<p>Please oh please let my son only have to endure one more year of this nonsense! </p>
<p>His math teacher conducted a "planner check" as a quiz. My son does not use the school issued planner. He has his own system that involves a folder that he carries around with him to put everything that needs to go home in. (All assignments can be accessed on teacher's webpages. The school makes a big deal about this.) He has never done the wrong assignment or failed to turn something in on time. He now has a zero for a "quiz." I'm worried that if he makes an issue of it, this already bitter, power-hungry teacher will take it out on his rec. Initially, he was excited about this teacher because 80% of the grade is from quizzes and tests. He wasn't planning on the quizzes being on where he decided to write his homework assignment down.</p>
<p>Should he contest this or just lie low and "yes ma'am" his way through until the rec is written?</p>
<p>Not only can the teacher "take it out on the rec" but your son's grade will be lower if he had more than one planner check quiz that is a 0.
I'd have him fill in the planner even if he doesn't use it. Since the assignements are online, can he just go on at the beginning of the week, spend 10 minutes and write down everything for the week and be done with it? He doesn't have to go back to it, but have it in case there is another "planner check" quiz. It would be a shame for his grade to be lower because of it.<br>
Once the recommendation is written, I might get spicey and talk to the teacher or an administrator about it more.<br>
That said, if you were not applying out, I'd contest it in a heartbeat.</p>
<p>My D's middle school had these same type of quizzes. They were told at the beginning of the year this would be the case. In fact her middle school had a rule that you were supposed to put the planner out in each class for the teacher to see it. I think only the math teacher checked it once or twice...</p>
<p>In my kids middle school, each class does check that the students have written the assignments in the book and the teachers have to stamp or initial it, so I don't think it is uncommon to "require" the use of the planner.</p>
<p>If the teachers had told my son that this would be the case, I would be fussing about my son instead of the teacher. But this teacher was the one I was most confident would not subtract points for arbitrary things. I think that is what most upsets me.</p>
<p>Why do they not realize that children are different? Is public school really only about conformity?</p>
<p>Linda, good idea about writing everything down at once. It's just more busy work. His science teacher even goes so far as to give the kids a paper with all the assignments for the week on it!</p>
<p>If you want to "take one for your kid", you might send the teacher a note saying that YOU instructed him to organize that way and let her know that now that you know what she wants, you'll have him do it "her" way and see if she'll "adjust" the grade to match his next "planner quiz".</p>
<p>These "arbitrary" "kiss up" grades are why some people thing standardized testing is the best way to measure incoming college students (see thread in regualar forum). And unless your district has a policy against such nonsense (or at least limiting what percentage of a grade can be "non-academic", I guess you are stuck with the silly stuff.</p>
<p>No parental involvement on this at all, except to advise your son. If he were my son, I'd recommend that he approach the teacher to apologize for not following the system as it was laid for him and to ask whether he could do a short, extra assignment to offset the grade. His attitude should be genuine, humble, zero argument, zero defensiveness. The goal is to have the teacher say to himself: "I like the way that kid handled a mistake and I like the fact that he offered to do something on his own to keep his grade up. Good kid."</p>
<p>That's what you want.</p>
<p>But jeez, I can't stand these kinds of teachers.</p>
<p>it happens in the most messed up classes of teachers, even if they do happen to be math (throughout my entire educational career, out of the 9 teachers i have had for math, only one ever taught me anything-if i wasn't falling asleep) </p>
<p>lie low, this has happened in my grade on a larger scale than just one student, and with a couple kids applying out we prospective students are just trying to butter up the teacher so they will forget all the times we failed their little "johny the 5th grader" skill quizzes.</p>
<p>Having gone through a very similar experience, I strongly concur with Parlabane's approach, although presumably that has been long resolved. One other thought: if things haven't improved and you got along with last year's math teacher, perhaps a supplemental letter from that teacher might help.</p>
<p>I did not get involved with this at all. My son decided to stay after school a few times for "help" just so the teacher could get to know him as an individual. Things are better as she no longer connects him to the largely disrespectful boys that she teaches. His ssat scores (and hopefully SAT - takes it next weekend for a talent search) will speak to his math abilities. He has lost points on tests for not showing work that is completely self-evident, like "What's the perimeter of a square with an area of 25?" It drives him crazy.</p>
<p>The only contact I have had with this teacher is an email asking her which calculator she recommends.</p>
<p>Ah! Fighting the Show-Your-Work Rule! Fun times. So, I do this program called Kumon, which you might have heard of. Its a math program all about going as fast as you can with a high accuracy. Nothing about the process, and everything about the speed and answers. Well, I just quit last year, but I worked up to Level K and their method is pretty drilled into me. Basically, that means I show, like, zero work, and the work I do show is entirely illegible. It drives my math teachers insane.</p>
<p>I personally think its rather ridiculous to be giving teens quizzes on their planners. Didn't that stop in like, the 5th grade? Granted, they have to be taught organization, but seriously... quizzes that effect their grade??</p>
<p>If the teacher want a planner, use a planner. If the teacher wants it on pink paper, put it on pink paper. If a teacher requires a squirrelly use of semicolons, then use semicolons as instructed. Show all work=partial credit. </p>
<p>Yes, do as asked. Even in bs, teachers have particular requirements. My son's honor's Spanish III instructor still does notebook checks and it is worth a quiz grade. It is an "easy A" and no reason not to do it.</p>