It was like this. He had to read a newspaper article, then write a summary and answer questions about it. We didn't have a paper, so he called his grandma and I went and picked up a stack of papers from her. He chose an article out of the sports section, imagine that. He asked his dad questions about the article. He proceeded to write. Only he forgot one thing... the article. He forgot to take the article to class.
No big deal, right? WRONG!
You see, another boy chose the exact, same article. Since Jordan didn't turn in an article, she thought it was suspicious that Jordan had the exact same article as the other boy. It created doubt in her mind, I get that, BUT here are the FACTS in my son's favor...
1. My husband could tell her the exact article that he read and summarized on the phone and that we saw him do his homework.
2. His summary and the other boy's were NOTHING alike. She at least believes he didn't copy word for word.
3. The other boy was questioned and had NO idea what the teacher was talking about.
4. Jordan was questioned, was calm because he was telling the truth and also told her that he had no idea what article his friend had written about.
5. Another friend heard the conversation between Jordan and the teacher and went and told the teacher that Jordan wouldn't cheat. Also he saw Jordan take it out of his binder, because Jordan asked him to turn it in for him, since he was walking up to turn his own in.
6. It would not be unheard of for two 13 year old boys who LOVE football to both read and write on an article concerning Manning and the Superbowl, now would it?
7. My son has a 100% in her class right now. Why would he have to cheat?
8. I'm not saying kids don't copy off each other from time to time, but why would he start today, when we went to all the trouble of getting articles for him.
9. She said that she believes now that he didn't copy, but that he just used the other boy's article. Hmmm...even if that was true, which it isn't because we have the article cutout to prove it, would it be so bad if he did his own work? Could just count off points for not having article, right?
10. He has no prior record of cheating or misbehavior at school.
Unfortunately, all those reasons were not good enough for her. OK, so he is no longer being called "cheating," he still has to redo the assignment. Instead of just taking off points for not having the article or letting my hubby take the article to her, Jordan had to find a new article and summarize it. Only he still gets 10 points counted off for not having the article today in class.
Fair? Hardly.
BUT, there is a positive here. My son learned a valuable lesson in what could happen if he really were to cheat and get caught. He learned that his parents are there for him to help and he learned that he has some pretty good friends who stood up for him when needed.
And we are just thankful he doesn't have a "0," even if 10 points will be deducted off his paper.
Life sometimes isn't fair. Sometimes the bad guy gets away and sometimes the innocent are accused. And sometimes life is just plain chaotic.
And sometimes the mommy heart just hurts because the we can't stand it when our babies are under attack. Sometimes it is so hard to be a mom...
"My strength comes from the Lord..."
7 comments:
Wow, that's really unfair...
That is ridiculous. Why in the works should he have to redo the work just because they chose the same article. Sounds like she's having a hard time admitting she was wrong. She should apologize for jumping to conclusions. I am not as accepting I guess.... I would probably go above her and express the unfairness, especially since Jordan has such an excellent record and did nothing wrong.
That made me mad! Sorry that happened.
This is the college composition teacher talking here: If a teacher does not know the definition of plagiarizing/cheating - then she shouldn't be cheating. How is it cheating to use the same article? How is it cheating when the content is totally different. I have had students plagiarize (more in the last few years of teaching than ever before but you can google! LOL;( - To me,this is something you should take up with the counselor about how this is cheating. I am sure there are only so many newspapers (city/state) in your town. My students had to retrieve articles from the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times (opinion section) - and believe me - I had enough discernment to ever tell if anyone copied - even a LINE! As a teacher - there is NO LOGICAL SENSE in her stance. I would take it to a higher level, privately, without your son's knowledge and talk about it. This just shows a teacher who is not qualified to teach in a classroom.
BTW - blogger will not allow wordpress to post a comment so I have to use my google account. Thought I'd give you a headsup.
OOpps! She shouldn't be teaching!
Hmmm... that stinks. Grace goes a long way in understanding.... Sorry about this, but like you said, what a great lesson for him.
Oh boy...we have had some unfair situations at school this year too. Yes, every situation is a learning experience. That stinks.
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