Dear every teacher I've ever had...

MrNate · 10-03-2008, 03:32 PM

If you don't understand a word that I've used in my essay/writing assignment, look it the f**k up. Circling it and putting question marks next to it does neither of us any good.

I have had numerous teachers do this to my papers going back as far as I can remember, and I cannot for the life of me figure out the intended purpose.

Sorry if this isn't appropriate here, but I just started going back to school (yet again) and I got a paper back marked this way. Is this some sort of secret code they teach in teacher school? Because I sure as hell don't have a decoder ring.

**BigKahuna** · 10-03-2008, 03:59 PM

I am posting her because I find your pain quite ammusing. I am glad for the teachers I've had, both good ones and bad ones, but in general....I think there are a LOT more good teacher than bad, but I still think that when you can't do....TEACH!

Parker36 · 10-03-2008, 04:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigKahuna

but I still think that when you can't do....TEACH!

Oh come on, its true that you don't need to be top of your field to be a good teacher, but it takes a whole different skill set. I've had some of the top minds in my field teach me. They knew everything and were geniuses, but couldn't teach worth a damn. To teach you need to be both adept at the subject and skilled in conveying information.

**BigKahuna** · 10-03-2008, 04:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Parker36

To teach properly you need to be both adept at the subject and skilled in conveying information.

I fixed that for you!

Your point is correct though....I AM top of my field in many areas, but I don't have the patience with people to teach someone to open a bottle of pop.

MrNate · 10-03-2008, 04:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigKahuna

I AM top of my field in many areas, but I don't have the patience with people to teach someone to open a bottle of pop.

I think that's pretty common for people who are very good at things... no patience for teaching it.

zoebisch01 · 10-03-2008, 04:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrNate

If you don't understand a word that I've used in my essay/writing assignment, look it the f**k up. Circling it and putting question marks next to it does neither of us any good.

I have had numerous teachers do this to my papers going back as far as I can remember, and I cannot for the life of me figure out the intended purpose.

Sorry if this isn't appropriate here, but I just started going back to school (yet again) and I got a paper back marked this way. Is this some sort of secret code they teach in teacher school? Because I sure as hell don't have a decoder ring.

So wait, you're essentially saying your paper is being red marked because the teacher doesn't have your level of vocabulary? Are these red marks affecting the paper grade?

MrNate · 10-03-2008, 04:41 PM

I have no idea in this case. All I know is that she circled the word "hubris" and put a bunch of question marks next to it. There were plenty of other marks on the paper, so I have no way of knowing what she meant by that or if/how it affected the grade.

I just find it fascinating that teachers do this. I can only assume it means they aren't familiar with that particular word and are too damn lazy to look it up and too stupid to shut up about it.

If it were one teacher I'd write it off as a quirk. But I've seen this from a number of teachers starting back in grade school. Like I said, I need a secret decoder ring or something.

**Jester369** · 10-03-2008, 04:46 PM

Is it that they don't understand what the word means, or could it be that you have used the word incorrectly? I'm not saying you are of course! I'm just trying to figure out what 's going on. Could you post some examples?

EDIT: I really hope you aren't offended by my comment - it's not intended to be douchy!

**TheJadedDog** · 10-03-2008, 04:55 PM

Personally I'd speak to the teacher and find out what they were trying to communicate. Circling a word and using question marks is copy-editing shorthand for saying either "I don't understand this word" or "I don't understand why you used this word here". While it is entirely possible that the teacher was just lazy and didn't look up the word, I'd want to find out for sure by speaking to them.

**A4J** · 10-03-2008, 05:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheJadedDog

"I don't understand why you used this word here".

This is usually what I take it to mean, but in some of my upper division college classes, we actually had to "dumb down" our writing to make it more understandable to the common person, so maybe that's what your teacher/professor is saying.