Teacher forces really inefficient notes format. How can I respectfully fight this?

Pre-College Topics High School Life
1

First of all a disclaimer. I am likely going to sound haughty inside of this post. Please understand there is more to me than just that characteristic, I am just using it to help my point. If you dont wish to read the background (I feel it is important to explain how much his style contrasts with mine) please ctrl+f and find the line with a question mark. I would still appreciate your advice.

Anyway through the years I have had 7 different teachers that have forced notes formats on me. Most of them make you stick with it for a week or two are done. Furthermore their style can be mixed with my notes style easily. So, I would usually play along for a bit, and then decide what parts of there format were better than mine. I would then use my own format which is essentially a hodge, podge of the best aspects of each note format I have been taught.

Generally one would expect this sort of forced note style to be from an earlier on teacher like in seventh grade. And so far that has been the case, only 2 of the 7 teachers were at my high school and they quickly stopped caring if we went back to our old ways.

Now imagine my surprise when I walk into my AP government class to find this sheet detailing a convoluted plan of how notes have to look in that class. Should the notes not look like that 0 credit is given. Should they follow that format but be incomplete they can get partial credit. I find the system to be unworkable.

First off everything is written in pen, I frequently come back and erase and move items in my notes when reviewing… no longer I suppose. Secondly the student has to write all of their content in various colors by writing in colored pen, or highlighting with a highlighter. There are about 7 different colors signifying various types of content like emotional responses, terms, definitions etc. And by the way the color that you write the body in is not black but BLUE. Failure to meet the color standards, or to switch one color out for another results in a 0.

This quite contrasts with my all in pencil notes style.

If you were to look at my notes without knowing me you would not really understand what was going on (mostly becuase I have terrrible handwriting). You would see inklings of content but really it likely wouldn’t make sense to you unless I read them to you. That is because I use indentation, symbols, size, and spacing to signify the connections all the material have. I don’t merely keep track of terms and definitions I follow causations, and connect each term into its appropriate context with the other material. Everything I do is deliberate, and while it looks messy let me asure you it works.

I have spent years developing and tweaking this format so it works the way my brain works, and is efficient to write and review.

I am NOT one of the whizz kids at my schools born with the predispositions to crack ap tests. Yet this format has gotten me through high school with all A’s despite taking thus far the most difficult classes my school offered. I have also passed 8 ap tests and gotten 5 fives (the 2 of the other three were self-study). Through all of this it has been my note style that makes me successful.

And here in one of the AP classes known for being easy and I am forced to de-evolve to a psychedelic system for notes that just takes up a lot of extra time. Also when I look back at my notes with all the bright colors I find it hard to read, so much distraction all over it.

The problem is is that my government teacher is the first teacher that intends on making me do his notes style throught the year. I have talked to other seniors, and it looks like if I go back to my way the highest grade I can get is a B. I mean if I get a 5 on the AP test that can get me an A but that is risky.

Furthermore he has each student come up to have there notes checked by him and the room is rather quiet when he does so. Everyone can hear his critiques. I am not so much worried about other students opinions on me because they know that I am usually nice, obedient, friendly, and intelligent and not a rebel. But I am worried that if I fight him at all about it that it will seem like I am trying to disrespect him, or cause a disruption.

My question is how can/should I fight this?

I am doing my best to be respectful to the teacher because I legitimately have a lot of respect for him. He is SUPER knowledgeable and great at answering inquiries. He is also a talented speaker, perhaps the best at my school. I want so much to get along with him, yet his system is really getting on my nerves and is causing me HOURS of extra time to take notes. Not to mention my notes have been rendered completely useless by the explosion of color.

Here are some ideas I have come up with

  1. Make a separate notebook for my real notes, and then copy them into his format to turn in.
  2. E-mail him and hope I am the first student who gets past his system. NOTE: if you would be willing to proofread this email to help me work on the tone I write it in that would be VERY appreciated.
  3. Go above his head. My counselor likes me a lot, and the principal seems to be reasonable. Because this is a legitimate academic impediment perhaps I can bring it up with them and maybe get a concession.
  4. Threaten to go into regular civics and self-study the AP test. I’ve done that on much more difficult tests with much less time and have done fine. The problem is A: I need a really good transcript for colleges and am already “slacking” in regular English, B: I want to go for an outstanding student award (there are 20 kids that get it). I have decent chances now but that could kiss them goodbye.
  5. Accept that I will get a low grade in the class and watch the look on his face when I get a five, replacing my grade with an A.

Any other ideas, or suggestions are appreciated. Perhaps I am way off base to want to defy a teacher like this, but I really feel that this is not fair. In the grand scheme of things notes are a personal thing, they are how you interact with the text and learn. I have had years to learn how to do it right, and now I am asked to do it in a way that feels wrong.

