horrible problems with really dumb highschool teachers...

[Kazooish]

ok finals is coming up...woot

and i finally got my biology final assignment...instead of the traditional test....shes assigned us "to take past assignments and prove weve met the learning standards".....its this long and stupid assignment, that is completely oppinionated the way shes set up the grade sheet. Meaning if she hates you, she can give you a worse grade, and it looks legit. (shes done this in the past...and she REALLY hates me....iv lost points for lack of a bibliography...wehn no one else had one..but no one else lost points)....thats one of the many examples.

Anyway...now this final leads to 2 major problems...one is that it wont be an anonymouse grading...so she can decide she hates me and take my grade down a lot...that really scares me.

the other problem is the fact that she is a horrible teafcher, and we havent met any of hte these learning results....

i personally want a test...i really want a test, i want to prove my knowledge, not show that i met some sort of learning results that ill get a horrid grade on. Something just needs to be done about this teacher though...shes ruined the school systems biology classes...she teachers the honors class, which is supposed to prep you for sat II's...people who have taken her class and hten sat II's consistently get lower grades becuase they didnt learn what they needed for them, compared ot those who took the average college prep course with a different teacher...who did much better.

this doesnt seem right...but im at a loss of what to do..im gonna request from her a test...but im playing with the idea of taking this to the superintendent or school board or something...about how she really need sto improve her teaching methods...or else find new work...or something...i dont know.

[Vegtable2001]

Easy solution. Go to waynflete.

[Chuck]

Maybe the school board wants her to show that her course has met the learning standards and she's passing the assignment on to you. You get to do her homework.

[extropalopakettle]

Why does she hate you?

[Kazooish]

why does she hate me....

well i really dont know.

iv never had a teacher hate me before, this is a first. Im generally liked by my teachers, even those i hate.

iv had a couple lectures from her about "how i dont want to learn"....i know one of those stemmed from her assigning us this reading to do in class for hte 3rd time...and i told her wed already done it twice...so she said well then write down new questions....i told her we already did that, and that she had never answered the questions we had written down....so she took me out of class and told me to be quiet, because obviously i dont like learning or something...i told her that i want to learn...and id like to move on rather than stay on the same topic reading hte same information class after class.....but that occured during the second semester...so long after she started hating me. :/

so really i dont know...

[Kazooish]

on a note her hating doenst follow much of a logical course...she picks a student from each of her classes....she also picked someone named kenny to hate in the other class....he is one of hte smartest students in our grade, and also one of the nicest. a relativly quiet kid, who usually passes everything with A's. does his work on time, doesnt insult a teacher or anything...but for some reason she dislikes him too....so really i think hse might just be mentally unstable.

[Death Mage]

The most important thing to remember about most schools:

As bad as their worst teacher is, the administration is worse.

BAsically, you're boned. There's really no way out of it.

[Samadhi]

Public school? I agree with DM. You're screwed.

[TheOtherKatie]

my easy solution, having had the same teacher, is wait until you dissect fetal pigs this week, and stab her with the scalpel.

[Kazooish]

lol yes wednesday...the pigs


ok my current idea is im going ot go to her and ask her kindly, i relaly dont think that this final youve assigned is a fair assesment of 20 percent of my semester grade. It is judging me on my organization and ability to keep track of papers, which you know im not good at in any way, but bio is not about organization, its about learning, and i want to prove what iv learned in this class through a final exam, rather than an assesment of my organization.

[Samadhi]

Stating it that way will probably sound like an attack to her.

Unfortunately, I don't have any suggestions on how to rephrase it.

[Ghost Post]

If you're going to go to the administration, get your parents involved. Administration fears parents.

[Ghost Post]

i've had alot of teachers hate me (to be fair, i've given them reason). From experience, I can say don't make any requests of your teacher. Get someone she likes to ask, and then say "Can I do that too?"

[What if...]

I'm rooting for you, as the assignment sounds entirely inane, but I'm sorry to say that you probably won't be able to fix it. She probably won't respond to anything to the effect that organization isn't important. Oh well, tell us how it goes, and good luck.

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O.K., so how did I screw up this time?

[Digglu]

i'm up for requesting the administration (not your teacher) for a test reflecting your knowledge of the subject, assuming you might be able to prove the frivolousness of her assignment. or, at least, if she shafts you on the grade at least take that to them and then demand reasoning for it.

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"You may make no sense, but at least you're enthusiastic about it"

[Beartalon]

How do the other students in your class feel?

