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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

DS thinks he can teach himself to pass an exam in a week. AIBU to think he is wrong?

755 replies

user1494154933 · 07/05/2017 13:45

This is going to sound ridiculous and I wasn't going to post, as you'll probably call me stupid Blush or irresponsible, etc.

My son is now 18. He isn't a 'genius' or anything like that. He did ok at GCSEs but didn't try hard at all. I used to try my best to get him to revise for him exams, he refused to and said it was pointless and exams don't help etc. which is ridiculous because as much as I do agree it's about memory, you clearly do need to know, anyway, he did ok and got accepted into sixth form, he decided not to go and got a part time job but did a part time photography course in the evening (he is still doing that).

I don't really know how it came about but I think I brought it up about how his exams were important and does he agree now he has matured and he was saying how he doesn't agree because exams aren't showing how intelligent you are, etc. and anyone can do them if they learn the exam technique. Last year (around december) he was telling me how he was going to prove it, he booked himself into the Maths AS exams for this summer (last year you can do these ones I believe). He hasn't learnt anything yet Hmm and I keep bringing it up (he spent £150 odd pounds for the exams (private candidate) and will sit them at his college he goes to part time) and he is telling me 'to wait and see'. He says when he has a week until the exam he will start learning the technique of it? I could slightly understand if a different subject, but he seems to think for Maths it works the best. I really don't understand his whole thinking behind this, but can't wait to be like WTF when he doesn't pass...

AIBU to think this is just stupid and not possible?

OP posts:
OhYouBadBadKitten · 14/05/2017 18:07

I can double check it if it were really needed. That would be a very sad day though.

MsAwesomeDragon · 14/05/2017 18:50

It would indeed be a sad day. I'm available as a back up marker too if necessary, although I'd rather not because a)noble has already volunteered, and I'm sure she'll mark it professionally, why wouldn't she? And b) I'm busy preparing my own exam classes for their exams.

I agree with noble entirely. Learning from scratch AS maths in one week is a very tall order for somebody who is naturally talented in the subject. I've never met anyone who is naturally talented in maths who didn't get higher than a B at GCSE. As I've said before, those pupils who get a B at GCSE usually end up with a U at AS level, even if they've been to all the lessons all year. A few of them manage to get reasonable grades, but those are the ones who have pushed themselves as hard as possible for the whole year, asking teachers for help at lunchtime/after school, looking up solutions to questions online every time there's something they don't understand, all year.

ZilphasHatpin · 14/05/2017 18:55

and I'm sure she'll mark it professionally, why wouldn't she?

Come on now, you can't seriously have never heard of a paper being marked by someone who has a bias either for or against the student? It's not beyond the realms of possibility.

That isn't to say I don't accept noble's assurance that she will do it professionally. I do take her at her word now that she has confirmed she will. But my original suspicions were not randomly applied. There was justification there.

noblegiraffe · 14/05/2017 18:59

I should probably point out that I'm part time and have a very light teaching commitment on Tuesday. I won't be marking it on school time!

TeenAndTween · 14/05/2017 19:06

If this thread had been posted in Secondary I don't think any of the regular posters would have had any doubt over nobles integrity wrt marking the paper. noble gives very freely of her time on there answering maths GCSE and other school related questions much to the appreciation of many posters.

pocketsaviour · 14/05/2017 19:15

Learning from scratch AS maths in one week is a very tall order for somebody who is naturally talented in the subject. I've never met anyone who is naturally talented in maths who didn't get higher than a B at GCSE.

Interesting. I got either a B or C (can't remember) at Maths GCSE, largely because I thought it was boring and didn't do any revision and because my class tutor was dull as fuck.

I didn't bother with A levels or Uni, went straight to work. I have noticed, sometimes to a surprising degree, how much better my maths is than 95% of the people I come into contact with - and I work in a profession that lives on statistics!

The number of adults my own age who have an incredibly shaky grasp of such a simple concept as percentages is really quite worrying. My son, who has some SEN and has recently passed his Functional Maths level 1, has a better grasp of this than people 3 times his age.

OP i'm actually rooting for your son and I hope he gets a good result. If he doesn't, then I hope he learns from that and adjusts his tactics in future.

ZilphasHatpin · 14/05/2017 19:21

But it wasn't tween and other than recognising noble's name as a regular poster I hadn't a clue until this thread of her job or her credibility as a maths teacher/exam marker. You can't really hold that against me can you? Not knowing something about someone that others do? MN is massive, we can't all know everyone, we can't all be expected to blindly trust just because they are a MNer. Many have been let down by other MNers in the past for doing exactly that. Like I said, based on her posts on this thread, my suspicion had justification.

Haffdonga · 14/05/2017 20:03

I have read Noble's comments on maths and teaching often and respect her judgement because it reflects my own experience (of teaching) and my dc's experience of maths (GCSE and A levels)_.

But even if i had never read a post by Noble in my life before, I cannot see any reason to criticise her. She has very kindly offered to mark a maths paper in her own time, unpaid and for no personal benefit. (MN as it used to be when posters helped each other Smile )

Yet Zilphas you choose to undermine and cast aspersions for no apparent reason (MN as it is these days Sad ).