Does this ever happen in college classes?

2

(1) if you have the time & energy. (2) Not likely to work. (3) Not recommended. (4) Not in your best interests. (5) Your second best choice after (1).

The teacher’s rules do not seem totally weird to me. He is apparently trying to teach you the different ways to view the issues, and this would seem to be his way of quickly verifying whether you are picking up on the distinctions. You may not find the notes as useful for reviewing as your own idiosyncratic system, but you can hardly expect him to grasp yours (and however many other systems other students might have).

3

I find it strange to enforce such “busy work” and structure at the latter years of the high school level. If a teacher wants to verify, assign essays and papers.

If you have a good relationship with your counselor as you say, go and ask them for advice. Frame it as asking for advice rather than complaining, if you get my meaning. There is a difference in nuance.

4

Smart ass answer: You can do both their format and then write it in your own format.
Deeper meaning: Writing information twice retains memory.

5

Just talk to him and explain your situation. If that doesn’t work, talk to your guidance counselor.

6

I would say try to do 2 if possible and, if that doesn’t work out (which I have a feeling it might not), go for 1 and consider his notes just part of your homework.

Also, in answer to your second question, I’ve been taking classes at my local community college for a while now, and with every professor I’ve ever had they don’t care whether or not you even have notes. You either sink or swim. You do whatever you have to do to get a good grade, whether it’s notes, getting tutoring at the tutoring center, or something else.

7

It might be strange, but it’s not uncommon.
quote=AboutTheSame if you have the time & energy. (2) Not likely to work. (3) Not recommended. (4) Not in your best interests. (5) Your second best choice after (1).

[/quote]

I agree that 2,3, and 4 either won’t work, or will bite you in the butt in the long-run. If it were me, I’d opt for 5.

I’ve mentioned this on other threads, and while I don’t suggest it in all cases, it worked for me. I had a teacher in HS who assigned similar work that I considered to be a waste of time. My solution - I just didn’t do it. Yes, I took a hit on the HW grade, but it was worth it to me to have time to do more important things, like sleep.

As others have mentioned, once you get to college, it is unlikely that any instructor will care how you take notes, or even if you take notes. In the grand scheme of things, standardized note-taking skills ranks right down there with penmanship. :slight_smile: Good luck.

8

What you perceive as inefficient may be efficient to many other students. The teacher doesn’t need to revise his or her rules to appease you. Part of growing up is to adapt and follow the rules assuming they are not out of line, which doesn’t seem to be the case here.

9

Sounds like the best option to me.

10

[Erasable pens](Paper Mate Eraser Mate Erasable Ballpoint Pen, Medium Point, Blue Ink, Dozen (3910158) | Staples) might help. :stuck_out_tongue:

11

Talk to the teacher, don’t do this over email. Say you find the note taking format really complicated. Ask which are the most important parts to get partial credit if you can’t keep it all straight.

Ask how it’s worked in previous years: do students catch on? Feel free to raise your hand in class when you are comfused and ask what color you’re supposed to be using if necessary to give the teacher an understanding of where you are struggling.

It sounds like you are allowed go back and mark colors later. You might try: take your notes in pencil, erase and fix as desired after class, then scan the notes and turn them blue, print the blue version, and grab a set of colored markers and underline/highlight stuff in rainbow colors.

12

@skieurope Have you ever had to jump through the kind of note taking hoops the OP is talking about?

It sounds like a lot of wacky, anal retentive, control freak, busy work to me. I’d be pretty pissed off if my kids had to conform to something like that, especially in the latter years of high school when one could reasonably assume they’ve developed note taking skills by then.

In all my years of education and that of my two kids, none of us has experienced anything remotely close to this. Guess what? We’ve all done just fine academically. This stuff really rankles me (if you couldn’t tell :D).

13

My D17 had a teacher for APUSH last year who had an outline format for each chapter of their text book that—while not quite as odious as your teacher’s system—drove her around the bend. But it was required, and a big chunk of the HW grade, so D slogged through it. So, I would suggest doing your 1) and as @halcyonheather suggested, try colored erasable pens. I know it will add time, but any other option is likely to raise this teacher’s ire, which is not something you need at this point in your school career.

(Of course, D’s school doesn’t give an automatic A for getting a 5 on the AP test, if it had, maybe she would have risked #5! But I doubt it, she’s pretty law abiding. :slight_smile: )

14

@doschicos Nope. I’ve had mindless assignments, but this example is beyond the pale, IMO.

15

I would go to your GC and ask them how you should work with the teacher on this issue.
So you aren’t telling them to override the teacher, but how to approach the teacher on this issue.
Also you could do the same thing with the department head.