustrating, vexing conundrum that saps time and energy from our learning environment. I've thought about and researched the problem ad nauseam; while there is no quick-fix solution, I've drafted a document that will hopefully help rein in some of the rampant missing assignments that plague our school.

Please don't feed
the Missing Assignments Monster

The document I'm sharing evolved from many hours of discussions among the teachers at our school—during team meetings, department meetings, staff meetings, etc. The purpose of this document is to help clarify the shared expectations and responsibilities among students, parents, and teachers at our school so that the business of learning can rightfully be the focus of our efforts and energy. While this document alone cannot eliminate every missing assignment, it is one piece of a complex systemic puzzle that seeks to rebalance the learning equation in our school.

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Confronting the Missing Assignments Monster

As students become more independent in their middle school years, missing assignments can sometimes become a problem. It is important that students, parents, and teachers work together to ensure that missing assignments do not compromise our learning time and become a persistent educational challenge.

Students usually have missing assignments for one or more of the following basic reasons:

• Not using class time wisely and/or not finishing/completing assignments (distractions, socializing)
• Not finishing assignments at home (“I don’t have any homework” excuse)
• Not turning in assignments because of forgetfulness (planning, organization)
• Not turning in assignments because of avoidance (confusion, embarrassment, power struggle)
• Not making up assignments after being absent (out of sight, out of mind)

For Students: What do I do if I have missing assignments?

Missing assignments do not go away magically—you must apply energy and work to eliminate them:

• Be honest about missing assignments with your parents and teachers—do not lie, make excuses, or avoid your responsibility.
• Turn in any missing assignments immediately, even if they are not done—incomplete is always better than missing.
• Ask your teachers specific questions that will help you finish a missing assignment.
• Evaluate your use of class time:
• Are you distracted by your friends and socializing too much?
• How will you reduce distractions and minimize socializing?
• Create and follow a homework routine:
• Do you have a regular time/place to do your homework that is free from distractions?
• Do you check the online grade system at least once per week?
• Do you review the online weekly notes every Monday and throughout the school week?
• Practice organization and develop your organizational skills:
• Do you use your planner in every class, every day to write down learning goals, assignments, homework, due dates, etc.?
• Do you use study hall time well every week to help stay up-to-date with your schoolwork?

For Parents: What do I do if my child has missing assignments?

Missing assignments are first and foremost your child’s responsibility, so before emailing your child’s teacher:

• Monitor the online grade system and the middle level online weekly notes regularly, at least once per week, to identify and discuss missing assignments quickly.
• If your child has a missing assignment, ask your child why he/she did not turn in this assignment—ask for honesty and do not allow excuses.
• Encourage your child to take ownership for the missing assignment and require your child to turn it in the very next school day.
• Have a serious and heartfelt discussion with your child about using class time wisely and avoiding distracting situations.
• Help your child develop good homework routines and regularly practice organizational skills to mitigate missing assignment problems.
• Ask your child “learning” questions at home—encourage your child to teach you about what she or he is learning in classes at school.

Sometimes it feels as if you and your child’s teachers are stressing more about missing assignments and working harder than your child. In these cases, perhaps a dose of harsh reality is needed, especially as your child approaches high school. Allow your child to “fail,” but also to work through both the natural and your established consequences of missing assignments—be firm, be fair, be supportive, but avoid repeatedly bailing out your child if he or she is not being responsible.

For some students, the intrinsic motivation to get assignments done is not there yet. Do not teach your child that incomplete assignments are a reasonable choice or an acceptable option. You should give your child room to navigate their work independently; however, if they are not being successful, they need reminders (and follow-through) about established rewards and consequences. Start with both small and large goals: "If you have no missing assignments this week, then..." and "If you have less than two missing assignments this trimester, then..."

Many years of teacher observation and experience tell us that the best way for students to avoid missing assignments is to use class time wisely every day.

Please don’t feed the Missing Assignments Monster—stay focused on learning...