Harry completely started using magic when he went to Hogwarts. If he has basically learned year one and year two in one year I think that’s okay.
Canon or not, this reminds me too much of the public school system of a certain country where kids are verboten to use words “they shouldn’t know yet”.
Not a public school, but in 5th grade I wrote a short paper about Ferdinand Magellan and used the word “circumnavigate.” My teacher accused me of copying, and I had to rewrite the paper using smaller words.
The word “circumnavigate” is always used with Magellan—it may as well be his middle name. It’s used in the first two sentences on Magellan’s page at La Wik.
My guess is the teacher didn’t know know the word, found out it was a real one, and found it emotionally satisfying to punish a child for assaulting his status by demonstrating his ignorance, however unintentionally.
Some people feel very threatened by “big words” they don’t know, and see use of language as a status play.
Years ago, one guy at work, who I actually consider very sharp, if not educated to the degree his intelligence allowed, stormed off in a huff with a parting shot saying I was “using big words to show I was better than he was.” ?????
That was a very poor reading of me, but a huge window into his own motivations and insecurities. I think that weirdness is actually common in some poorer and less educated subcultures.
The word “circumnavigate” is always used with Magellan—it may as well be his middle name. It’s used in the first two sentences on Magellan’s page at La Wik.
If the student in question uses the word not because it was in his usual vocabulary but because it appeared in the article about Magellan, the teacher has a valid point. A five grade student who reads an article about Magellan might copy the word without understanding it.
A teacher who wants to check whether the students actually understand is going to want that the student expresses his ideas within their own vocabulary and not simply copy words of an article they read.
I personally had teachers not understand a point I made because of not understanding that strategy and tactics are two different words with different meaning but I hadn’t an issue with teacher complaining that I’m not speaking in my own vocabulary when writing essays.
If the student in question uses the word not because it was in his usual vocabulary but because it appeared in the article about Magellan, the teacher has a valid point.
Not really. I’m sure “circumnavigate” wasn’t in my usual vocabulary but its meaning is simple enough to determine from context. I don’t think its reasonable to penalize someone for using a word they would pretty much have to pick up when learning about a topic.
The other thing about this educational strategy is that, all other effects aside, it discourages students from using more sophisticated vocabulary. If you try to use a complicated word and get it wrong, you will be punished. If you get it right but the teacher doesn’t believe you did so deliberately, you will also be punished. That’s a terrible lesson to teach children (or anyone else).
If the student in question uses the word not because it was in his usual vocabulary but because it appeared in the article about Magellan, the teacher has a valid point.
One of the points of being a student is to expand your vocabulary. You see a word used, you use it yourself. “Circumnavigation” is not a complicated concept. If you use it incorrectly, then the teacher should correct you. But don’t tell a student to stay away from the big scary word.
but I hadn’t an issue with teacher complaining that I’m not speaking in my own vocabulary when writing essays.
??? Words become your vocabulary by you using them, and that’s all the more true when you’re young and still developing your vocabulary.
There such a thing as “guessing the teachers” password. It’s a failure condition.
It’s a frequent exercise to read a text and rephrase it in your own words to show that you understood the text. It creates mental connections between the new information to which you are exposed and to what you already know.
Essay writing is about “transfer” at least it was what I was taught in school.
Harry completely started using magic when he went to Hogwarts. If he has basically learned year one and year two in one year I think that’s okay.
Link?
Not a public school, but in 5th grade I wrote a short paper about Ferdinand Magellan and used the word “circumnavigate.” My teacher accused me of copying, and I had to rewrite the paper using smaller words.
There’s a stupid teacher.
In this case it seems very much like the decision of an individual teacher and not broad educational policy.
Every strategy for plagiarism detection is also going to have false positives.
The word “circumnavigate” is always used with Magellan—it may as well be his middle name. It’s used in the first two sentences on Magellan’s page at La Wik.
My guess is the teacher didn’t know know the word, found out it was a real one, and found it emotionally satisfying to punish a child for assaulting his status by demonstrating his ignorance, however unintentionally.
Some people feel very threatened by “big words” they don’t know, and see use of language as a status play.
Years ago, one guy at work, who I actually consider very sharp, if not educated to the degree his intelligence allowed, stormed off in a huff with a parting shot saying I was “using big words to show I was better than he was.” ?????
That was a very poor reading of me, but a huge window into his own motivations and insecurities. I think that weirdness is actually common in some poorer and less educated subcultures.
If the student in question uses the word not because it was in his usual vocabulary but because it appeared in the article about Magellan, the teacher has a valid point. A five grade student who reads an article about Magellan might copy the word without understanding it.
A teacher who wants to check whether the students actually understand is going to want that the student expresses his ideas within their own vocabulary and not simply copy words of an article they read.
I personally had teachers not understand a point I made because of not understanding that strategy and tactics are two different words with different meaning but I hadn’t an issue with teacher complaining that I’m not speaking in my own vocabulary when writing essays.
Not really. I’m sure “circumnavigate” wasn’t in my usual vocabulary but its meaning is simple enough to determine from context. I don’t think its reasonable to penalize someone for using a word they would pretty much have to pick up when learning about a topic.
The other thing about this educational strategy is that, all other effects aside, it discourages students from using more sophisticated vocabulary. If you try to use a complicated word and get it wrong, you will be punished. If you get it right but the teacher doesn’t believe you did so deliberately, you will also be punished. That’s a terrible lesson to teach children (or anyone else).
One of the points of being a student is to expand your vocabulary. You see a word used, you use it yourself. “Circumnavigation” is not a complicated concept. If you use it incorrectly, then the teacher should correct you. But don’t tell a student to stay away from the big scary word.
??? Words become your vocabulary by you using them, and that’s all the more true when you’re young and still developing your vocabulary.
There such a thing as “guessing the teachers” password. It’s a failure condition.
It’s a frequent exercise to read a text and rephrase it in your own words to show that you understood the text. It creates mental connections between the new information to which you are exposed and to what you already know. Essay writing is about “transfer” at least it was what I was taught in school.