Challenging teachers written feedback

[Nellagain]

I've never done this before but I think I'm about too!!

Ds is in yr 5 and dyslexic so he does get additional help in the form of extra lessons in small groups. He did a project a few weeks ago, he chose world war 2.

He did all the research, he made all the notes but I typed it verbatim from his notes and his dictation. So the comment comes back that it would have been nice if some of this was in his own words!!

I am quietly fuming because it was all his words. It's a subject he is very interested in and enthusiastic about. Even me and dh were surprised by how eloquent he was about it, So I can sort of understand his teacher viewpoint. The thing is she needs to be set straight on the matter.

The question is how? So wise mnetters how do I do this with some diplomacy?

I'll be calm when I see her. I'm very annoyed now but I'm of the opinion that you catch more flies with honey generally.

It does however feel like a kick in the teeth for ds. This is a child who is constantly playing catch up due to dyslexia. So to see him getting enthused over it and put in the effortonly to be accused of not having done the work himself is galling.

There hasn't been any enquiry about this -just an assumption.

Hmm there is that. However he is dyslexic and I have been told I could transcribe for him before. I don't transcribe with his usual homework though.

Would that make such a big difference? The content is still his. Plus there is spell check these days which makes it easier to have good spelling and punctuation regardless of who types. The project guidelines stated that it could be typed so I doubt I am the only parent who has typed up.
I have typed up for oldest ds who is also dyslexic and it has never been a problem. Same school.

I do take on board the comments about transcribing but when I transcribe I am very conscious that this is a 10yr old child's work and make an extra effort not to put my own embellishments on it. Trust me if I did they would be under no illusion whose work it was! (mumsnetting on phone aside. You wouldn't know from this)

Ds is one of those frustrating kids who if he isnt interested or doesn't like the teacher (he hates her!) He doesn't put the effort in the same. So I can see why she hasnt believed it was his work. However as it was his work she needs to be told. If we don't challenge her then I run the risk of ds thinking what's the point and turning off education. It's already a struggle to keep him on track.

If the work is a of a very different standard than normal and you did not include a note saying it was scribed work (as this is not the usual method of homework) then yes you need to tell otherwise she will continue with the logical conclusion that she has already formed.

Well lesson learned. Next time he'll have to type it himself. I suppose you can be too helpful. No I didn't include a note to say it had been scribed. Another error.

I wish the school would tell you these things though. Well some schools and teachers might. This one's s bit uncommunicative. Good job we have mumsnet eh.

It was an eye opener to see what's he's capable of when he's interested! Now if only we can harness that for the whole of year 6...

One way of transcribing for him would be to just type verbatim what he dictates and leave ALL punctuation to him.

He can go through it with you at the end and put his own capital letters, commas and full stops in. Then you add a brief note at the end to explain how it was done. It does make an extra chore to do but at least it would demonstrate what he is capable of.

I tend to do this with some of the secondary school pupils I work with as it means they are effectively only using a scribe to get their thoughts onto paper, meaning that everything other than spelling is their own work.

As pp have said, transcribing accurately is difficult when it's a child's work. As adults we automatically correct without realising. In future I would just add a note to the work to say it was transcribed.

With regards to your ds I would just say "OMG Mrs Snottypants obviously thought because your work was so good that a grown up must have done it. How amazing is that!"

I would have a quick word with the teacher too "just to let you know it was all his own work, I just typed it up as was recommended. I was amazed with what he accomplished too. I'll remember to write on the homework next time that I transcribed it"

At primary level for a dyslexic child, I would suggest that he could present it as an audio report, then she can hear his vocab, sentence structure etc.

Heres the difference - teachers teach capital letters commas, paragraphs sub text metaphors.. there use=good work. Parents look at knowledge and content. Its a different view point. writing is a method - the subject is the ingredience.

I have a child with dyslexia in my class. For this type of project, their mother types up the transcript to submit, but she also emails me an audio recording of the session where they did the transcription, as well as supplying a scan of his rough notes and drafts so I can see how he has worked and researched the projects and done the work himself. It might be worth suggesting this approach to his teacher.

I really wouldnt bother - its not worth the hassle. Junior school is over so quickly.
I transcribed something for my dd once, and it went down like a sack of shit.
Thinking about it, it was a pointless thing to do - teachers need to see the children's work, not their parent's.

momtothree I don't agree. Teachers teach and look at all the aspects you mentioned.

The teacher's wording (it would have been nice if some the words had been yours) points to the content rather than the style or spelling IMO.

Op, I was accused of this as a child. I was too stunned and upset to challenge my teacher. It still grates! Please do set the record straight for your child. It would be a shame if all his motivation and hard work were for nothing.

Go and ask for the criteria against which the work is marked. They have a check list for each level ... formal letter .. non formal letter .. newspaper report., story ... you are allowed to see them. Same as maths targets.

Thanks for all the thoughts
I didn't realise there were so many issues with transcribing,so it's been really useful to see the teaching perspective on that. I will never make this mistake again!

For ds sake I am going to have to let it be known that the content was his even if the spelling and grammar aren't. I think I run the risk of him thinking why bother if I don't. I like soapbox style but im going to have to do this with an informal written note as we don't see the teacher at drop off and pick up (school policy). The stinging reply has been tone down a lot though
he's only got 3 more weeks of her and then he's into a different teacher who I hope gets him a lot better, it's been very interesting to see that she doesn't think hea capable, means there a huge gap in class between what he can do and what he does! End of school report is going to make for interesting reading too. Roll on summer!