Why Can Teachers Personal Feeling Get Into Grading?

[jeremiah12]

My daughter met ALL the requirments of the report. She is very proud of that she knows something most kids don't. That day of the incident she came home so happy and proud about her accomplishment. How can preventing an accident with a skill you know be inappropriate?
We are a gun family and a militiary family. I servered, my brother,my father,my father in law,grandfather, most of my cousins have also servered. The gun cluture is a big part of our lives. My daughter to favorite hobbies are shooting and tae kwon do. My wife and I didn't force then on her or her sisiter. They were raised around it, they liked what they saw, so they asked us (wife and I) if they can learn both. Why would I not want my kids to do something that I enjoy? How different is me teaching her how to shoot, than how to hit a softball?

I had to write fast this morning as this was the first day for teachers in my district, students start back Friday (do not ask me why the school year starts on a Friday, ask the school board, they adopted the calendar).

This is what ticks me off to no end. The system and many teachers reward and praise students for nonsense all the time. For students who are absent on average 3 or more days a week, if they reduce that to no more than 2 days a week for 3 weeks they get a pizza party. Do that for a whole quarter, they get an iPod. It does not matter if they actually do any work in class. These students still mostly continue to do the same level of work as before, which is nothing.

Then there are students like your daughter. She did something she should be proud of and she gets dinged by a teacher because the teacher is against guns. Now, if I graded down a project because it was anti 2A, I would catch H*** as I should because as a public school teacher I am not supposed impose my political view on children.

Secondly, the teacher just spit on the military tradition of your family, a military tradition that has sacrificed so she has the freedoms she enjoys today.

Every good parent knows that children need to be praised when they do good. When they do something good that they are proud of they need lots of praise.

I also believe a teacher needs to be willing to apologize when he makes an mistake. No one is perfect. It sets a good example for your students. I will let another teacher review an assignment and give an opinion on whether or not I graded it too harshly. There are a few I trust to be honest with me. If I have a decent principal, I will even let the principal give an opinion. I wish more teachers tried this.

I still will not change grades so a kid can do sports. They have to earn the grade.

Good luck. And if it does not work out, make sure your daughter knows she and her paper are still A+ in your book.

[jeremiah12]

I almost forgot, schools would be much safer if we could teach basic gun handling to all students.

You are right shooting should be the same as playing softball. They both are Olympic events, at least the last time I looked.

[Divernhunter]

Growing up, going to college and teaching the biggest trouble I had was from English teachers. An example: I turned in the same paper which fit the essy required and received grades from D to A+ and being entered into a writing comp. It was not about guns but about drag racing. It was one of the things that showed me that English teachers are very subjective and allow personal views determine their grades. This is a subject that will allow this to be the norm. Math for example is not. You have the correct answer or you do not.

English teacher also seem to have the bigger ego, above others attitude compared to other teachers(except a few coaches) from my years in the educational system.
You can request that your child never be in that teachers(I use the word loosely) class again or any of your other children if you have them.
I was an Ag teacher and welding instructor. I do wish I would have paid more attention to the subject matter in typing class that I did the girls

[chris1911]

Inappropriate topic for school really it's that hard to figure out?

No it is not.

It is, the "problem"(and I'm using that loosely) is that schools being anti anything firearm related(even in this instance making a firearm safe and getting the situation taken care of before something stupid may have happened, which was definitely the right thing to do) should not be a shock to people these days. It'd be easier to just remind kids in pro 2a households in a libtard state like CA to just not mention the stuff at school for any reason.

Keep up the marksmanship and safety training at home, leave it out of school to avoid the headache. The teacher is definitely in the wrong, but it's an avoidable issue(not that it should have to be, but again.. we're talking about schools in this state).

This is why we are in such a sad state of affairs in California. People would much rather keep their head down than fight for what they believe in and what is right. My grandfather told me when I was young that the right way is not always the easy way, but you should always do what's right. People would much rather take the path of least resistance nowadays.

Well enough. You didn't express it well enough. Guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree if she got a C- on an english paper.

Your sentence should have been, "I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree...". If you're going to be a smart *** then you should at least be a good one. You need a subject for the verb "guess". That subject would be you.

[rick.benjamin]

Teacher is teaching political correctness.
As soon as your daughter intuits her teacher, she will get A+.

My social studies teacher taught me that same lesson.
BTW, I didn't have to change my mind, just my presentation.
Basically she taught me social situational awareness.
1970, James Monroe HS, Sepulveda, CA

[M1A_KICHI]

While the organization, grammar, and spelling may have resulted in an earned grade of C-, the comments were not appropriate.

As to the first, you would need to be able to read other papers (names removed) from the class, to see what a C-, a B, or an A look like. You would also need to compare your daughter's paper (and the other samples) to the rubric, as well as the assigned prompt.
If there are inconsistencies, then the teacher would have little choice but to adjust the grade for the assignment (and also for the course). This one is the easiest to "prove" within the process that other teachers have suggested to you.


