Do you think it's wrong for..

[Shmily1]

In certain circumstances, some people can't write any better. DS20 has an awful handwriting but he has tremors and can't write any other way. If his professor took off points for his writing, I would be furious!!!

 

[kellyg403]

No, don't think its wrong if teacher mentioned it before the test or from the beginning. My grdd is 8, her teacher always tells them that if she can't read it and asks her if she can read it and she can't, it will be counted wrong. We are working hard on penmanship!

For those with disabilities though, I would imagine this teacher would have to take into consideration and let that individual do the test differently. IMHO that is the fairest way to do it. For those who just are sloppy, well I am not so sure its 'unfair'...

Kelly

 

[LuvOrlando]

If the writing is so bad that a teacher can't tell if punctuation is appropriate, or spelling is correct then that teacher is 100% right. What good is it to have brilliant ideas if a student is incapable of communicating those ideas effectively?

To be honest, I think she was being generous to only take points off. If the handwriting was unreadable how could the student even argue he/she answered the question at all? The teacher could have easily marked each question with a zero. I had professors that would.

College is not high school, it is not compulsory so the assumption is everyone wants to be there. If you want to be there then you need to contribute what is asked of you in an appropriate manner with the tools given to you. At the age of 18 everyone should be able to use a pen or pencil effectively. If a student has a problem with that then he/she should request a laptop to accommodate this issue. Letting the situation devolve to this point isn't a good strategy. The behavior speaks volumes about the student.

PS- I have atrocious handwriting and was terrible at typing so all through college I paid people to type my papers for me. I had a problem and I dealt with it. Find a work around.

 

[golfgal]

Nope, teacher is not wrong at all. If she can't read the writing, how she is supposed to know what is written.

Handwriting is some thing that can easily be improved so no excuse for extremely bad handwriting.

Some hospitals were making doctors take penmanship seminars after complaints that charts and prescriptions could not be read.

Not true, there are plenty of people that can't do anything about their handwriting for one reason or another.

In certain circumstances, some people can't write any better. DS20 has an awful handwriting but he has tremors and can't write any other way. If his professor took off points for his writing, I would be furious!!!

Really, furious??? How about, DS, you need to make sure your professors know that you have hand tremors so they understand you can't do much about your handwriting. Furious would be a little bit of an over reaction don't you think?

OP, I agree, unless you have some kind of a medical condition that prevents you from writing neater, too bad, take a little more time and make it legible. Even your typing isn't legible so I would suggest you slow down and do a better job and stop trying to blame someone else.

 

[SAHDad]

Nope, teacher is not wrong at all. If she can't read the writing, how she is supposed to know what is written.

Handwriting is some thing that can easily be improved so no excuse for extremely bad handwriting.

Some hospitals were making doctors take penmanship seminars after complaints that charts and prescriptions could not be read.

The teacher is completely in the right, but there are plenty of reasons why people cannot improve their handwriting. For example:

If I am writing with an eraseable pen, you will not be able to read it. Same thing for any pencil lead softer than 2H. (When I was in school, I usually kept some HB lead around for scantron tests.) Most pens smear as well. Why? Because I am left-handed, and I never mastered the incredibly painful, athritic-appearing, "hook-hand" writing configuration that some teachers insist we use.

And there are plenty of other physical conditions which can make handwriting difficult or impossible. If you know that your handwriting is bad, you need to figure out a way around it. Me, I print. A lot. And developed my own shorthand for taking notes in class.

 

[lillygator]

definitely fair.

 

[eliza61]

The teacher is completely in the right, but there are plenty of reasons why people cannot improve their handwriting. For example:

If I am writing with an eraseable pen, you will not be able to read it. Same thing for any pencil lead softer than 2H. (When I was in school, I usually kept some HB lead around for scantron tests.) Most pens smear as well. Why? Because I am left-handed, and I never mastered the incredibly painful, athritic-appearing, "hook-hand" writing configuration that some teachers insist we use.

And there are plenty of other physical conditions which can make handwriting difficult or impossible. If you know that your handwriting is bad, you need to figure out a way around it. Me, I print. A lot. And developed my own shorthand for taking notes in class.

Definitely right Dad, I should have said "Generally". I'm a notoriously bad speller and my penmanship stinks. I make it a point to try and slow down when I write, especially cursive. 50 years and I'm still at it.

 

[Eeyore'sthebest]

If she can't read the answer then points should come off because she cannot determine whether the answer is correct or not.

This happened to a friend on a final exam in college. Professor wrote on top that he could not read her answers. In his defense, her handwriting was absolutely horrible.
Good thing she had an A going into the exam because he failed her on the final.

