6th grader gets 0 for plagiarism rant long

[Grand Canyon]

My 6th grade son just finished his Science Fair Project (a required project for his science class). He copied and pasted information to the "Background" portion of his report. He had originally turned in work completely in his own words but his teacher gave it back and said it wasn't enough. He did list his source in his bibliography. They have not been taught how to properly cite material from the internet; i.e. quotation and footnotes. His teacher read the report, checked his source, spoke to other teachers and the principal. Then she spoke to our student and told him he had a zero for plagiarism. THEN she called my wife and told her. Our school is K-12 and the school handbook states that there is a zero tolerance policy for plagiarism.
Our son was confused. He thought he was doing a good job. You have to know that he is also a straight A student and is naturally very conscientious and honest. He did not try to hide what he'd done. He simply didn't know it was wrong. Also, we were not involved in the writing of his report as it was supposed to be done by the student.
I spoke to the principal and asked if any other 6th graders or below had ever been punished for plagiarism. To his knowledge: no, this was the first.
I pointed out to him that he failed to quote and footnote but that citation is generally not taught until high school. He told me plagiarism is a form of cheating and that our son would get a zero.
I have looked up the policy for plagiarism for many high schools and one middle school on the internet and none of them said that a first offense would result in a zero. Most would allow the student to correct their mistakes and get a lower grade - and the teacher goes over the lesson again.
When I pointed out that many teachers' syllabuses, tests, and lecture material contain non-cited materials he informed me that two wrongs don't make a right. I further pointed out that my son was one of only two A-Honor Roll students in middle school and this adverse action would knock him out of the A-Honor Roll. When I asked what evidence the teacher had that she had taught citation (my son says she did not) to the 6th graders; such as, quizzes or tests verifying that they had understood the material, he said there was no necessity to test or verify that material and her word was sufficient that it had been taught. I then questioned if her lesson plan or lecture notes reflected preparation to teach the material; he again said that such records were not necessary.
I pointed out that in the lab prep material under bibliography it made no mention that improper citation would result in a zero. I pointed out that this made the proper understanding of plagiarism and citation worth more than the entire project which was unrealistic for a 6th grader to understand.
From my research on the internet, fully 40% of college students have difficulty citing properly from the internet.
Your comments are greatly appreciated as I will be taking them with me to my meeting with our district's superintendent and to the school board.
On a personal note, our DS was devastated at being accused and punished for cheating when he didn't understand the concept of citation.
DW pointed out that the 6th grade language arts teacher has students copying definitions of words from the dictionary - without citing the source - and without talking to the students about plagiarism.

 

[chicagodisneyfan]

Sorry - ignorance of the law is no excuse.

Zero is deserved.

If everyone else completed the assignment correctly, I would not pursue it. The teachers and school board have more important issues than this.

 

[smartestnumber5]

Well I'm a college level teacher. I caught numerous students plagiarizing last semester (mostly sophomores and above). I gave a 0 to only one of them--one who stole an entire paper from an online "free college papers" website and passed it off as his own. Everyone else committed a lesser offense and so got some credit for their papers (some were still very serious offenses and only got about 15% credit, but still they got something). So I think this sounds very harsh.

I certainly was not taught how to cite things properly in 6th grade. And it sounds as if your son did mention the source in the bibliography so it is not as if he was pretending that this was all his work as my student was. So I would think leniency is definitely called for.

 

[Grand Canyon]

So ... the student is responsible for knowing material that is not being taught in the class?
And the IRS is going to arrest every 16yo who fails to file a return?

 

[themarquis]

I used to teach college composition and art history classes. As a college instructor, I would not have been as strict as your child's teacher was. I was very serious about identifying and dealing with plagiarism, but there is a big difference between a student who is struggling to make sense of complex rules about citation vs. a student who is intentionally trying to pass off someone else's work as their own. Most times when I had a student who tried to cite correctly but failed, I used it as a teaching moment, generally taking off a couple of letter grades and giving them information and a stern lecture.

I was perfectly willing to fail students, but in my opinion, there was never any reason to do so unless they were trying to pass off someone else's work as their own (and sadly this happened often enough!).