Personally, I'd do the assignment and let it show how the material covered or did not meet the learning outcomes. In college classes, a more formal and standardized survey was used by the administration to make sure teachers followed curriculum AND that students felt they were being taught properly. I, with the help of a few other students in different Visual Basic courses, managed to get one teacher reprimanded for a year when he spent more than half of one semester lecturing on VB.NET, but expecting us to complete large complex assignments in VB 6.0 just by reading our text without any lab help or office hours in which we could talk to him.

But I'd also send a copy to the administration.

[Beartalon]

(hit the submit button too early)

I'd actually start with submitting a COPY of the particulars of the assignment to the administration with a letter from your parents asking the questions you've asked: Why are we not being tested traditionally? What does this assignment actually mean? How does it increase your knowledge of the course material? Why is it your responsibility to PROVE she met the learning standards? Etc.

[extropalopakettle]

My first thought was that it's hopeless. Teachers want to minimize, to a reasonable extent, the amount of work they have to do. Who wouldn't? Many are overworked and underpaid. Even the conscientious ones will try to teach and grade to some reasonable standard while still trying to minimize the effort they have to put in. So your teacher has a plan, and you want her to change it. Not likely. You want to ask her to do the work of coming up with a test (and it is work), when she's already decided that she's going to avoid that by giving you an all-encompassing assignment with a description that requires little effort on her part.

You could go to the administration, but they're often busy too, and can't (or won't) take the time to figure out who's really right, and are reluctant, anyway, to take the side of the student, as it undermines the teacher's authority. Of course, if you complain to the administration, it might be held against her in the long run, but you're not likely to bennefit from it personally.

I think your best bet is to go to the teacher, explain as clamly and as rationally as possible that you feel you are entitled to a traditional written exam covering the topics that were taught, and that she, as the instructor for the course, is obligated to provide one. Explain to her that you came to this decision after lengthy discussions with your parents, and that they are behind you on this (you might want to forewarn them too). Explain to her that they are in fact more concerned about the unorthodox nature of the exam than you are. Explain that if she doesn't take your concerns seriously, you will have to speak with the head of the department or whoever. Explain that while you haven't spoken to other students about it (don't come off like you're organizing a mutiny), you wouldn't be surprised if other students and their parents felt the same way. And explain that you're not looking for an easy way out of anything, but that you just want a fair examination based on what was taught. Lay it on thick with the respect so she has plenty of room to agree and still save face, but give her something to think about regarding the prospect of you and your parents and possibly others going to the administration and making her look bad (don't say "look bad" - let her think it), so that agreeing with you seems like it might be the easier course of action.

Do all that, and I'd give you a 50/50 chance.

[Samadhi]

Yeah, what extro said is the way to do it without attacking. Good jaerb.

However, if that fails go to the admin in the manner BT suggested. Excellent post BT.

[Kazooish's Teacher]

Oooh! That's why I hate you. You're a little snitch. Just take it like a man. You know there is a process for appeal aginst assessment decisions. So use it if you like. Put up or shut up!

[Beartalon]

Maybe Kazooish's Teacher needs to put out a little more. You're awfully wound up.

[TheOtherKatie]

OOh kazooish's parents may not be able to help much, considering they hate him too

[groza528]

First of all, I want to say that I've had the same teacher, and I hated her, and I deem her the worst teacher in existence.
However, Somehow she took a liking to me *shudder*
That being the case, I can't offer any real advice, though my sheer presence if you try to speak to her may improve your chances.

[Qirat]

honestly, i think that Kazooish's teacher is most likely threatened by highly intelligent students, especially if she is in the habit of not giving thorough and complete lessons throughout the year. I'm not there, so i can't really say, but that's what it kinda sounds like.

In which case, reasoning with her wont' work, because she'll take it as a challenge to her teaching ability if you question the final exam's pertinence. In my experience, people who unjustifiably dislike others will make an effort to at least ignore those people, if not actively disagree with them, no matter how logical or correct they may be. It's a point of arrogant pride. If she agrees that you're right, it would mean admitting that she was wrong.

I agree with the "ask someone else to ask her" method. If it's a student she likes, she won't feel threatened, she won't be so adverse to the suggestion, and she can save face. Approaching her directly might work, but i honestly don't give it good odds. I would ask her about it before i go to the administration, though, just so you can say that you went through all available methods to rectify the situation with the teacher before seeking a higher authority.

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I'm lost.
I've decided to go find myself.
If i should return before i get back,
please tell me to wait.

[Kazooish]

well i talked to her

and in an amazing event.......NOTHING CHANGED WOO

blarg, nothing changed....and....i dont have the energy to go to the administration about this....ill do the project....its easy....time consuming...but easy.....though it doesnt test my knowledge at all

2 weeks and i never take another class with her again. someone should stand up to her eventually...but evidently it isnt going to be me. <<sigh>>

[Pigboy]

I think you are missing the point here Kazooish. Maybe she has noticed how you are particularly bright and articulate and has chosen you for a special lesson that most people don't learn till they get older. The one about how life can be hard and unfair and no matter how much you bitch and complain and wriggle, there will always be someoen who has authority over you and there ain't nothing you can do about it.