 

[SAHDad]

Definitely right Dad, I should have said "Generally". I'm a notoriously bad speller and my penmanship stinks. I make it a point to try and slow down when I write, especially cursive. 50 years and I'm still at it.

No problem. My most legible penmanship is actually when I use a calligraphy pen, but I write something like 3-4 words per minute, tops, because I have to wait for the ink to dry on each letter before proceeding to the next. It's certainly not practical in a test situation.

 

[KPeveler]

When I am grading exams, I do the best I can, but if I cannot read it, I cannot give you points for it. I often have 100 exams to grade, and I cannot chase everyone down!

And, as a person with a disability who cannot write legibly, it is MY responsibility to do whatever I need to so that people can read my exams. At one point I typed my exams, and now I dictate them to software. Once you reach college it is your job to take care of any needs you have. I would NOT accept "I have a problem" after the exam was written.

 

[Mrs.Toad]

basically it was, if she couldnt read what you wrote, you lost all 10 points for that question. We had 5 short answer questions worth 10 points each and she said that she is not a detective. If she cant read teh answers, you dont get the points.

So we had people who failed the test just based on teh fact that she couldnt figure out what the heck they were writing.

Totally appropriate.

My brother had atrocious handwriting, but wanted to be an architect, and at the time (before everything was computerized) needed perfect printing to write on the plans. He sat and practiced his printing. A lot. He got good at it and now has the best I've seen. Short of a special need of some type, I think most people can write legibly if they just slow down and practice. If someone has a physical issue which doesn't allow them to write legibly, classroom accomodations should be made.

 

[golfgal]

Totally appropriate.

My brother had atrocious handwriting, but wanted to be an architect, and at the time (before everything was computerized) needed perfect printing to write on the plans. He sat and practiced his printing. A lot. He got good at it and now has the best I've seen. Short of a special need of some type, I think most people can write legibly if they just slow down and practice. If someone has a physical issue which doesn't allow them to write legibly, classroom accomodations should be made.

Which leads to an entirely new issue of special education and not being able to get the help you need for things like this.

 

[abdmom]

Which leads to an entirely new issue of special education and not being able to get the help you need for things like this.

In which case, the accommodations should be made before the student starts the class, not after a test.

 

[Shmily1]

Really, furious??? How about, DS, you need to make sure your professors know that you have hand tremors so they understand you can't do much about your handwriting. Furious would be a little bit of an over reaction don't you think?

Yes, really. If they looked, they could see there is a note in his file from his neurologist with the details. And since he has 4 computers, if it's possible to turn in his papers typed, he does.

 

[golfgal]

In which case, the accommodations should be made before the student starts the class, not after a test.

The problem is that if the student isn't failing classes there are no accommodations available to them so it doesn't matter if they do this before or after a test or when the class starts or ends they are just out of luck.

 

[golfgal]

Yes, really. If they looked, they could see there is a note in his file from his neurologist with the details. And since he has 4 computers, if it's possible to turn in his papers typed, he does.

But why FURIOUS and not just a simple reminder?

 

[Gigi22]

I am really starting to feel my age here. I can remember some teachers in H.S. telling the class that exam points would be deducted for bad spelling and grammar. Of course, we had learned to write using a straight pen and ink (from an inkwell)--so penmanship was not the same sort of issue.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

No I don't.

If the teacher could not read their answer, that is the student's problem.

And if said student requires accomodations due to some limitation that makes them unable to overcome chicken scratch (i.e. my brother has a hand deformity and though that was his preferred dominate hand, he couldn't use it and was forced to be ambidextrous as a result. His handwriting is sloppy, but it is legible).

One doesn't need to be failing a class to require an accomodation.

I'm sure a student without arms--obviously wouldn't be able to write and thus wouldn't need to fail a class prior to being accomodated. (saw a news story years ago on a young lady--she did amazingly well with her feet--but an extreme example of a disability requiring accomodation that one wouldn't need to "flunk" before requiring modifications)

FWIW--it is now mid-way through March and I find it hard to believe that a student requiring accomodations would only just now be realizing this. IF it is college, the burden is on the student to make his/her modification needs known.

 

[lovesmurfs]

Another on the "teacher's right" bandwagon. I had friends in school who would deliberately make their essays difficult to read because they didn't know the material well enough. Didn't work for them, though!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Yes, really. If they looked, they could see there is a note in his file from his neurologist with the details. And since he has 4 computers, if it's possible to turn in his papers typed, he does.

Not sure what grade he is in--but it would behoove him to review this with college instructors prior to each course he takes if there is a possibilyt that he will have to write by hand.

I had much caring professors and while class rules were pretty strict, they were not blind to accomodating needs.

B/c of ADA--they'd have to.