Had thought of the consequences if FJ were to complain to the Asst Headmaster, ....after all we were dealing with a teacher who berates her students as urban animals and useless just because the students do not plant trees(???), spent all their time in front of the tv and the computer and did not get up at 4 a.m(???) to pray.....
Well, FJ's action has come back to haunt her. FJ just got the total marks for Civics, and only got 63, which meant a 'C', the only C among her grades. Under the present system for Civics marks are given for Folio (class project) and also Personal Conduct (behaviour???), though goodness why is it that way, and why should it be awarded by a teacher who only teaches her for 40 minutes a week unlike her class teacher, who teaches her for longer period a week. Should not marks for Conduct be awarded by her Class teacher, who would be able to make better judgement based on the time spent with the child. But then, that is the education system. So are students at the mercy of the Civics teacher? Seems to be so..FJ's has never skip any class nor played truant, does her homework diligently (I make sure of that)....only fault is that she dared to question the teacher and to refer to the Asst Headmaster!
FJ barely got any marks for her Folio and Conduct, despite spending so much time and effort to complete her Folio project. I am not being biased when I say that FJ really spends a lot of time on her Class project! This is the child who will spend hours researching and searching for suitable pictures and information from the Net and then printing them out. She will also spend hours colouring any pictures to her satisfaction which is a long time since she adores art.
As a mother, I feel sad and angry about the whole episode, but have advised FJ to put it behind her.
2 comments:
I just found your blog and enjoy your writing.
It is amazing to me that instead of encouraging children to ask questions and think, many educational systems seem to break a child's spirit. When that happens, we effectively stop growth and positive change ... for the child and for the world.
It's unfortunate that your daughter was given low marks because of her question ... but she can feel proud because her question is a seed which may eventually grow and bring about change.
Take Care!
Small Footprints
http://reducefootprints.blogspot.com
Oh, the good effort, but the poor reward. That's not good. I mean, it feels terrible to try so hard, but just not good enough. Hope FJ feels better.
And it's also frustrating when you have problems with the education system but can't do anything about it. I've tried to fix my problems with the system in my school, but all I got was a bad reputation.
Michael.
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