Summer Geometry teacher harsh grader

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone have any experience dealing with a harsh grader teacher? any point in arguing? or at this point, go the "expunge" route?
watching my kid who gets the questions, but fails to finish them clean.

If we were to expunge the score, do we still need to finish the class?

Thanks, to the wise ones..

1. He can drop out now and expunge the grade and retake Geometry next year.

2. He can continue and pass the course and expunge the grade and still move on to Algebra 2 in 8th grade.

3. Not sure about arguing with the teacher. DS has a harsh grader in summer geomtry as well. He had a 102 in Algebra 1 but is hovering around 97-98 so far.

Thank you. Didn't know there's option #2 as well. Yeah I wasn't so sure about arguing with the teacher, doesn't matter how harsh he seems to be. An example, kid got points deducted by writing Triangle ABC, instead of ACB... In a way, the kid is punished more for being careless/sloppy, than not getting it/not paying attention, in my opinion. Oh well, who says life is fair.

Again, thanks for all the advice and insight!

To give you an analogy, I am an English teacher. If a kid puts a comma in the sentence, which they should based on that sentence’s structure, but not in the right place, I am marking it wrong. Your kid’s math teacher isn’t being a harsh grader- transposing the letters of a triangle actually means something in that content area. You can’t just write anything and get credit for it. It sounds like your kid wasn’t ready for the accelerated pace of summer math nor the method of doing it online

+1 Middle school math even if it is at the HS level is different that actually taking it in HS. Most Teachers do not partial credit for every little step when you get to HS

[Anonymous]

Why is your middle schooler taking online summed geometry?

There is no reason for this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone have any experience dealing with a harsh grader teacher? any point in arguing? or at this point, go the "expunge" route?
watching my kid who gets the questions, but fails to finish them clean.

If we were to expunge the score, do we still need to finish the class?

Thanks, to the wise ones..

1. He can drop out now and expunge the grade and retake Geometry next year.

2. He can continue and pass the course and expunge the grade and still move on to Algebra 2 in 8th grade.

3. Not sure about arguing with the teacher. DS has a harsh grader in summer geomtry as well. He had a 102 in Algebra 1 but is hovering around 97-98 so far.

Thank you. Didn't know there's option #2 as well. Yeah I wasn't so sure about arguing with the teacher, doesn't matter how harsh he seems to be. An example, kid got points deducted by writing Triangle ABC, instead of ACB... In a way, the kid is punished more for being careless/sloppy, than not getting it/not paying attention, in my opinion. Oh well, who says life is fair.

Again, thanks for all the advice and insight!

I took regular geometry in 11th grade, I took Algebra 1 and Algebra 2 back to back. I know tht ABC is different then ACB. That is not an unreasonable deduction. Your child needs to learn to not be careless and sloppy, that is a part of math. We stress that with DS in 6th grade heading into Algebra 1 in 7th, he needs to be more careful with how he writes his answers and to follow all of the instructions. Math requires precision, it gets to be more important as you move up in levels. One good reason to not take geometry in the summer is to really hone how you write a proof and learning the rigid, logical structure of a mathematical proof.

The only kids who should be taking Geometry in the summer are the kids who have completed geometry at an enrichment center that is fairly rigorous. I know that RSM starts Geometry in 6th grade and teaches it through 8th grade, it is an hour long class in 6th and 7th grade. AoPS has a geometry class that can be taken a number of ways. I am sure Curie has an early geometry program. Then the summer class is more of a formality with the students already knowing the material and just checking the box for FCPS. Taking geometry in the summer with no background prep is no joke. The class is compressed and thinks about math in a very different way then most kids have been exposed to. Toss in a different maturity level for a 7th grader vs a 9th or 10th grader and you have a recipe for trouble. I would also guess that there is a certain level of confidence based on success in ES and Algebra 1 honors that might cause problems.

