What do you think of this teacher's grammar?

[Anonymous]

My high school kid brings home assignments and wants help with them, but I find the teacher's instructions difficult to understand. It seems to me that the teacher's grammar is confused - do these questions look confusing to you, or am I just getting too old to understand English?

The following are questions from an assignment related to a novel they read:

"What conflicts exist among the members of Group A and Group B?" I can't tell if she is asking what conflicts exist among the members of Group A - with each other - and the members of Group B with each other, or if she is asking what conflicts exist between the two groups. (It turned out to be between the two groups).

"To what extent does money in this novel lead to kindness as opposed to greed?" This confused me because the theme of the novel is that money leads to greed, not kindness, so it seemed like the question was asking the students to find points that went against the main theme. However, it was actually asking students to explain how money leads to greed and not kindness (the novel's main theme).

"How does the author answer the essay prompt?" This one really threw me. The essay prompt was "How does the author of this novel show that money can be used for kindness versus corruption among those who have a great deal of it?" (Again, the theme of the novel was that money corrupts). I have no idea what the teacher was thinking when she asked this question, but I assume it was something like "how does the author show that money corrupts."

This is not the first time I've felt like these teachers are speaking a different language than me. Would you have had trouble understanding these questions? My kid says it's a "me problem."

[Anonymous]

Not just you. These questions are unclear. The first one is just plain bad grammar, and this sounds like an English teacher so that’s embarrassing.

[Anonymous]

I knew she meant between on the first one. She needs to edit.

The second question looks good. How did you find out that she meant the opposite? Again editing the words kindness and greed if she mixed them up.

Did you read the entire book?.

[Anonymous]

It may not have been written by the teacher. Perhaps by the curriculum from the county. Another teacher in the department. A teacher from teachers Pay teachers. AI.

Regardless, I agree the teacher should edit carefully. Also, instruct your child to read the questions in class and ask to clarify. Not sure where your kid is, but in my teen’s mcps HS they get plenty of in class time to do work, rarely are they starting something brand new at home.

[Anonymous]

The answer to the kindness question could be “zero” or “very little”.

[Anonymous]

For the third question, maybe the author has written or said something outside the book about the book.

[Anonymous]

I’ve given up on school English writing. It’s double work to teach them to forget the horrible formulas they are ordered to use for essays, and then to teach them how to write a decent essay.

It terrifies me that teachers can see the stupid instruction to put a random unrelated fact at the start and end of the essay (the “hook”) and not immediately delete it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ve given up on school English writing. It’s double work to teach them to forget the horrible formulas they are ordered to use for essays, and then to teach them how to write a decent essay.

It terrifies me that teachers can see the stupid instruction to put a random unrelated fact at the start and end of the essay (the “hook”) and not immediately delete it.

The formulas are the worst! It's one thing to teach a 5-paragraph essay, but they are now having them write each sentence of the paragraph according to a formula. And depending on the teacher, the formulas are different. They are so detailed and structured that it goes from being helpful to making it impossible to actually write anything of substance. It's the written version of paint-by-numbers. And that hook thing drives me nuts! You don't put a "hook" in a research paper about the Holocaust!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The answer to the kindness question could be “zero” or “very little”.

+1

These aren't the most crystal clear things I've ever seen but I think someone who'd read the book and participated in class could understand - and could ask the teacher for clarification if not.

[Anonymous]

English teacher here. I don’t like those prompts.

My guess? The teacher is trying to hold down far too many obligations and expectations. Things like proofreading get pushed aside when other tasks need to be prioritized.

My department has almost entirely turned over in the past few years. We can’t keep English teachers because the workload is just too much.

[Anonymous]

The first question, yes, "between" would have been much clearer.

The second question, I think you're wrong. The main theme is rarely the only theme. It's fine to examine side plots and other ideas.

The third question is weird. I would have rewritten it entirely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The first question, yes, "between" would have been much clearer.

The second question, I think you're wrong. The main theme is rarely the only theme. It's fine to examine side plots and other ideas.

The third question is weird. I would have rewritten it entirely.

I agree. There might be a part of the story that shows acts of kindness. You have to have read the book to know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:English teacher here. I don’t like those prompts.

My guess? The teacher is trying to hold down far too many obligations and expectations. Things like proofreading get pushed aside when other tasks need to be prioritized.

My department has almost entirely turned over in the past few years. We can’t keep English teachers because the workload is just too much.

I'm wondering why an English teacher is having to make up something like this in the first place. It doesn't make sense that every English teacher is reinventing the wheel every year. Why aren't there textbooks, or if not textbooks, then materials collected and prepared and distributed for them to use?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:English teacher here. I don’t like those prompts.

My guess? The teacher is trying to hold down far too many obligations and expectations. Things like proofreading get pushed aside when other tasks need to be prioritized.

My department has almost entirely turned over in the past few years. We can’t keep English teachers because the workload is just too much.

How can she grade 100 student essays if she can't grade here own 1 prompt?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:English teacher here. I don’t like those prompts.

My guess? The teacher is trying to hold down far too many obligations and expectations. Things like proofreading get pushed aside when other tasks need to be prioritized.

My department has almost entirely turned over in the past few years. We can’t keep English teachers because the workload is just too much.

How can she grade 100 student essays if she can't grade here own 1 prompt?

(I'm not qualified to be a teacher, so I don't teach)