There is no reason to severely punish a student who is trying their hardest to do their own work -- doing so might risk turning a student off writing and academics forever!

 

["Got Disney"]

I feel that is a little harsh for a 6th grader...my 6th grader has no idea on how not to plagiarize even though I have explained to him and he understands not to use someone else's words is hard..

When your 10 or 11 that is hard and there brains are not up to the challenge. If he had copied off the Internet and pasted that on than I would have as a teacher talked with him and helped him on it.

I disagree with the above poster Chicagodisney fan...thik he/she was rude to you....

I am very involved in my sons education and help them with there work and spend a lot of time at the school.

I would push an issue with this.....and not let it pass. You are your child's only advocate...stand up for him.

 

[Tanuki]

I'm curious - what is the "Background" section of the report. Is that similar to what we used to call the "term paper"?

If you cut and paste entire sections from a source into the report how can you expect to pass it off as your own words?

Unless you put it in quotation marks to indicate that you are using someone elses words (and give them credit) it's plagarism.

 

[WonderfulDreamer2]

Sorry - ignorance of the law is no excuse.

Zero is deserved.

If everyone else completed the assignment correctly, I would not pursue it. The teachers and school board have more important issues than this.

***you know what, never mind. What I just deleted would have gotten me points and you're not worth it.***

 

[kimberlym4]

Sorry - ignorance of the law is no excuse.

Zero is deserved.

Wow, that was harsh.

I teach at a college and can confirm that my college students often have difficulty citing properly. I'm not surprised a 6th grader has trouble and I think a zero is an excessive punishment. However, my DD is also in the midst of her 6th grade science fair project and she has been taught and often comments that she has to put "such and such" into her own words. So I'd be surprised if it wasn't taught to some degree in your child's class. Still... a zero seems excessive.

 

[Ember]

Was proper citation taught in his class? This, for me, is a key question. If not, then I say the action was not justified. If it was taught then the teacher has more ground to stand on.

Edited to add: I did read the part about the question of it being taught and I realized my post doesn't quite make sense... What I meant to say was that if the teacher did teach it then there should be some way for him/her to "prove" it. There should be a lesson plan or teaching materials that could be produced to show that it was, in fact, taught.

 

[poohandwendy]

I think that is extremely harsh. I hope you can get it resolved and the punishment reduced.

 

[Grand Canyon]

I'm curious - what is the "Background" section of the report. Is that similar to what we used to call the "term paper"?

If you cut and paste entire sections from a source into the report how can you expect to pass it off as your own words?

Unless you put it in quotation marks to indicate that you are using someone elses words (and give them credit) it's plagarism.

The "Background" of the project is where information is put about the history about that particular project. Facts and figures about that subject from other sources. None of these projects are going to be unique works of science; i.e. PHD dissertations. This section gives some of the supporting data and formulas that helps explain what the lab project is about.
The student never tried to pass off the work as his own. When what he wrote was not acceptable he did copy the information.
Every other part of the project was in his old words (Hypothesis, Procedure; Data; Results; Conclusion).
My contention is that if the student is not taught HOW to do it (citation) - how can they be expected to do it?

 

[MassJester]

Sorry - ignorance of the law is no excuse.

Zero is deserved.

If everyone else completed the assignment correctly, I would not pursue it. The teachers and school board have more important issues than this.

So let me get this straight, we are clobbering a 12 year old for failing to propperly cite?

I learned citation in 10th grade--when did it become part of the 6th grade curriculum?

College students who do this know better and should be flunked; 12 year olds should be corrected.

 

[MsLeFever]

Another college prof here. This seems excessive to me. I give zeros when my students flat out STEAL or attempt to misrepresent work as their own. When they just fail to correctly cite a source (and usually when they are good students that is the case..) I let them fix it.

Another point - restating the source information in your "own words" is still plagerism - you can't take someone else's ideas without citing the source.

 

[N.Bailey]

Sorry - ignorance of the law is no excuse.

Zero is deserved.

If everyone else completed the assignment correctly, I would not pursue it. The teachers and school board have more important issues than this.

