What do you think of nit picky teachers? 6th grade

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The reason for my child to take a foreign language class is to get proficiency in that language. What the OP’s child did reflected that goal and showed that proficiency.
The reason for my child to take English is to learn poetry and be able to compose one. The OP’s child did exactly the task needed, while drawing borders was completely irrelevant.
The teacher of OP’s child is grading compliance, not academic content, which is ridiculous.
If my main purpose for sending a child to school was to teach him to follow directions, I’ll give him a map of DC, directions, and ask to find some random addresses.
If compliance is so important, have a separate grade for it, but don’t confuse it with the academic grades.

Nobody disagrees with you, but the reality is that school and workplaces have rules that are not necessarily important to learning but that still need to be followed. When people have difficulty with following directions, they are fired. When students have difficulty, they can be accommodated provided they jump through the right hoops.

This is how it is. You can rage and whine against this, or you can teach your child to comply as best they can and advocate successfully for when they cannot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Better to learn to follow directions now.

I teach college and last year I had a student hand in an essay that completely missed the purpose of the assignments. She was a great student, had been doing very well in the course, was a lovely person but for whatever reason she just went completely off base on her final term paper. She wrote a great paper and obviously put a lot of work into it but it wasn't the paper that was assigned.

I graded using a rubric and there were parts of the rubric that I couldn't even apply to her paper. I gave her marks where I could and her final mark was around 40%.

She contacted me immediately asking to meet. She came to my office and she looked like she had been through something awful. She told me she couldn't sleep or eat, that she had never failed anything and she didn't know how to cope with this. She started sobbing in my office and it was a bit heart wrenching. I could see that she really didn't know how to cope with this. She pleaded and pleaded to let her rewrite it or to grade it differently or do a bonus assignment or anything because she couldn't accept a failing grade. I said no to all and she was honestly almost traumatized. I really think this was the most difficult thing that she had gone through (as a high achiever). I had to get her support from a friend to leave my office. Her mom called me a couple days later pleading with me to do something as her daughter was not coping well and this had impacted her mental health.

I met twice more with the student helping her to learn to cope and build resilience and never changed her mark. That would have been the easy out for me and made her happy but this was a life lesson she needed to learn and it was what was fair. She never fully understood. She did pull herself back together and did fine in my class (above the class average but lower than her usual marks). It would have been much much better for her to learn this when she was younger.

You sound like an ass. There are many ways to teach students how to cope.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The reason for my child to take a foreign language class is to get proficiency in that language. What the OP’s child did reflected that goal and showed that proficiency.
The reason for my child to take English is to learn poetry and be able to compose one. The OP’s child did exactly the task needed, while drawing borders was completely irrelevant.
The teacher of OP’s child is grading compliance, not academic content, which is ridiculous.
If my main purpose for sending a child to school was to teach him to follow directions, I’ll give him a map of DC, directions, and ask to find some random addresses.
If compliance is so important, have a separate grade for it, but don’t confuse it with the academic grades.

YES

The arbitrary rules test form, not substance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Better to learn to follow directions now.

I teach college and last year I had a student hand in an essay that completely missed the purpose of the assignments. She was a great student, had been doing very well in the course, was a lovely person but for whatever reason she just went completely off base on her final term paper. She wrote a great paper and obviously put a lot of work into it but it wasn't the paper that was assigned.

I graded using a rubric and there were parts of the rubric that I couldn't even apply to her paper. I gave her marks where I could and her final mark was around 40%.

She contacted me immediately asking to meet. She came to my office and she looked like she had been through something awful. She told me she couldn't sleep or eat, that she had never failed anything and she didn't know how to cope with this. She started sobbing in my office and it was a bit heart wrenching. I could see that she really didn't know how to cope with this. She pleaded and pleaded to let her rewrite it or to grade it differently or do a bonus assignment or anything because she couldn't accept a failing grade. I said no to all and she was honestly almost traumatized. I really think this was the most difficult thing that she had gone through (as a high achiever). I had to get her support from a friend to leave my office. Her mom called me a couple days later pleading with me to do something as her daughter was not coping well and this had impacted her mental health.

I met twice more with the student helping her to learn to cope and build resilience and never changed her mark. That would have been the easy out for me and made her happy but this was a life lesson she needed to learn and it was what was fair. She never fully understood. She did pull herself back together and did fine in my class (above the class average but lower than her usual marks). It would have been much much better for her to learn this when she was younger.

This story is horrible. Makes you sound awful and sadistic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The reason for my child to take a foreign language class is to get proficiency in that language. What the OP’s child did reflected that goal and showed that proficiency.
The reason for my child to take English is to learn poetry and be able to compose one. The OP’s child did exactly the task needed, while drawing borders was completely irrelevant.
The teacher of OP’s child is grading compliance, not academic content, which is ridiculous.
If my main purpose for sending a child to school was to teach him to follow directions, I’ll give him a map of DC, directions, and ask to find some random addresses.
If compliance is so important, have a separate grade for it, but don’t confuse it with the academic grades.

I assume that you homeschool, because either you or your children cannot function in the real world. Or maybe both.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The reason for my child to take a foreign language class is to get proficiency in that language. What the OP’s child did reflected that goal and showed that proficiency.
The reason for my child to take English is to learn poetry and be able to compose one. The OP’s child did exactly the task needed, while drawing borders was completely irrelevant.
The teacher of OP’s child is grading compliance, not academic content, which is ridiculous.
If my main purpose for sending a child to school was to teach him to follow directions, I’ll give him a map of DC, directions, and ask to find some random addresses.
If compliance is so important, have a separate grade for it, but don’t confuse it with the academic grades.

I assume that you homeschool, because either you or your children cannot function in the real world. Or maybe both.

