So angry I could bust!! (Vent)

[punkin]

Except that in biology, spelling is VERY important and one errant letter can change the entire meaning of your answer. You just CAN'T let it slide.

No argument. If the spelling matters, then the answer is wrong. If the spelling does not matter, I would let it slide. For example: "shuger is a carbyhidrate" might be a correct answer but "meiotsis is sexual reproduction" would be wrong because I can't tell if the student meant meiosis or mitosis.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I think they did a little bit of it. I know in 8th grade they did more with weights and measures, chemical reactions, periodic table -- DS15 missed most of middle school due to various emotional and physical issues, so I don't think he got much out of it anyway; but I had to homeschool him for a good part of 8th grade, so I saw what they were doing then.

Got it. At my dd's school they barely touched biology and chemistry. It was earth science all the way...

Kids should have a choice, imo. The district I am in does give you a choice which is why we are in it. Some of the districts will not allow it unless you were in the gifted program.

For example, where we used to live did not allow it and my oldest who is a science gal and was not in the gifted program would have been banned from taking it. We moved to TX then and she took Biology and got an easy A. It is her medium.

 

[Pinnie]

Was that necessary? What she wrote was fine for an internet message board.

And, if you're that concerned, your name should be capitalized.

Touche' on the name. I am willing to admit that it SHOULD be capitalized. However, a teacher writing as a "teacher" on a message board should be more cognizant of how he/she is using grammar and punctuation.

Pinnie

 

[Liberty Belle]

My son (going into Grade 9 this year) has a writing disability, too. His fine motor skills are terrible.

He regularly loses marks because of his inability to draw a straight line, or write a consistently grammatical sentence, and I've never gone in to yell at the teacher.

Instead, I take a moment in the evening to go over his homework with him. I point out the grammatical errors (and all the missing punctuation and capitalization!) and have him correct them.

I will advocate with the schools to allow him to do his work on a laptop, and we are always grateful for teachers who are flexible enough to allow him to do things like write in a, b, c, to match the correct answers instead of copying the whole darn line on a test. But with the inflexible teachers... he sucks it up and does his best.

Grades are not THAT important.

I agree and we do the same. I'm just arguing against the implication that proper spelling and punctuation are indicative of someone's intelligence.

 

[cornflake]

No argument. If the spelling matters, then the answer is wrong. If the spelling does not matter, I would let it slide. For example: "shuger is a carbyhidrate" might be a correct answer but "meiotsis is sexual reproduction" would be wrong because I can't tell if the student meant meiosis or mitosis.

Unless the kid was visibly having a stroke while writing that first answer, I'd mark that a 0 regardless of how correct what they MEANT was. Whatever they meant is not what they wrote.

 

[Pinnie]

It's a message board. I really don't expect correct grammar and punctuation, particularly in a "vent" written in anger.

Then again, if I was a biology teacher, I would probably ignore all but the most egregious spelling mistakes. If it is clear enough to be understood, I would possibly correct the mistake, but mark the answer correct.

I am not a naturally good speller (though my grammar is fine) so I do understand how hard it is for some students.

Message board or not, this person claims to be a high school TEACHER. Shame on him or her for not proofreading.

My guess is this is a troll.

 

[golfgal]

Got it. At my dd's school they barely touched biology and chemistry. It was earth science all the way...

Kids should have a choice, imo. The district I am in does give you a choice which is why we are in it. Some of the districts will not allow it unless you were in the gifted program.

For example, where we used to live did not allow it and my oldest who is a science gal and was not in the gifted program would have been banned from taking it. We moved to TX then and she took Biology and got an easy A. It is her medium.

That is just crazy. Here kids can take whatever level they want. Now, if you are as student that really struggles in a subject they try to discourage you from taking and AP level class but if you REALLY wanted that class, you sign up for it (not that most kids would do that but you get the idea). If kids aren't exposed to the classes, how do they expect them to score well on college tests, etc.?

 

[The Mystery Machine]

That is just crazy. Here kids can take whatever level they want. Now, if you are as student that really struggles in a subject they try to discourage you from taking and AP level class but if you REALLY wanted that class, you sign up for it (not that most kids would do that but you get the idea). If kids aren't exposed to the classes, how do they expect them to score well on college tests, etc.?

Now you know why they push the ACT and discourage the SAT.

 

[Magpie]

I hope she doesn't come back until late this afternoon. Holy Crap, can you imagine if she posted during school hours?!

Actually, even though I don't agree with the OP, I have some sympathy for her. She's stirred up quite the hornet's nest.

Heck, I once posted a comment on how nice our French teacher was to my son, by giving him a chance to do a retest after she realized that the reason he'd failed was due to his writing disability and not because of a lack of knowledge of French. And she also adapted the writing requirements to allow him to show what he knew, without having to write whole sentences.

It was interesting to watch people's heads explode!

Except that in biology, spelling is VERY important and one errant letter can change the entire meaning of your answer. You just CAN'T let it slide.

I have a milder version of my son's LD. I once wrote an entire Biology exam, dropping the "ni" out of the word "organism". Yep, apparently all orgasms grow, multiply and are capable of response to stimuli.

My teacher told me my grade (fairly decent, actually), but refused to hand me my paper back. She kept it. I have a suspicion that paper's still making the rounds of the teacher's lounge, some 25 years later.

