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Thursday, December 8, 2011

neither a cheater nor a pumpkin eater

Okay, I don't typically rant on my blog, but then again, I don't typically feel like ranting.  I don't typically feel the way I've felt all morning.

I have this tutor student - a high school junior.  A while back, her uncle called me to help her with her trigonometry.  Said she was a good kid, but shy and wouldn't ask the teacher for help.  No problem.  Shortly afterwards, we began doing occassional tutoring sessions.

The "worksheets" she provided for these sessions looked a bit suspect to me, but she told me she was taking an online course, and just printing them from the screen.  Okay, but they sure looked like tests to me. 

She's always been very vague about the nature of this online class.  There's (supposedly) no book, no live person to ask questions of, etc.  It seemed a bit strange, but I chalked it up to her shyness and didn't press it.

It soon became apparent to me that she does not really have the math skills that this class required.  Our tutor sessions are sometimes like me trying to pull her teeth.  And yet...

She sends me more "worksheets" for us to work on together - each one a different and higher level concept than the one before.  She's sending me precalculus stuff now, trig apparently has been "mastered", but I know it hasn't.  I won't go further into details, but I think I'm finally getting a clue.

She's cheating.  And she's using me to do it.

CRAP, that pisses me off!

Now, I don't even think she's going through the lessons.  I think she may be going straight to the tests, printing them out, having a tutor session with me, going online and passing the test, then moving onto the next one.  Just to get through the course quickly and painlessly. 

This morning, I turned my phone on and there was a text from her:
"Hi srry its early in d morning.  I really need it 2day..."  Then she goes onto ask for a solution to a problem. 

Okay, (1) it's a multi-step solution that I'm not about to send via several text screens and (2) it's something she should know if she's really doing the work, and (3) I'm not going to give her answers to something she "really need it 2day" because that translates to "I need to turn this in today for credit". 

I ignored the text.  She sent another one later saying "I just needed help cuz I culdnt get d answer u got".

I texted back:  "Please call me before our session this afternoon.  Thanks".  I'm supposedly the teacher here, and yet I feel SO  STOOPID!

Man, I just want to hug each of my kids and tell them how good they are.
.

5 comments:

terri said...

So the uncle says she's shy and won't ask the teacher for help. She says there's no live person to ask questions of. Hmmm. Yeah. Sounds suspicious to me.

It sucks when you realize you're being used.

Now what? Do you quit helping her? Call her out on your suspicions? Clearly this is the not-fun part of teaching.

Judy said...

Ugh. What a conundrum! I wish you luck with that, my friend. If it were me (and it isn't, so it is easy for me to say this), I'd let her know that my services were no longer available.

Guano said...

For some perspective, you should read this: http://chronicle.com/article/The-Shadow-Scholar/125329/

agg79 said...

After all the kids you have helped out in the past, that bites when you find out you've been played by both the student and her uncle. That's a tough one to handle after you have uncovered her plan. Cut her off or confront her?

agg79 said...

After all the kids you have helped out in the past, that bites when you find out you've been played by both the student and her uncle. That's a tough one to handle after you have uncovered her plan. Cut her off or confront her?