Do not allow that teacher to bully your child into being silent about her legal and safe hobbies, skills, and beliefs. Do not allow that teacher to bully your child into being afraid to speak openly about her 2A rights.

I'm sure that the teacher wouldn't be able to dismiss a student's safe and legal extracurricular interests if they involved the student being gay, Muslim, a vegan, or an Obama activist - the same standard must apply.

Remember that all teachers are not anti-2A, even if the CTA and NEA are.

I agree with this and the other educators on here. For every project I assign there needs to be a rubric attached for the students which outlines what the outcomes and grades will be. I wish I had more students with those skills your daughter possesses.

[Merc1138]

This is why we are in such a sad state of affairs in California. People would much rather keep their head down than fight for what they believe in and what is right. My grandfather told me when I was young that the right way is not always the easy way, but you should always do what's right. People would much rather take the path of least resistance nowadays.

No, it's called avoiding unnecessary BS. If you think that one 5 page report is going to change the local school district's anti 2a policies, you're kidding yourself.

In life, things need to be prioritized. ie. getting through HS and graduating to deal with more BS in the real world. You're also implying that avoiding unnecessary conflicts is somehow the wrong way(since you stated there's a "right way") and that's well... wrong.

edit: I'm not saying that the OP shouldn't make a formal complaint. He should. I'm saying that the situation could have been avoided, and can be avoided in the future pretty easily.

[wildfxp]

They have their opinions. We have ours.

[jeremiah12]

Growing up, going to college and teaching the biggest trouble I had was from English teachers. An example: I turned in the same paper which fit the essy required and received grades from D to A+ and being entered into a writing comp. It was not about guns but about drag racing. It was one of the things that showed me that English teachers are very subjective and allow personal views determine their grades. This is a subject that will allow this to be the norm. Math for example is not. You have the correct answer or you do not.

English teacher also seem to have the bigger ego, above others attitude compared to other teachers(except a few coaches) from my years in the educational system.
You can request that your child never be in that teachers(I use the word loosely) class again or any of your other children if you have them.
I was an Ag teacher and welding instructor. I do wish I would have paid more attention to the subject matter in typing class that I did the girls

I agree. Teaching is a 3rd career so it took my credentialing classes not that many years ago. In one class the systematic bias against boys in the education system was the topic. One thing noted was essay topics for English classes as boys tended to select topics of guns, war, cars, hunting, fishing, etc. This does not go over well when the majority of English teachers are women.

At our high school, we have a senior project that has a written part and unfortunately topics like the history of military use of tanks, or the fighter plane, or what ever topics go to the extra reading stages. The female teachers often grade them low while the male teachers grade them high.

The opposite happens with the history of cake decorating.

I am glad I teach science, this is not so much a problem for me. I am pleasantly surprised that, lately, more female students are involved in traditional male hobbies like shooting, off-road racing, track racing, and so on.

[stix213]

Written formal complaint to district administrator about the teacher. This will be on her record and compiled along with any existing or future issues. When she is evaluated they will be present. Do nothing and she will continue to bias her personal beliefs rather grade the work for what it is.

This ^^^

[retiredAFcop]

Since it is a safe and legal activity, the student has a right to write about firearms safety and her skill at handling firearms. If it were an off-limits topic, or if "controversial topics" were off-limits, the teacher would have to specify that beforehand. Note: Writing about breaking the law or hurting others is not subject to the same protections.

Some of you guys should watch the film "Milk" - not because it's about a gay rights activist, but because it's about a successful civil rights campaign.

Some of the important lessons from the film, that we should take to heart:

When people know one of us, a friend, family member, or coworker, they start to vote for us two to one. We need to come out of the closet.

The same applies to gun owners. If we hide in the "closet", we allow ourselves to be marginalized, and our silence emboldens those who seek to deny us of our rights.

In the staff room last year, there were a couple of militantly anti-2A teachers who would constantly make comments about how "evil" all gun owners are. During a condemnation of the NRA plan to allow teachers to CCW, one of the other, more conservative teachers winked at me and said "Why not ask Mr. RetiredAFcop what he thinks - he used to train people to shoot in the military, so probably knows more about that stuff than anyone else here in the room". Everyone looked at me, and I said that yes, I was a former military firearms trainer, an NRA member, and that I currently helped to coach a youth skeet team. One of the other (very liberal) teachers remarked how admirable it was that "good people" like me ("a fellow teacher, so we know he's a good person") were teaching kids to be safe with guns, and suddenly the conversation turned around a bit, and another teacher admitted to being a gun owner as well. Then a third admitted that her husband has guns. Then the other gun owners were emboldened to tell the first two teachers that they were uncomfortable with the hate speech that was being directed at gun owners and NRA members.
Suddenly the anti-2A witches were embarrassed and had to tone their rhetoric down. Kind of like when someone makes a bunch of anti-semitic remarks, and then finds out that there are three Jewish people in the room. We even had some conversations about these issues - and some of the "middle ground" teachers even asked me intelligent questions about firearms safety training. Sure those two hate me, but they were never going to be my friends, or support me in any way.