Well, if you want to bring the law into it, exceptions are always made when a child is too young to know the law they broke was even a law.

As for adults, I definitely back you up.

As for your child, while I normally take the side of the school in about 99.9% of situations, I don't on this one. If you can show where 1 child didn't cite a source, they're wrong and inconsistent, IMO. I think someone needs to sit down and explain to your child what he did and why it was so wrong. After doing so, it's my opinion that the teacher should allow him to correct it, or simply have points deducted. To give a zero to a child is ridiculous, IMO. Especially when said teacher can't even prove that she covered the subject manner with the kids. A zero tolerance policy for plagiarism? I'm right there with the school when you're talking guns/knives, weaponry of any kind, drugs, etc... but plagiarism? Isn't school there to teach them what plagiarism is and why we must cite our sources? Aren't they also suppose to teach them HOW to cite those sources effectively?

I bet that teacher who handed down the grade wouldn't be so much in favor of it if the same standard was in place for the teachers. Why not fire the teacher when she gets caught up in it herself after a first offense? IMO, that's exactly what she's advocating for the child, but I'd imagine when it's her livelihood on the line, I'd bet my last dollar that she'd hold a double standard. If the teachers aren't fired or at minimal, have their wages cut by 100%, they're holding a double standard. By insisting that 2 wrongs don't make a right, he's acknowledged that the teachers are guilty too and that his zero tolerance policy doesn't apply to ALL.

By the posters standard that I quoted above, the teachers KNOW the law, yet they seem to be overlooking it. That's okay, huh? To hell with the kid who really didn't know he was doing anything wrong.

 

[DemonLlama]

The punishment is far too harsh.

From this college teacher's standpoint, many of my college freshmen struggle to competently document direct quotation in their first essays and this is with an in-class lecture and online tutorial.

They receive a "zero unless corrected" mark the first time, as long as it was clearly unintentional and a matter of needing to learn the requirements for borrowed material.

In 6th grade, with nothing to indicate this was covered and practiced, your son is being "made an example of" rather than being educated.

 

[SunKat]

As the parent of a 6th grader, I feel the punishment is too harsh. I would take it up with the school board. Sixth graders are eleven or twelve years old and don't fully grasp what plagiarism is. I think a warning would have been fair.

 

[Grand Canyon]

Thank you for your replies.
We do not expect our son to receive full credit if this is ever resolved. We do ask that he get partial credit for the work that was done correctly and given a chance to fix the problem.
Our argument is not to teach our son that he should have special treatment or that mommy and daddy will fix everything.
But to hold the school responsible for the education they are supposed to be giving him.
Our 3rd grader and 6th grader both came home at the beginning of the "Science Fair Project" time making it very clear that we were not to help them in any way (per their teachers).
Our son still had his project entered into the Fair and received third place.
We are trying to teach our son that decisions should be just and equitable. And sometimes you have to fight for what you think is right.
As a note, my wife is the PTA president for our school. She feels she cannot work with the administration at the school and is resigning. This is her 6th year as an officer and 3rd year as president. We have been very involved parents with our children's education and have supported teachers with supplies and volunteer hours. We are aware of the many negative and positive aspects of our school. We are not watching from the sidelines and have now decided to jump in. We are sick about the situation.

 

[labdogs42]

The zero for the paper is ridiculous. Sadly, this may leave a bad taste in your DS's mouth for a long time. I still remember my High School English teacher (sophomore year) who gave me my first "C" in writing. I HATED her. I had never gotten a C in my life for something I had written! I never got a C in any other writing class before OR after her (including college). That woman just didn't like me, but she made me dislike writing (at least for a grade). I wish she hadn't done that. I wish your son's teacher hadn't made him have this awful experience. I'm really concerned that it will turn him off to writing. Ugh. I hope it works out OK. I know how devastating one stupid "little" thing like this can be. Has your son asked any of his friends to see their papers and what kind of "citing" they did? Have you asked his friends if the concept of proper citiation was taught in class? Maybe that would help -- power in numbers.

 

[RitaZ.]

In 6th grade, with nothing to indicate this was covered and practiced, your son is being "made an example of" rather than being educated.

I agree.

OP, good luck!