So angry I could bust!! (Vent)

[StitchBuddy]

DD14 attends the high school where I am also a teacher. I didn't hand pick her teachers just let her get whomever she was assigned. Big mistake!!! She has a Biology teacher who must have been a college English teacher in another life. My daughter works hard to get the correct answers on a homework assignment, should have gotten a 90 for the content/correct answers. But no, she gets a 70 for punctuation, grammar and capitalization errors. I am livid, so I go talk to my co-work/DD's teacher. She was rude!!!! I told her I thought that get the correct answer in the core subject was the important thing, not grammar etc. She then made the comment, I guess she won't make the same mistake next time. I mean really?? She teaches high school freshman, it is just barely the second week of school. I think she needs to retire!!! Old hag!! Thanks for letting me vent!! I feel better now! Heck, I feel a lot better!!

 

[sparklynails23]

Yeah, I kind of got into it today with the Guidance Counselor over letting some people pick their teachers but not others. It's not right to let the insiders pick and choose, especially when it can effect the kids' class rankings and grades.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

Oh yeah. I hear you. I've known some 50 year teachers who were wonderful, exceptional educators. I've also known some who were just counting the days until retirement. (True story: Many years ago, when I was teaching HS English, a fellow English teacher had a heart attack and a stroke in January. The school hired a friend of mine to "sub" for this teacher for the rest of the year. She showed me this teacher's grade book; the prior teacher had COMPLETELY FILLED IT OUT THROUGH MAY. )\

Some people's minds retire from teaching long before their bodies do.

 

[LuvsDragonflies]

Shouldn't a high school freshman kind of have a hang for punctuation, capitalization and grammar by now? Or am I so 5 minutes ago?

 

[Luv Bunnies]

DD14 attends the high school where I am also a teacher. I didn't hand pick her teachers just let her get whomever she was assigned. Big mistake!!! She has a Biology teacher who must have been a college English teacher in another life. My daughter works hard to get the correct answers on a homework assignment, should have gotten a 90 for the content/correct answers. But no, she gets a 70 for punctuation, grammar and capitalization errors. I am livid, so I go talk to my co-work/DD's teacher. She was rude!!!! I told her I thought that get the correct answer in the core subject was the important thing, not grammar etc. She then made the comment, I guess she won't make the same mistake next time. I mean really?? She teaches high school freshman, it is just barely the second week of school. I think she needs to retire!!! Old hag!! Thanks for letting me vent!! I feel better now! Heck, I feel a lot better!!

I do agree that an understanding of the core subject should be the most important factor in grading homework. However, if the teacher told the students that spelling and grammar would count on every assignment, then I think the grading is fair. I've encountered way too many high school and even college graduates who have poor writing skills. This probably isn't what you want to hear, but it's hard to find fault with a teacher who corrects errors no matter what the subject. Now your DD knows what that teacher expects and can spend a few extra minutes checking her work before turning it in.

 

[beaucoup]

I would be happy that the teacher is teaching. Dislike that kids today are allowed to spell and speak so horribly. It is embarrassing!!!

 

[Andtototoo]

My dd had a history teacher who apparently wanted to be an art teacher. Instead of writing history PAPERS, he had them doing pictures and posters and paintings to "illustrate" their "themes". Dd is actually quite skilled at graphic design, so she got an A. I complained nonetheless because I didn't feel they were being taught skills they needed (research and writing) but also because it was so unfair to kids who were good at HISTORY, but not at art. He was not rehired the next year, so I can only assume I was not the only one complaining.

Nonetheless, I do think this science teacher is teaching them a valuable lesson which is that good writing ALWAYS matters. Good writing requires discipline and habitual effort. I agree with PPs that all too often those critical skills are not emphasized in high school. My dd discovered that my insistence on accurate spelling and good writing (which was not required by any teachers other than English teachers) put her in good stead in college when -- SHOCKING NEWS!!!! -- the professors insisted upon good writing no matter the class. Her classmates who did not have a parent correcting writing and insisting on good quality had a much harder time and received far worse grades than they otherwise would have. Because she was attending a community college her first semester, she was in class with people from many different walks of life, many of them much older and with a great deal of experience. She was the student, however, who was asked to be a TA and got stellar references because of her writing skills. Good writing pays off, so why not do it all the time?

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

DD14 attends the high school where I am also a teacher. I didn't hand pick her teachers just let her get whomever she was assigned. Big mistake!!! She has a Biology teacher who must have been a college English teacher in another life. My daughter works hard to get the correct answers on a homework assignment, should have gotten a 90 for the content/correct answers. But no, she gets a 70 for punctuation, grammar and capitalization errors. I am livid, so I go talk to my co-work/DD's teacher. She was rude!!!! I told her I thought that get the correct answer in the core subject was the important thing, not grammar etc. She then made the comment, I guess she won't make the same mistake next time. I mean really?? She teaches high school freshman, it is just barely the second week of school. I think she needs to retire!!! Old hag!! Thanks for letting me vent!! I feel better now! Heck, I feel a lot better!!

Can any parent in your school district hand pick their teachers? IF not why should you be allowed to?

I am all for doing the best we can for our children, but I think you are way out of line. (This is MY opinion). If my child handed in a paper that was that grammatically incorrect, I would be thanking the teacher for bringing it to my child's attention that no matter what we do, we should give it our best.

 

[KristaTX]

I don't think that at that age where kids are still learning to write that it is such a bad idea for all the teachers to count off to some degree for such errors. Written communication is important for almost all subjects, and not just English.