 

[Kath2003]

I think it's clear that the OP should have let her daughter handle it if she felt it were an issue. I do correct spelling, punctuation and grammar on work of all levels but unlike the US, in the UK all qualifications are sat through external bodies (who do award marks for spelling, punctuation and grammar) so the purpose of a teacher grading work is to provide praise, guidance and feedback, rather than a number which equates to a grade or GPA.

 

[Magpie]

I agree and we do the same. I'm just arguing against the implication that proper spelling and punctuation are indicative of someone's intelligence.

Oh, I'm in total agreement with you there!

 

[Wishing on a star]

Old hag!!

Ohhhh, I know how you must feel, like livid...

But when I read the "Old Hag".....

I def. agree with you, with it being the very first of the school year for a freshman.
But, I would imagine that these kind of expectations are not uncommon with high school level instructors....

I hope your daughter adjusts and makes a total 'A' on her next assignment!!!

 

[golfgal]

Now you know why they push the ACT and discourage the SAT.

I would think that if they don't allow kids in science classes that it would be the other way around. SAT measures writing and math (for the core part of the test). ACT is more comprehensive with a science, social, English, math, etc core. More and more colleges are moving toward the ACT but the SAT is still more popular on the East Coast.

Actually, even though I don't agree with the OP, I have some sympathy for her. She's stirred up quite the hornet's nest.

Heck, I once posted a comment on how nice our French teacher was to my son, by giving him a chance to do a retest after she realized that the reason he'd failed was due to his writing disability and not because of a lack of knowledge of French. And she also adapted the writing requirements to allow him to show what he knew, without having to write whole sentences.

It was interesting to watch people's heads explode!



I have a milder version of my son's LD. I once wrote an entire Biology exam, dropping the "ni" out of the word "organism". Yep, apparently all orgasms grow, multiply and are capable of response to stimuli.

My teacher told me my grade (fairly decent, actually), but refused to hand me my paper back. She kept it. I have a suspicion that paper's still making the rounds of the teacher's lounge, some 25 years later.

 

[Hannathy]

I agree and we do the same. I'm just arguing against the implication that proper spelling and punctuation are indicative of someone's intelligence.

No but not knowing you can't spell and not knowing to check it or how to check it is.

My DD can't spell but she knows it and knows to run everything through spell check and to double and triple check things she doesn't want points off.

I will also argue that BASIC punctuation is indicative of intelligence.

 

[Wishing on a star]

Actually, even though I don't agree with the OP, I have some sympathy for her. She's stirred up quite the hornet's nest.

Heck, I once posted a comment on how nice our French teacher was to my son, by giving him a chance to do a retest after she realized that the reason he'd failed was due to his writing disability and not because of a lack of knowledge of French. And she also adapted the writing requirements to allow him to show what he knew, without having to write whole sentences.

It was interesting to watch people's heads explode!





I have a milder version of my son's LD. I once wrote an entire Biology exam, dropping the "ni" out of the word "organism". Yep, apparently all orgasms grow, multiply and are capable of response to stimuli.

My teacher told me my grade (fairly decent, actually), but refused to hand me my paper back. She kept it. I have a suspicion that paper's still making the rounds of the teacher's lounge, some 25 years later.

OMG!!!!

What you have described with your son sounds a lot like what we face with my son!

That French teacher sounds WONDERFUL!!!!

 

[golfgal]

No but not knowing you can't spell and not knowing to check it or how to check it is.

My DD can't spell but she knows it and knows to run everything through spell check and to double and triple check things she doesn't want points off.

I will also argue that BASIC punctuation is indicative of intelligence.

Or at least a good education...you can still be smart but never learned this in school.

I spell check everything--and since I moved to Google Chrome, their dictionary is very limited so if I'm not sure I put a word into a Word program to double check I am sure I still miss plenty though.

 

[Magpie]

No argument. If the spelling matters, then the answer is wrong. If the spelling does not matter, I would let it slide. For example: "shuger is a carbyhidrate" might be a correct answer but "meiotsis is sexual reproduction" would be wrong because I can't tell if the student meant meiosis or mitosis.

Unless the kid was visibly having a stroke while writing that first answer, I'd mark that a 0 regardless of how correct what they MEANT was. Whatever they meant is not what they wrote.

I wouldn't... but I'm a tutor not a teacher, so my main concern is mastery, not grades. And I have NO interest in using grades to punish kids.

If I got "shuger is a carbyhidrate" on a test, I'd mark it correct for the moment, but the very next assignment my student would get would be a spelling list to memorize. Every word on the test that had been spelled wrong would be studied and retested.

Once I was confident my student could spell and communicate adequately, then we'd move ahead in the science. Knowing the terms is an important part of mastering any subject.

Interestingly, I've actually had my teenagers come home from school with spelling lists of Geography words, Science words, etc... So I'm guessing I'm not the only one who takes this approach, even if I'm not a teacher.

 

[Magpie]

No but not knowing you can't spell and not knowing to check it or how to check it is.

My DD can't spell but she knows it and knows to run everything through spell check and to double and triple check things she doesn't want points off.

I will also argue that BASIC punctuation is indicative of intelligence.

Except when you're e.e. cummings.

 

[Hannathy]

Except when you're e.e. cummings.

But the point is he knew what he was doing and chose to do it!

 

[Planogirl]

I think that spelling and punctuation are important no matter what class you take. Unless it's P.E. of course.

I don't see why the OP was so upset.