The Bluestocking Women's Pub, in which we wait excitedly for the next instalment of Gosie's adventures. Gosie, Glass and the Gerbils' Dilemma.

[AsWithGlad]

Previous thread
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5559589-the-bluestocking-womens-pub-in-which-gosie-returns-to-the-trail?page=1

Welcome to The Bluestocking, the best (perhaps only) online women's pub. Nothing in the food or drink can harm you, everything is served by a very enthusiastic crew of gerbils, and any curious menfolk are welcome at the Staunch Ally down the road.

For a significant chunk of the population, it's just about getting the necessary qualifications to get a job. They don't connect this with having the knowledge to do the job well. Also, with the best will in the world, FE is where the less academic kids tend to end up, and for some parents it's difficult to accept that their little darling is actually never going to get a qualification higher than a GCSE. And some of them aren't even going to manage that.

I had a pupil whose mother swore it was all the kid's own work. She'd taken three essays off the internet and had taken one sentence from each in turn.

Took me ages to organise the evidence. The region wouldn't pay for Turnitin, so I had to Google it all until I found the sources, printed them off and then highlighted a copy of the kid's essay to show the sources. She'd changed one word: deleted "drugs" and typed "cosmetics" - the topic was animal testing.

Mum: "No, she hasn't copied it. She used my laptop and I was there all the time."

As someone said afterwards, "So she probably did it for the kid."

Got home to discover that the postie had been but had dropped a small package for the bottom end of the street on my front path.

I was able to deliver it through the owner's letter box.

I had an ex who lectured in an obscure branch of economics. He literally said at the first lecture, don’t even think of plagiarising your essays. Not only have I read all the literature in this field, I’ve probably written most of it.

He was exaggerating to make his point, but it seemed to work most of the time.

I had one particularly batshit parent who hit the roof when I accurately and provably identified his child's plagiarism. Formal complaint to the Executive Principal about me batshit. I still reckon it was because he'd written the offending piece, and was trying to deflect.

One of mine threatened to sue me... (Mummy worked in a solicitor's office.)

I found the entire essay on the internet, apart from the first and last paragraph.

Eejit HT: "Is there no possibility that she could have uploaded it to the internet?"

"Not unless she's got a time machine."

We had one that was written by the grandfather. We didn't know until after it was sent off. It was a fail.

Oh yes, I got threatened with being sued by batshit parent. I didn't even need Turnitin, they'd copied it from the RHS website and seriously thought I wouldn't notice.

The worst was when I was a classroom teacher...but not one of my pupils, thank goodness.

Mummy and Daddy hired a tutor who obviously wrote the Personal Study for the child. Said child normally produced atrocious work.

Child handed in a graduate level piece on Thomas Hardy.

The Heidie forced the HoD to submit the piece. The kid still got an overall fail.

We had one who copied and pasted a piece on a film star. The classroom teacher didn't spot it - and it was obvious . It was the one year that I didn't have the time to check every single folio piece myself. (That still annoys me. DH was perilously ill after surgery, so I couldn't stay in school until late as I usually did at folio time, so had only checked the Higher pieces myself.)

The SQA required the school to conduct an investigation and the findings were sent to the board.

This was when we had our old (good) HT.

On results day, Mummy phoned in to complain that there was no grade for English on the certificate.

"Well, Madam...Would you rather it said 'Cheat'?"

In subsequent years we brought forward the deadline so that I could check everything.

We had one kid who missed the deadline. Handed the work to a Depute who accepted it and stuck it in the envelope.

It was plagiarised and picked up straight away. When I had to explain why it had got past us, I was able to point out that we'd been overruled by the Depute.

I've had a mature student (mature in the sense of not straight out of school, definitely not mature in action or outlook) spewing vitriol at me, accusing me of single handedly ruining their educational experience and being "very unsupportive". My crime? Being able to prove that they'd not just plagiarised but done it from another student, and not politely looking the other way when they came out with the least convincing load of BS I'd ever heard as possible reasons why Turnitin might have incorrectly said it was plagiarism. I had the other student's work in front of me and it was absolutely blatant, but no, apparently this was very strange and they couldn't understand why the similarity score was so high.

Yes I think this is the issue - they are focused on their child getting the piece of paper, they’ve lost sight of the piece of paper was supposed to connote? Ie research, drafting, writing skills, critical thinking, time management, interpersonal and team skills in project work, consistency in meeting deadlines, etc. i.e. All that stuff that employers think they are paying graduate salaries for.

MN needs to bring back the 🤣 emoji!

Who delivered sunflower seeds to the gerbils?

The year after he won the Booker prize.

No one else is picking up on this from @FuzzyPuffling ?????

I somehow missed that @FuzzyPuffling was talking about her own dad!

Wow, Fuzzy.

That’s a lot of Vit E and omega 6 - they’ll love forever!! Hmmm, heads off to look at vit supplements for non-gerbil beings.

She’s mentioned him in the dim and distant, its an excellent anecdote!

So far this morning I’ve put my dough to proof in the fridge, been to the gym, bought a cardigan to keep at work because of the stupid aircon & I’m now sitting in the local coffee shop.

I could quite happily go back to bed when I get home but work starts at 9. Can I book the coffee bowser for this morning please?

What was the book, Fuzzy???

Too outing on t'internet.

Why else do you think I'm so happy in Pedant's Corner? 😁

I suppose it is. But still, wow.

😮

Funnily enough I was looking at the Times best 50 books of all time list for inspiration when I’ve finish PhD - and in the light of @FuzzyPuffling ’s post just had a look at Booker prize winners list. It seems that in bygone days I did actually read some of them (Schidlers List was one of my A Level texts), but I am thinking I might like to skip the Times 50 best books list and work my way through the booker winners in 2027. That’s my NY resolution decided for January, any way.