If the teacher is really an "old hag" she has probably been witness to the serious decline of writing skills over the years. I don't know if it is what your daughter and other students were counted off for, but the text-speak that kids use everywhere nowadays is truly embarrassing, and I would guess that teachers get sick of it. It's okay when texting or in a very informal setting, but not for school. Not only is school a place for proper, formal writing, it is also the place to learn that style of writing. This teacher, while she may com across as mean, is probably trying to help the students.

I bet your daughter will learn from this, too, unless you turn this teacher into the enemy. That will only harm your child in the long-run, and not the teacher. The hardest, strictest teachers are sometimes the ones we learn the most from.

I'm curious. What do you teach?

 

[Mrs.Malone]

My friend is an excellent, well-respected economics professor at a university. He grades the same way. Don't use correct grammar and punctuation? Your grade goes down. He warns of this on the first day of class and provides resources (names of tutors, helpful books) for people who need help with the basics. Some students get angry but most see the logic in it. I don't see a problem with it. I believe that enforcing proper grammar and punctuation in a school setting can help students obtain and keep good jobs in the real world.

As parents it's our job to help our children succeed. If your daughter needs help with basic skills, help her--don't try to excuse her from doing assignments correctly.

 

[SaraJayne]

I bet she won't make the same mistakes again, will she?

 

[SandrA9810]

Have your daughter take it up with a counselor.

I probably wouldn't have skipped school so much if I had a bit of help in the right direction. There's a few teachers that come to mind that have made me hate a subject, then I'd skip their class, then I failed and wound up in summer school. Which makes it hard when you need the bases from that class to move onto the next class. Summer school is a joke too, never really learned anything that was taught during the regular school year.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

I think it's a bad idea to have children in the same school as you teach.

 

[LuvsDragonflies]

I'm curious as to what the child's complaint to the counselor would be. My teacher expects me to use proper punctuation, grammar and know when to use a capital letter? The horror. I think she'd be better up boning up on her English skills or proof reading.

** Note: I double checked my spelling of "grammar". **

 

[beaucoup]

I can picture our future doctors, lawyers, scientists writing publications that are filled with horrible grammar & terrible spelling. Yeah, we will look so smart compared to other countries. We can't even speak or spell our own language.

I want to applaud that teacher!!!!! Good for her!!!

Nothing I hate more than working with people on a business or professional level who make really basic spelling mistakes.

I have a BIL who has professional spelled incorrectly on his website he made himself. Yes, very professional. ROFL. Lots of other mistakes too.

I look at that type of thing when I hire people. I also don't want those people working for me and representing my company.

 

[furb & dez]

Shouldn't a high school freshman kind of have a hang for punctuation, capitalization and grammar by now? Or am I so 5 minutes ago?

Yup. After all, they've had at least NINE YEARS OF IT by their freshman year!

In what precious little world is being unable to write or spell appropriately acceptable?

I do agree that an understanding of the core subject should be the most important factor in grading homework. However, if the teacher told the students that spelling and grammar would count on every assignment, then I think the grading is fair. I've encountered way too many high school and even college graduates who have poor writing skills. This probably isn't what you want to hear, but it's hard to find fault with a teacher who corrects errors no matter what the subject. Now your DD knows what that teacher expects and can spend a few extra minutes checking her work before turning it in.

My friend is an excellent, well-respected economics professor at a university. He grades the same way. Don't use correct grammar and punctuation? Your grade goes down. He warns of this on the first day of class and provides resources (names of tutors, helpful books) for people who need help with the basics. Some students get angry but most see the logic in it. I don't see a problem with it. I believe that enforcing proper grammar and punctuation in a school setting can help students obtain and keep good jobs in the real world.

As parents it's our job to help our children succeed. If your daughter needs help with basic skills, help her--don't try to excuse her from doing assignments correctly.

Yup, yup, yup. Though I would strenuously disagree that the professor/teach should have to "warn" his students that proper writing skills would "count." This should simply be understood.

 

[Tinijocaro]

By freshman year, I really feel spelling and grammar should be expected in any course. That's the whole purpose of learning those subjects in the earlier grades, so they can apply those skills in everything as they get older.

I really feel complaining to the teacher was out of line.

 

[tink1969]

Really? You are a teacher and actually think that spelling and grammar shouldn't count on a test?

 

[LuvsDragonflies]

I was a legal secretary for several years (HATED it) and let me tell you that lawyer chickenscratch makes doctor scribble look almost legible. It's ridiculous.

 

[twinboysmom]

DD14 attends the high school where I am also a teacher. I didn't hand pick her teachers just let her get whomever she was assigned. Big mistake!!! She has a Biology teacher who must have been a college English teacher in another life. My daughter works hard to get the correct answers on a homework assignment, should have gotten a 90 for the content/correct answers. But no, she gets a 70 for punctuation, grammar and capitalization errors. I am livid, so I go talk to my co-work/DD's teacher. She was rude!!!! I told her I thought that get the correct answer in the core subject was the important thing, not grammar etc. She then made the comment, I guess she won't make the same mistake next time. I mean really?? She teaches high school freshman, it is just barely the second week of school. I think she needs to retire!!! Old hag!! Thanks for letting me vent!! I feel better now! Heck, I feel a lot better!!

I am sorry but I am not sure what you are upset over. This was the way that my assignments in school were graded and I expect that my boys will be graded in the same manner. As a parent and a teacher, I would think that you would be appreciative that this teacher is doing what she is hired to do. Judging by your immature name calling in this post, are you really surprised this teacher was rude to you when you confronted her for doing what was right? So I agree, "I guess she won't make the same mistake the next time."