We can't let this be marginalized as a "gay rights" issue, we have to define it as a civil rights issue.

We have to make sure that we keep hammering the point that the battle against so called "gun control" is not about guns, as much as it's about the Bill of Rights, including freedom of expression and freedom to be secure in your person and property. Gun grabbers do not simply seek to violate our 2A rights, they also routinely seek to violate our 1A, 4A, 5A, 10A, and 14A rights.

[jeremiah12]

Since it is a safe and legal activity, the student has a right to write about firearms safety and her skill at handling firearms. If it were an off-limits topic, or if "controversial topics" were off-limits, the teacher would have to specify that beforehand. Note: Writing about breaking the law or hurting others is not subject to the same protections.

Some of you guys should watch the film "Milk" - not because it's about a gay rights activist, but because it's about a successful civil rights campaign.

Some of the important lessons from the film, that we should take to heart:



The same applies to gun owners. If we hide in the "closet", we allow ourselves to be marginalized, and our silence emboldens those who seek to deny us of our rights.

In the staff room last year, there were a couple of militantly anti-2A teachers who would constantly make comments about how "evil" all gun owners are. During a condemnation of the NRA plan to allow teachers to CCW, one of the other, more conservative teachers winked at me and said "Why not ask Mr. RetiredAFcop what he thinks - he used to train people to shoot in the military, so probably knows more about that stuff than anyone else here in the room". Everyone looked at me, and I said that yes, I was a former military firearms trainer, an NRA member, and that I currently helped to coach a youth skeet team. One of the other (very liberal) teachers remarked how admirable it was that "good people" like me ("a fellow teacher, so we know he's a good person") were teaching kids to be safe with guns, and suddenly the conversation turned around a bit, and another teacher admitted to being a gun owner as well. Then a third admitted that her husband has guns. Then the other gun owners were emboldened to tell the first two teachers that they were uncomfortable with the hate speech that was being directed at gun owners and NRA members.
Suddenly the anti-2A witches were embarrassed and had to tone their rhetoric down. Kind of like when someone makes a bunch of anti-semitic remarks, and then finds out that there are three Jewish people in the room. We even had some conversations about these issues - and some of the "middle ground" teachers even asked me intelligent questions about firearms safety training. Sure those two hate me, but they were never going to be my friends, or support me in any way.


We have to make sure that we keep hammering the point that the battle against so called "gun control" is not about guns, as much as it's about the Bill of Rights, including freedom of expression and freedom to be secure in your person and property. Gun grabbers do not simply seek to violate our 2A rights, they also routinely seek to violate our 1A, 4A, 5A, 10A, and 14A rights.

Exactly! Stated better than I could have ever said it myself.

I experienced a similar situation during lunch in our science department. A anti gun, anti-hunting teacher was spouting off. I was so used to just keeping my mouth closed to not rock the boat. A new teacher said, what's wrong with hunting, I hunt all the time, it is the circle of life. You are a biology teacher, you of all people should understand that. Then another one admitted to hunting. Another newly hired female biology teacher, who was under 30, said she grew up hunting and still hunts. The anti-hunting teacher shut up. For the next several days I enjoyed the discussions of favorite hunting rifles. A few even got together for some bird hunting trips. It was nice not having that teacher around when we talked about our hunting rifles. She just leaves at the mention of guns or hunting.

[VegasND]

It's not always best to keep your mouth shut.

I've got a group of teachers I shoot with. I have an open invitation to take anybody that I work with shooting and always invite new teachers/staff to go along.

I also start every year showing students a video of me at a machine gun shoot.

Exactly! Stated better than I could have ever said it myself.

I experienced a similar situation during lunch in our science department. A anti gun, anti-hunting teacher was spouting off. I was so used to just keeping my mouth closed to not rock the boat. A new teacher said, what's wrong with hunting, I hunt all the time, it is the circle of life. You are a biology teacher, you of all people should understand that. Then another one admitted to hunting. Another newly hired female biology teacher, who was under 30, said she grew up hunting and still hunts. The anti-hunting teacher shut up. For the next several days I enjoyed the discussions of favorite hunting rifles. A few even got together for some bird hunting trips. It was nice not having that teacher around when we talked about our hunting rifles. She just leaves at the mention of guns or hunting.

[Krayzcolt]

Well, I am now out of it. My wife said she will handle this. I am sure she will make the school district personnel earn their pay checks. Don't mess with a mom & her kids. I ALMOST feel sorry for the teacher for whats to come. ALMOST.

[jeremiah12]

I do not feel sorry for the teacher.