Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Correcting a Teacher?

My DD10 just got a paper back that was marked one letter grade lower than it should have been based only on a word that my DD repeatedly did not capitalize in her paper (the subject of her paper). The teacher thinks the word should be capitalized but I, a writer and editor, know that it should not be. Do I say something to the teacher since this is the only thing she marked wrong on her paper (although she marked it wrong eight times)since it brought her grade down an entire letter grade or should I just not say anything? Also, if I should say something how should I do it? A note, an e-mail, make an appointment with this teacher (not my DD's main teacher, but lovely from what I understand)? I don't want to make a federal case out of it, but it doesn't seem right that she should be marked off for something she didn't do incorrectly. Thoughts?

Personally, I would say something. Otherwise your daughter is going to be forced to write in error going forward.

Ask for a minute, go in armed with your Bedford reader or something similar and show her where she is in err. Don't make a huge deal out of it but let her know that your DD worked really hard and was upset by the grade. Tell her what you do for a living. The teacher will either apologize and change the grade or not. Going forward your DD needs to continue to make the same "mistake" so that she doesn't inadvertantly relearn it wrong. I'm willing to bet that even if the teacher doesn't change her grade, she won't make the same mistake again.

I'd find something definitive like in an editor's book of ____ (sorry, I'm not an editor so I don't know the names of what you'd use!) - ie, something official and not to be argued with. I'd show that to my dd, and have my dd take the paper in with the book reference and explain it to the teacher. She can let the teacher know that her mom's a writer and an editor and that she was following her mom's direction in not capitalizing, and ask that the teacher reconsider her grade. If she was younger, I'd make that call to the teacher myself, but I think that by 5th grade most children are able to begin to advocate for themselves in small ways such as this. If the teacher still doesn't relent or disagrees or generally gives your dd a hard time over it, I'd follow up with an email.

The reason I'd have my dd do it is that a) it's a good opportunity for your dd to learn how to advocate for herself and b) I think the teacher will be less likely to be put off or annoyed if the student asks for reconsideration rather than just the parent.

OTOH, take that all with a grain of salt - my kids have always attended schools that are big into self-advocacy - it might not be the same elsewhere.

Good luck!

polarbear

In addition to the above advice, just a quick caveat. I would recommend checking several style manuals just to be sure she doesn't have any leg to stand on. You may find that she is using a reference that is in disagreement with the way you believe the word should be capitalized. I have consulted several editorial style references about particular issues in the past, and I've gotten different answers (so I chose what I liked best). It is hard to say there is a "gold standard" for most things. (But then again, if it's a very obvious mistake, you should be able to bring in several references saying the same thing.)

Well, I looked in the three different dictionaries (as well as an online dictionary) and they all agree: don't capitalize unless it's a proper noun. I've talked to DD, who says she will talk to the teacher tomorrow, take in one dictionary for support, and, if necessary, mention my master's degree in writing and editing. Thanks for your help!

I would also encourage your daughter to self-advocate. I think it's enough to show that it is considered acceptable not to capitalize the term at issue, though the case would be stronger if the teacher had gone against every major authority. Out of curiosity, what's the word?

I'm sure we'll all agree with you on that one. I think that's great that your DD is willing to self-advocate. Let us know how it turns out. Even if the teacher doesn't change the grade, you can tell your DD that all us nameless folks over here know she's right.

As a fellow writer, editor, and writing teacher, I have not only worn your shoes but worn them to a frazzle. Sometimes I challenged them; sometimes I left it alone.

Once my kids were in high school, I would proof their papers if they asked me to, and if the high school teachers in their AP classes made that kind of error, I first encouraged my kids to challenge the grade. If the teacher pushed back, I would send a friendly note just letting them know the kids had discussed their issue with me and had they considered .... and then would cite the specific rule in question. I personally found the AP high school English teachers the most defensive.