[Anonymous]

My child took geometry during the school year and also lost points for errors like confusing ACB with ABC. He was upset and thought the teacher was unfair. I explained that I support the teacher because it's crucial to grasp these distinctions for success in math. It's fortunate the teacher maintains high standards. Developing this mindset early is better than facing it later in high school.

If the parent complains about this here and probably at home too, how can the child improve?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Summer geometry has a reputation. It's not the teacher...

+100, it’s really not a great idea to take this class in the summer

Only strong students can keep up that pace. I'm glad someone told us how hard it was before I signed my son up for it. It's an entire year in a few weeks.

I saw the material when DD took it - there are some items in there I don't think is appropriate in HS Geometry like: Coordinate Systems beyond cylindrical and polar. I looked at one of them then had to google it and found it in an advanced math textbook for Undergrad Math Majors that engineers don't need to take. I'm not rewording that sentence.

Its an entire year plus the optional material in the few weeks. The regular year class don't do the optional material. This teacher doesn't want to miss a thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The summer classes go through roughly one quarter worth of material in one week.

That alone is proof that they're watered down.

My 7th grader who took Geometry during the year spent per week about 2-3h on homework alone. 10 weeks in a quarter would make 20-30h per summer week. Do the summer courses include this much in homework *in addition* to lectures?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The summer classes go through roughly one quarter worth of material in one week.

That alone is proof that they're watered down.

My 7th grader who took Geometry during the year spent per week about 2-3h on homework alone. 10 weeks in a quarter would make 20-30h per summer week. Do the summer courses include this much in homework *in addition* to lectures?

Yes, these students may be working 4-6 hours a day.

[Anonymous]

triangle ABC is the the exact same triangle as ACB. it doesn’t matter and shouldn’t be punished. it matters for angles but not triangles.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:triangle ABC is the the exact same triangle as ACB. it doesn’t matter and shouldn’t be punished. it matters for angles but not triangles.

Getting points deducted for answering a proble incorrectly is not "punishment".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:triangle ABC is the the exact same triangle as ACB. it doesn’t matter and shouldn’t be punished. it matters for angles but not triangles.

This is not always true, we’d need to see the question. (HS math teacher).

[Anonymous]

Hm. My kid, who has always had straight As in math, is currently getting a B+ in summer geometry. Didn't occur to me to blame a "harsh grader", I just assumed he is (understandably) struggling with the pace. We knew it would be tough and didn't expect an easy A. If he wants a higher grade, he needs to spend more time double checking his work. If he doesn't, he'll accept the B+ that he's earning.

And yes, ABC vs ACB is exactly the kind of mistake he's making. He needs to learn that those details matter in higher level math. It's actually been a really good lesson for him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:triangle ABC is the the exact same triangle as ACB. it doesn’t matter and shouldn’t be punished. it matters for angles but not triangles.

This is not always true, we’d need to see the question. (HS math teacher).

please show an example where it matters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:triangle ABC is the the exact same triangle as ACB. it doesn’t matter and shouldn’t be punished. it matters for angles but not triangles.

Getting points deducted for answering a proble incorrectly is not "punishment".

that’s exactly what it is. punish the mistake so that the student doesn’t repeat it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The summer classes go through roughly one quarter worth of material in one week.

That alone is proof that they're watered down.

My 7th grader who took Geometry during the year spent per week about 2-3h on homework alone. 10 weeks in a quarter would make 20-30h per summer week. Do the summer courses include this much in homework *in addition* to lectures?

Mine definitely did not. Homework was quite light in middle school in all the classes including math. We'll see how high school goes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:triangle ABC is the the exact same triangle as ACB. it doesn’t matter and shouldn’t be punished. it matters for angles but not triangles.

Getting points deducted for answering a proble incorrectly is not "punishment".

that’s exactly what it is. punish the mistake so that the student doesn’t repeat it.

Grades are not punishment or reward. They are an assessment of mastery of the content. A neutral.