Haha. You assume wrong. A school is an academic environment and should measure academic merit, not compliance with some arbitrary rules.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Better to learn to follow directions now.

I teach college and last year I had a student hand in an essay that completely missed the purpose of the assignments. She was a great student, had been doing very well in the course, was a lovely person but for whatever reason she just went completely off base on her final term paper. She wrote a great paper and obviously put a lot of work into it but it wasn't the paper that was assigned.

I graded using a rubric and there were parts of the rubric that I couldn't even apply to her paper. I gave her marks where I could and her final mark was around 40%.

She contacted me immediately asking to meet. She came to my office and she looked like she had been through something awful. She told me she couldn't sleep or eat, that she had never failed anything and she didn't know how to cope with this. She started sobbing in my office and it was a bit heart wrenching. I could see that she really didn't know how to cope with this. She pleaded and pleaded to let her rewrite it or to grade it differently or do a bonus assignment or anything because she couldn't accept a failing grade. I said no to all and she was honestly almost traumatized. I really think this was the most difficult thing that she had gone through (as a high achiever). I had to get her support from a friend to leave my office. Her mom called me a couple days later pleading with me to do something as her daughter was not coping well and this had impacted her mental health.

I met twice more with the student helping her to learn to cope and build resilience and never changed her mark. That would have been the easy out for me and made her happy but this was a life lesson she needed to learn and it was what was fair. She never fully understood. She did pull herself back together and did fine in my class (above the class average but lower than her usual marks). It would have been much much better for her to learn this when she was younger.

This story is horrible. Makes you sound awful and sadistic.

Nothing wrong with what the professor did here. It sounds very fair to me. If the rubric was not followed at all by the student why is this unfair? Unless, more than 10 percent of the class had the same issue with the rubric the problem is with the student not the teacher. Using 10 percent as an estimate. I'm sure the professor knows how the rest of the class approached the assignment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. You are right. I was upset because he came home so disappointed. He studied really hard for this test and the results didn't show his hard work.

Obviously I agree that he does need to learn how to read directions carefully and make sure he checks off each part one by one.

It's been an ongoing issue with him and a work in progress. He says he feels pressured and rushed because of the short amount of time given (though he is supposed to have time and a half).

He does have a 504 that supposedly accommodates these various issues which the teacher failed to take into consideration (help clarifying instructions, extra time, quiet testing location, etc.). She also doesn't have him sitting at the front of the classroom like she is supposed to. It sounds like she hasn't even read his 504 plan. I guess we will have to talk to her.

This is actually a big deal, OP. You could get her in a lot of trouble with the principal.

Schools are legally required to make these accommodations.

This is really the point. He has a 504 plan because he struggles with attention. I suggest that you request a meeting of his 504 team to review the plan and get everyone on board. You may want to consider an IEP. My 6th grader has an IEP and one of his goals is to learn to follow rubrics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have to agree with the OP. The idea, that form is more important than substance, is crazy in an academic world, and this type of grading sends a completely wrong message. OP’s child will follow directions, I am sure, when those directions actually matter, because that child is clearly intelligent and focuses on what’s important in a given task.

I used to work in the university writing lab. Kids who get a free pass on not following instructions wind up as college students who can't follow instructions. I was so blown away by the shoddy work. Now I see why--people like you tell the kids details don't matter.

Reading instructions is not optional. Ops child is probably very intelligent, but didn't show it on the Spanish test. He needs to learn to read instructions, and this was a good way to teach him.

My son got points counted off on a spelling test because he tries to write too fast and many of his letters look like other letters. He knew how to spell every word. Getting a 50 in a spelling test is what finally motivated him to write more legibly.

[Anonymous]

I think these "nitpicky" teachers are doing your son a favor and you should be thanking them. 6th grade, when grades still don't really count but when students really need to learn to follow directions, is an excellent time to be learning these lessons and working on these skills. Truly: these grades will not matter even 3 months from now.

I encounter college graduates like your son in my workplace and they waste everyone's time. It's not about intelligence--many are quite smart. It's about understanding how to follow instructions and how to create a process that works for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The reason for my child to take a foreign language class is to get proficiency in that language. What the OP’s child did reflected that goal and showed that proficiency.
The reason for my child to take English is to learn poetry and be able to compose one. The OP’s child did exactly the task needed, while drawing borders was completely irrelevant.
The teacher of OP’s child is grading compliance, not academic content, which is ridiculous.
If my main purpose for sending a child to school was to teach him to follow directions, I’ll give him a map of DC, directions, and ask to find some random addresses.
If compliance is so important, have a separate grade for it, but don’t confuse it with the academic grades.

YES

The arbitrary rules test form, not substance.

Except the substance being tested was not to make a translation. Maybe OP should just teach the language privately and have her DS take FACS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:New Poster.

In OP's defense, I would be upset if my sixth grader was being graded on coloring too. That's bullshit.

Another NP in OP's defense. OP is also advocating for partial credit. We can argue the details (how much to take off for failing to indicate the unit, etc) but partial credit isn't a radical idea.

The colorful border on the English assignment is interesting. For some students the poem will be more challenging and for others, the colorful border will be more challenging. It's almost like the teacher was hedging her bets in terms of student outcomes by adding that piece to the assignment. In my experience (HS classroom) generally the colorful border will help more girls grade-wise than it will help boys.

It is in some courses with standards based grading. OP’s son didn’t show mastery of the standard.

[Anonymous]

Having coloring be part of the grade at any level (unless it’s an art class) is problematic.—Teacher

[Anonymous]

If the Spanish test directions were in Spanish and OP’s son misunderstood what he needed to do, maybe he doesn’t understand Spanish as well as OP thinks.

[Anonymous]

The teacher should meet him where he is.