If your daughter is in a lower grade, depending on how much that one score affects her grade, I'd be tempted to simply make my daughter aware of the teacher's discrepancy so that she knew the particular rule appropriately. But I'd likely not make a big deal out of it unless it became a pattern. But that's me - it was usually just not worth putting the teacher on the defensive with half a year to go if it wasn't going to make a difference in my child's overall grade.

Are you absolutely sure that was why the grade went down? (Maybe I am an idealist--but do papers really get marked down a whole letter grade due to a minor capitalization issues?)

How important is this paper? If it's a 10-page paper that counts for 1/4 of her grade, I would go to bat. If it's a minor little assignment, I would let it alone. By the way, I am a writer and editor, too.

It was a one-page paper that that scored a 92 (B+) with 8 of just this one word marked as needing to be capitalized and no other marks or comments on the paper. So, I'm thinking 8 marks, 8 points off. I actually think it was well-written, with good flow, organization, and content (as much as can be said of a paper that had to be precisely one page!) and no other spelling or grammatical errors.

In the whole scheme of things, I'm not sure a 10yo's paper is ever really all that important. However, she likes to get good grades and she would hate in the end for this paper to make the difference between a B and an A. I've advised her that it is of utmost importance that she is very polite and doesn't come right out and accuse her of being wrong (which I don't think she'd do), but that she can say she was wondering if she could take a look at her paper to talk about it, at which point she could tell her that all the dictionaries she checked told her not to capitalize it. I also reiterated that she is to just drop it if the teacher holds her ground. DD is not the argumentative type, so hopefully it will go smoothly and be a non-issue. The teacher is a really nice person, so hopefully she'll be receptive and my DD will have a posititive self-advocacy experience.

Thanks again, everyone, for your advice!

I think the bigger issue is the teacher's crazy grading criterion. You don't take additional points off for every occurence of the exact same error. That's just nuts.

When I was in high school, I had an English teacher who trashed my grade on a test because 1) I had scanned a line of poetry differently than she thought it should be scanned, but then also 2) I had counted the number of feet correctly for my scansion, but incorrectly for her scansion. In other words, there was not a second independent error, but she took more points off for it anyway.

That kind of stupidity is just inexcusable in a teacher.

I would leave the capitalization issue alone, and tackle the grading criterion issue.

That's a straightforward error by the teacher and should be addressed.

Unless, of course, she ate a Canadian Goose for Thanksgiving, while a Siberian Tiger hunted a Steller's Jay in the backyard, scaring all the California Quail out of the California Poppies.

I wouldn't use this as a moment of self-advocacy at age 10, unless your daughter is particularly diplomatic by nature, as this will likely embarrass the teacher. I'd send a polite email to the teacher and, yes, ask that the grade be corrected.

FWIW... we had a similar situation with Canadian Goose vs. Canadian goose. Teacher offered a mea culpa to the class over it.

Dandy

p.s.
Yes, for all the purist friends from up north (North?), I know it's officially a "Canada goose," but that's a whole different ball of wax to burn.

I agree!

It might be too late now, as your daughter might have already had a discussion with the teacher, but it's also possible that the teacher graded the paper holistically. As an occasional writing teacher, I assign a grade that takes into account content, sophistication of vocabulary, organization, flow of ideas, etc. When I mark something, it's usually only as a helpful note, not to "take points off."

Of course, if that's the case, the teacher absolutely should have noted helpful ideas for improvement. To have one "correction" be the only feedback on a paper is just bad teaching.

Just a quick update: DD talked with the teacher today and, when asked, showed the teacher the dictionary. After the teacher confirmed with the English teacher, she changed the grade. DD said she was pleasant about it. So, I'm proud that my DD decided to say something, and pleased that the teacher reacted positively. I don't like to rabble-rouse, so I'm just glad that all's well that end's well!

Hurrah! Sweet success.

Was it grade actually based on 'one off for each (non) error?' I'm just curious/incredulous.

Congratulations on DD's success.
((shrugs and more shrugs))
Grinity

What a great experience for your daughter to be able to respectfully challenge her teacher and have such a positive outcome. Yay!