You lucky lucky thing. I didn't learn this lesson properly until I was over 20.

[Lepton]

Life isn't a bitch. People will always go out of their way to help you, no matter how much trouble it might cause themselves.

[casinopete]

*helps Lepton into a woodchipper*

[Pigboy]

Yeah, right, Lepton. How old are you?

[Lepton]

Pick any number between one and a hundred.
Do some math stuff to it until you get "9".
Add 29.
Divide by two
Eat vegetables and don't let them find out where you live.
And *ALWAYS* refuse to take anyone with a subatomic member seriously.

[Pi]

subatomic member!!!

Gee mine's small but it ain't that small!

[Vegtable2001]

[Antrax]

Er, if you want my advice, I'm mutineer and make-teachers-regret-the-day-I-was-born extraordinaire, but from my experience it's as likely to screw you worse as it is likely to help, so unless you're the gambling sort, really into vengeance or have nothing to lose, don't apply these techniques.

First of all, why she hates you. She feels threatened by you, and the fact you insisted on refuting her idiotic demands with logic only made it worse. It's not a coincidence she dislikes another smart kid, some teachers most people feel threatened when they encounter smarter people, and are likely to react harshly if in a position that allows them to do so. When dealing with such people, always ensure they have ways to back down while saving face, and you should be able to get whatever you want. But it's a little late for that. Your other way is through -- engage in direct confrontation with said teacher and win.

That is, of course, not simple at all. The administration defaults to being on her side, so unless you have an angle on them, like a specific member of the board who really likes you, you have little to no odds of dividing and conquering. Involving the parents is unlikely to change much, simply because that's what they'd expect -- they deal with angry parents every single day of the week, and if they couldn't fend parents off, they wouldn't have been able to keep their jobs. What you need is a bigger threat, of the kind they're unprepared for. This could be press ("Teacher invents new grading method in local public school"), the city council (especially if an election is coming up) or just local activists.
Alternatively, you can try and arrange a sort of debate with her with a third party acting as a sort of mediator, that's what I did in 12th grade when my English teacher thought it's funny to give me a yearly grade of 80%, despite the fact I was better in English than most English speakers in the group, simply because I failed to hand in roughly half the assignments during the year (my case makes sense, I swear, the finals system is different here, all she did was screw me within the bounds of the law). It got me 2 extra points (which is complete crap, but still means it works.
The third way of action is trying to patch things up with said teacher. It's important that you not assault her position, nor provide any convincing arguments. Your goal is to make her feel superior, and allow her to be generous by giving you what you humbly ask for, namely getting a grade which reflects your level of expertise in Biology and not how much the Biology teacher likes you. I would go about doing that by talking to a teacher who knows both I and the Biology teacher, explain the situation to her (facts only, calm. You don't want to create antagonism), and ask maybe she can talk to the teacher for you? Maybe throw in some self-depreacation like "I was so rude" or "I feel I hurt her" or crap like that, they love it.

Well, that came out long again. Let me know if you're interested, I can elaborate on any of these.
Antrax

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"If it comes down to a choice between being unloved and being vulnerable and sensitive and emotional, then you can just keep your love." -Victor Mancini, "Choke"

[Samadhi]

*helps Antrax into the woodchipper*

[Antrax]

~watches reference fly over his head~
Antrax

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"If it comes down to a choice between being unloved and being vulnerable and sensitive and emotional, then you can just keep your love." -Victor Mancini, "Choke"

[Antrax]

Bump. What's the end of the story?
Antrax

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"If it comes down to a choice between being unloved and being vulnerable and sensitive and emotional, then you can just keep your love." -Victor Mancini, "Choke"

[Kazooish]

my appologies...i talked to her....and she said "no, you have to do this assignment and all the other classes are doing it, so just deal with it"

just this week i found out an amazing thing

the other like 3 or 4 bio classes have a take home test.

And one kid in our class has been allowed to do something different (im not sure what though) because he doesnt have enough work saved to actually complete the portfolio...

but its to late now for me to yell at her or anything, i found all this out yesterday, and hte final is due wednesday, so iv already almost finished it.

[jesternl]

man that sucks..
Good thing youi finished it though.. It's a little like real life, sometimes you have to do something which you know is idiotic and pointless.

[Lepton]

Like pretend to be sympathetic?

[Pablo]

Was that good for you?