ZilphasHatpin · 14/05/2017 20:08

Actually haffdonga if you chose to read my posts, and nobles for that matter, you will see there are apparent reasons. Reasons I have explained. You can chose to ignore them, that's up to you, but they are there whether you are sad about it or not.

noblegiraffe · 14/05/2017 21:02

Ah I didn't offer entirely altruistically. We all want to know how this lad is getting on (including the OP I imagine!). Who fancies waiting till August?

Trills · 14/05/2017 21:12

I think "How do you know this person is who they say they are?" is a perfectly normal level of scepticism of strangers on an internet forum.

SoulAccount · 14/05/2017 21:16

will be honest and say that I hope he doesn't pass. If he does pass it will be pure luck that the things he has managed to memorise turn up on the papers in a way he recognises them. This downgrades the achievement of those students who will have learned the syllabus thoroughly

This makes no sense. If he passes he passes because he has either uncanny natural ability, an ability to work very hard very fast, or a mixture of both.
If it downgrades the achievements of others it suggests that the exam is too easy, in which case their achievement in passing the exam is intrinsically downgraded, whether or not this lad even took it or not!

If the exam is difficult, then everyone's achievement is laudable and valid.

annandale · 14/05/2017 21:21

But what is there to lose? It's true that I wouldn't send the only copy of an important document to a stranger off an internet forum, but posting something to someone who is willing to message me their address means all the OP would lose would be a stamp plus a stamped addressed envelope. Or not even that, if the OP has access to a scanner and noble can offer an email address.

So far, every stranger off the internet I have ever contacted has proved to be exactly who they say they are - though I haven't risked much by any of these contacts if you exclude two marriages

noblegiraffe · 14/05/2017 21:26

Oh I assumed photos/scans of the pages. Snail mail would be no use because the DS wouldn't find out how he had done until after he'd sat the actual exam. Presumably he wants to know beforehand, and the actual exam is Wednesday. He'd be better off doing it on Monday, tbh, as that would give him more time to fix any glaring problems.

Etymology23 · 14/05/2017 21:30

Genius scan does a good version of a scanner from photos, and then turns them into a PDF, if that helps.

noblegiraffe · 14/05/2017 21:33

Incidentally, if you're not sure I'm a maths teacher, here's a search of my posts containing the word 'maths'.

I'm either a maths teacher or the most boring troll since the plimsoll one.

www.mumsnet.com/SearchArch?mustmatch=Maths&dontmatch=&nickname=Noblegiraffe&src_displ_option=s_m_d_m&fromDate=&toDate=&topicmode=All&availtops=-1

GnomeDePlume · 14/05/2017 21:48

SoulAccount, it isn't possible for an exam to cover 100% of a syllabus. If the OP's DS was lucky he could end up with a grade which was disproportionate to the amount of the syllabus he actually knew or understood.

In reality there is a strong possibility that the OP's DS will turn over the exam paper and not know any of it. If that happens I hope he has the good grace to sit quietly through the whole of the exam and not disturbed anyone.

ZilphasHatpin · 14/05/2017 22:00

Can I just clarify that I was not suspecting noble of not being who she says she is- a maths teacher. I wasnt suggesting OP had anything to lose by posting her son's paper off to anyone. My concern, which I didn't have until noble said she hoped he failed, was that someone who had this kind of bias mightn't mark the exam fairly and that the result awarded by her, if an unfairly low one, and if told to the boy in question, might cause a sudden crisis of faith that could completely throw him off his game prior to the exam. It's entirely his choice to make (I hope OP wouldn't have it marked without his permission!) and his risk to take. Before noble's assurance that she would mark it properly I would have had reservations about taking such a risk.

I was never questioning that noble is who she claims to be.

noblegiraffe · 14/05/2017 22:29

Even though I've said I hope he fails, please note that on the 7/5 I did actually post two links for really useful websites that could help the OP's DS.

SoulAccount · 14/05/2017 22:29

GnomeDePlumr: true, but that level of luck / bad luck can affect any student who has been studying in a sub-prime manner. Doubtless plenty of students pass on a wing and a prayer because 'their ' questions came up.

It's a fault of an exam system over continuous assessment. Does that undermine everyone's achievement?

BlessYourCottonSocks · 14/05/2017 22:37

I'm personally really shocked that you would suspect that someone whom you accept is a qualified Maths teacher would risk their professional reputation by deliberately marking a Mock paper incorrectly.

That really saddens me. In all my years of teaching I don't think I've ever had anyone suggest a teacher might deliberately fail a student out of spite and pettiness. I can't believe you don't see the seriousness of suggesting that about a professional.

Zafodbeeblbrox10 · 14/05/2017 22:41

1week doable.. Without hitting the textbooks I'd be very surprised.. but then standards are constantly dropping

OhYouBadBadKitten · 14/05/2017 22:46

It's actually pretty hard to mark a maths paper unfairly. The mark schemes are pretty clear and usually there is little ambiguity.

Cataline · 14/05/2017 22:52

This is just brilliant!

ZilphasHatpin · 14/05/2017 23:15

You feel how you feel bless. I'm genuinely shocked that you have never heard of a teacher deliberately marking unfairly. But you haven't so I can understand your shock at the idea it's possible.

Fwiw, noble is risking nothing were she to mark it unfairly. She is anonymous here. Her professional reputation doesn't come into it unless someone here knows who she is.