plagerism

[gojag123hale]

A teacher accuses a student of committing plagerism on a book report and you know it isn't true. The teacher told the student on Friday she had the weekend to write 2 more reports on 2 different books but she would only receive 1/2 credit for her work. The student struggles as it is but does do her work. She was told there was a sentence that was similar to someone elses writing but the teacher would'nt provide proof, just accusations. This is the second time that teacher accused a student of this. The other was because there was A WORD that matched another writing. Can anything be done to stop this teacher ( even if it is just scare her) from accusing her students of something without more than a sentence or a word to prove her case. She is hurting the integrity and character of good students who are doing a good job.

[Ice.Maiden]

Difficult. I kow that some students copy exactly from things they find on the internet, but then - this is a way of working these days. The art, is in substituting other words, unless it's a direct quote from someone and necessary within the work, but if the teacher's being deliberately unfair, then someone needs to have a word with the Head Teacher about it, or to take the matter higher up.

[Richard1966]

Write to the head of the school with your concern and ask for a face to face meeting with the head to discuss this further. Make sure you are on firm ground or you will make your self look really stupid and the teacher will feel able to carry on doing this for years.

If you are unhappy with the response from the head you will then have to contact the head of the governors or your local education authority.

[beso]

Well gojag, you are also guilty of pliagerism. Your question is full of words I have seen written before. Even some phrases. I have definately seen ".. and you know it isn't true" before today.

You had better go an rewrite the question in your own words.

For example instead of "A teacher accuses a student of committing plagerism " you should say something like "E toowaga cuasses edentu od liapargua". (Apologies if these words have already been used in some other language. Any resemblence is purely coincidental.)

[gojag123hale]

Thanks for the input. The encyclopedia topics/Reference.com states (and I quote) "It is important to reiterate that plagiarism is not the mere copying of text, but the presentation of another's ideas as one's own, regardless of the specific words or constructs used to express that idea." Which I think might mean that just the use of a word or construction of a phrase doesn't necessarily mean plagerism but the steeling of anothers ideas. You can't tell me that of all the papers written by students on the book "Twilight" isn't going to contain words or phrases that resemble another.

[factor-fiction]

Maybe the spelling ( e.g. 'plagiarism'/'plagerism') as well as the style gives the teacher a good idea as which bits are written by the student and which bits are copied.

Even if you don't copy the words if you use any else's ideas you should reference them.

It can be difficult but it's also difficult for teachers. So many students these days don't take the trouble to read and digest a few texts before formulating an answer in their own words- they usually just cut and paste text from Wikipedia (or ask AnswerBank members to do their homework for them).

You have to accept the teacher feels he/she has a valid concern and you need ask him/her to explain it to you.

[saxy_jag]

If I was one of her students I'd tell her - probably publicly - to go and do her own s*dding book reports if that's how she feels. And if I knew of others who'd been similarly treated then I'd try and persuade them to do the same (actually, you find that once one person stands up to a bully - because that's what she sounds like - then others will too).

She's a teacher, not a goddess. She's supposed to help them, not chastise them, and if her students demonstrate an unsound knowledge of what is or is not plagiarism, then she should take steps to teach them the difference. And if she can't do that, she's not fit to do her job.

[saxy_jag]

Also, looking at gojag's last post, I know from teaching English Lit to adults that if you give students an idea in class, they will all try to use it in their essays because they want the marks. Point out the difference, for instance, between Shakespeare's rhyming couplets and hyperbole in court scenes and the freer language of the stable or the inn, and they'll all tell you pretty much the same thing when they write about it.

[gojag123hale]

Thanks saxy_jag for the advice on shakespear. I think what really earks me about the whole thing was that when the student asked to see what she done wrong, the teacher would not show her. I agree, a good teacher would have used this as a teaching moment and explained the problem. If I understand right, she read to that sentence and then marked the paper. She didn't even read the rest of the paper. If the student had pasted, copied,and turned in a paper as her own, wouldn't there be more than that sentence the same. I will be meeting with the school board this week and I hope Im ready to be the teacher and bring light on what should be or not be considered plagiarism. Thanks for all the answers. It really has been helpful.