Was the

[WantToBeAMamma]

AIBU to be upset that my daughters teacher took off 5 marks from her exam total because she doodled on the back of the paper while waiting to be allowed to leave the exam. She would have got 96% without the deduction. See attached the offending doodle. Teachers comment was "minus 5 marks for graffiti at the back. I have told you many times its not on."

Had one teacher call me in, middle daughter at time was six, she’d drawn an uncanny likeness of her teacher, who surprisingly resembled Miss Piggy, she’d also drawn a hand with a knife and blood dripping from it, teacher was shocked and assumed I’d be shocked and punish her

If she had done that these days a ‘smug teacher’ would have been the least of your worries. You’d have been explaining yourself to the safeguarding lead about why your six year old is drawing such violent pictures along with offensive portraits of her teacher…

She's been told repeatedly, therefore she effectively chose to piss away those marks. Your annoyance at the teacher is totally misplaced, but it would explain why your daughter continues to be defiant.

Good luck with her GCSEs then.

I used to doodle at the end of exams. It is harmless. I know lots of kids for whom drawing is soothing. It stops them from rocking on chairs or biting nails or tapping the pencil. I have never known this not to be allowed. Anxiety etc is heightened in exam conditions.

I'm a secondary English teacher and this wouldn't bother me in a test tbh. Doodling in exercise books does irritate me though, so I give scrap paper to those that like to be doing something with their hands while listening. I'd just want to assess her knowledge and understanding. I definitely wouldn't deduct marks. I'm also a GCSE examiner and this wouldn't affect her marks in an exam at all.

Thank you. I work in teaching and things like this taught me, never to judge and always believe in your kids and children that you teach, each one is important.

I'm so happy to hear that there are others out there who can relate.

My daughter says that when she doodles in class it helps her focus and better absorb the material being taught. but I appreciate that not all teachers are able to accommodate this and may see it as inappropriate behaviour. I am very greatful for all the querky teachers who were able to see past this and turn a blind eye over the years and appreciate my daughter for all her other qualities.

Of course I believe in kids respecting their teachers/elders

Sound like we could do with a lot more teachers like you.

I'm also a GCSE examiner and this wouldn't affect her marks in an exam at all.

I must say I am relieved to hear that. Although I hope at that stage she will be able to control her impulse to doodle and spend any spare time on going over her paper.

Yes. I believe a fully functioning education system would follow each individual child’s passion. It might seem airy fairy but great world achievements were all accomplished by people who pushed ahead despite society telling them they were crazy. And sorry but this education system isn’t currently pumping out geniuses left, right and centre is it? So why not consider something different?

For the exam board I mark for you have to flag any doodles that may be offensive and there is the warnings that they can lose their award depending on what they have done. This isn't a doodle I would have passed on to my supervisors but some might.
As it happens, I had a smiley face match stick man smoking a huge joint drawn years ago. Passed that one on as it was clearly a joint but my supervisor found it funny and didn't take it further.
Just your luck of the draw perhaps.

Was your daughter upset?

What age is your DD? she's clearly been told multiple times not to do this , do you and her think rules don't apply to her and her creativity?

The op is the DD and I claim my £5.

She was a bit upset with herself, as in the past she had been told not to draw in her excersize books for various different reasons but had never been reprimanded for defacing an exam paper so thought it would be OK. Thankfully she has now learnt her lesson and will try and avoid.

Just hoping she didn't draw anything too offensive on the Headmasters exam.😄

I haven't read the whole thread, so maybe someone has already mentioned it, but if anything written/drawn on a GCSE paper is deemed to be "offensive" then they can impose a sanction (eg 0 for that paper). Much safer not to doodle, just in case someone decides that clearly the doodle is a caricature of an invigilator and therefore offensive. (I suspect they only apply sanctions for very obviously offensive material, but who knows.)

YANBU. As you know, the drawing would just be ignored if it was the final GCSE exam.
FYI, my DC1 drew a picture of a whale on one of the questions in their A level Biology papers. They still passed with a good grade.

Thankfully she has now learnt her lesson and will try and avoid.

if all it took was taking off a few marks, the teachers should have done it years ago.

Yes. I believe a fully functioning education system would follow each individual child’s passion. It might seem airy fairy but great world achievements were all accomplished by people who pushed ahead despite society telling them they were crazy. And sorry but this education system isn’t currently pumping out geniuses left, right and centre is it? So why not consider something different?

I would LOVE to hear your proposal and how that would work in practice and in real life.

Comparing something that would impinge on all the other students to something that none of the other students would notice at all is really pathetic.

If there is good reason to stop someone doodling then the rule is reasonable. but the reason she hasn't been docked in the past and the reason she wouldn't be docked on her GCSEs etc. is because doodling on the back of the exam paper does not harm anyone, isn't an unfair advantage, and doesn't impact the integrity of the test.

Enforcement of rules for the sake of it (and it's not even a proper rule, it's just something the teacher doesn't like her doing) is not a generally good thing. It's just officious.

She's really not that arty OP.

Please share your qualification to make this judgement as her art teacher seems to be of a different opinion.

'Greatful' and 'excersize'? You're not an examiner. Go figure.

I’m a teacher. I have mixed views on this.

On the one hand, your daughter is doodling in her exercise books regularly. That will be making her books look an absolute mess, and her teacher will (unfairly) be held responsible if a member of SLT or Ofsted observe the class and pick up her book. It just doesn’t give the impression of pride in her work. I mean, if she ever gets a job where paperwork is required, is she planning to doodle all over that? Can she prevent herself when it’s really needed? Because it’s really needed in her school books.

On the other hand, I am really not a fan of punishments or behaviour solutions which have nothing to do with the reality of what’s been done, and bear no relation to what would happen in real life. 5% off an exam score is arbitrary, decided by the teacher, and unrelated to the doodle. Your daughter’s learning and performance in the exam got 96%.

Would the explanation at the top of my post change your daughter’s behaviour at all? Would having a piece of scrap paper to doodle on in lessons (maybe even after exams, although that wouldn’t be allowed at GCSE) stop her from drawing on her work, or would she still draw on her work? Can she be made to understand that drawing on your work is a bad idea, so that she’s motivated from within not to do it any more?

If she can’t, then maybe some kind of punishment-consequence is necessary, but again - my ideal teacher would relate it to the thing done. Stay behind at break time to erase/go over with white paint/stick cutout pieces of paper over every doodle to restore your book to its former glory, for example. Not a random 5% off an earned score.

However, with all that said, for your daughter’s sake, please don’t complain to the school about this or defend your daughter in any way. The teacher does and should have a choice to respond to this. I don’t think it’s the best response cognitively, but it’s a response that says ‘I won’t let this pass’, and that’s better than tolerance of something established as wrong.

If you go challenging the teacher over this you really will be ‘that parent’. The exam score isn’t going anywhere official. Instead, back up the point at home by reinforcing the real reasons why your DD should stop the doodling. Aim to find an alternative way of occupying her hands that’s acceptable at school and can pass the time. And when the time is right, find ways to encourage proper drawing and painting at home.,

as in the past she had been told not to draw in her excersize books for various different reasons but had never been reprimanded for defacing an exam paper so thought it would be OK.
I'm sorry but if she's old enough to be sitting an exam, then she's old enough to have basic common sense. 🤷🏼‍♀️🤷🏼‍♀️

Yes, because an art teacher holds all the power in that judgement. My art teacher told me my drawing of a pig was lovely... it was a giraffe