I know several Mockers are parents. What would your response be if your kid brought this home?

I'd tell him to fuck off. You're better off with a nation of people who will back themselves when they're right, rather than dismiss what they think is right to become sheeple.

I may also have a chat with my son about more tactile avenues to prove his point, but I definitely would not make him feel he was in the wrong.

Dude is on a power trip and is deflecting away from his own incompetency. Very poorly too I might add

I would give the kid a pat on the back for speaking up. This letter has "check this out on Snopesz' written all over it..but it irks me when teachers continue to have an I am right and you are wrong attitude.

They wouldn't dare!

I'd be proud. I'd praise my son for his speaking up. Then me and that teacher would be having a talk.

I would also talk to my son about the manner in which he handled the situation.

I'd definitely set up a meeting with that teacher and press him/her on the fact that they were wrong. On that basis I'd get the detention thrown out.

As Crash said, I'd want to make sure my child knew the right way to make their point and when to let it rest.

I would say "you little bastard! Why did you wait 18 years to show me this!!!"

I actually had this type of thing happen to me when I was in high school, of course we didn't have detention back then, but I got to have a nice chat with the Dean Of Boys.

and then the teacher got to have a nice chat with the priciple the dean of boys and me.

This is what is so fucked up about tenure for teachers in our schools today, the repercussions of this teachers stupidity will be minor if any exist at all while the kid will be punished for having the balls to stand up to an obvious idiot in class.

potato/potatoe do any of you remember this?

One hour detention would be worth setting the class straight and getting the teacher to admit he was wrong, in writing. One hour, big whoop. I had more than a few Saturday morning work details in 10^th grade, from the same teacher, for respectfully arguing opinion in civics class. After the third or fourth time offering a "dissenting' view of what I considered her off-base interpretations, she started asking me, in class, if I wanted to resist debating her or spend a half day Saturday cleaning up around the school. I played racquetball at school every Saturday afternoon anyway, so I chose option B. I always stopped after about 5 minutes of back-and-forth and told her I could see her point, though I disagreed.

My parents didn't give a shit. They cared more about my report card and simply called the teacher the first time I got work detail. She assured them that I wasn't an asshole, but a bit "disruptive" in that I knew that I always had the option of challenging her after class. She was right about that. So, I considered it fair. I didn't sit by and let something I considered to be bullshit go unchallenged, and she made me pay a little for not handling it the way that the authority figure preferred. Pfft. It wasn't the Breakfast Club or anything, but I did get to like some of the Saturday morning regulars.

So, I don't see the OP note as that big a deal as long as the parents didn't encourage the kid to just shut his trap altogether. Always trade-offs for challenging authority in front of their charges; good prep for adult life on-the-job. Right or wrong, probably a price to pay if you continually argue with the boss, or military leader, in front of others too.

Teacher is a dumbass for putting that in writing.

(04-13-2012, 05:19 PM)Cracker Wrote: Teacher is a dumbass for putting that in writing.

That's the truth.

Yep, had a few teachers like that back in the day. I got acused of cheating when I didn't show my work on some math probe. Teacher made me do it on the board, he just couldn't believe anyone could do a quadratic equasion in their head.
Dumbass

I would tell the kid to always correct such things except where they are trivial, irrelevant, or open to interpretation. Then I'd remind him the boss isn't always right but he's always the boss and you shouldn't attack or embarrass authority unnecessarily. I'd give him an inconsequential punishment and praise him for his knowledge and perseverance even if misplaced.

I tend to side with the teacher but she really should have known better. The next time she's corrected she should stop to think rather than dismissing criticism.

(04-13-2012, 07:23 PM)cladking Wrote: I tend to side with the teacher but she really should have known better. The next time she's corrected she should stop to think rather than dismissing criticism.

She should also also think about changing her name from Adam to Susan....

(04-13-2012, 07:41 PM)crash Wrote:

(04-13-2012, 07:23 PM)cladking Wrote: I tend to side with the teacher but she really should have known better. The next time she's corrected she should stop to think rather than dismissing criticism.

She should also also think about changing her name from Adam to Susan....

Hey, hey!!! Susan wouldn't have written that damn letter (or made that mistake)!!

(04-13-2012, 05:43 PM)SIXFOOTERsez Wrote: he just couldn't believe anyone could do a quadratic equasion in their head.
Dumbass

Did you use the monic form?

As a parent I'd want to talk to the teacher with my child present, to show them both that more reasonable methods should be employed. I would not allow my child to attend the detention for being correct. As a trained teacher, my response to disruptive and challenging kids (and there are plenty) was always to engage them for a few minutes, then if we were at an impasse I'd say we were going to shelve the topic for another time so we could move on, then readdress it. I always kinda liked it when the kids would get passionate about arguing, because it meant they were engaged and listening, even if it was only because they thought I was wrong.

But when I was a kid; moving away from the town every single year( sometimes more than once a semester) gave me quite a bit of experience dealing with shitty teachers with power trips, and they always regretted trying to fuck with me. Since I had no fear of long term repercussions I would make the insolent teacher have a verrrrrry long year, just for my own amusement and to alleviate boredom. There were some schools I returned to during later years where I found my name had grown out of an actual event into legend, and it was a little disturbing. Shit took on a life of its own...

(04-13-2012, 08:34 PM)Donovan Wrote: Since I had no fear of long term repercussions I would make the insolent teacher have a verrrrrry long year, just for my own amusement and to alleviate boredom.

You know there were other kids in the room, right? It wasn't just you.

People forget that shit. That everyone matters.

Facts are a matter of record, any idiot can pick up a book to look shit up. Concepts matter. Citizenship and respect are as much a part of education as all the other shit.

Good citizenship means acknowledging when you're wrong (which is what the teacher should have done versus demanding undeserved respect). If a teacher states that the world is flat, should kids blindly accept that? He fucked up. He should put himself in detention and be glad that he has a student that questions bullshit.

(04-13-2012, 08:44 PM)Cracker Wrote:

(04-13-2012, 08:34 PM)Donovan Wrote: Since I had no fear of long term repercussions I would make the insolent teacher have a verrrrrry long year, just for my own amusement and to alleviate boredom.

People forget that shit. That everyone matters.

I'm pretty sure you don't matter.
I'm also pretty sure you know it.