Los Angeles Doesn't Exist

So do you remember when I talked about how Mister Man's teacher didn't do the best job correcting his math homework? I let it go because Mister Man needs to learn that people in authority aren't always right, and really... in the grand scheme of things, it isn't that big a deal. He was fine with it, and I chalked it up to a bad teacher book, though it wasn't the first time it happened.

Last night, we received his Daily Five (little bits of practice work students spend 5 minutes working on each day in school) for the past week. As always, I looked through it to see what I need to work on with Mister Man. And my jaw dropped.

The possessive correction? Meh. Yes, it should be "Mr. Tyler's" but it was a little hard to see where he put the apostrophe. It almost looks like a comma for the sentence above instead of an apostrophe in the sentence he wrote. He needs to work on his penmanship, but fine motor skills are one of his challenges common amongst those with autism. That's part of why he's in private OT once a week.

Ditto with the correction of "two." I can see that he wrote two with a "w" and not just to, but the "w" is half into the o, so it's hard to see what he wrote unless you're really looking closely. Again, he needs to do a better job writing, and that's fine.

Sock? I totally get why he circled that answer. It's something that goes on your foot. It makes sense, but it's wrong. They're really looking for the more specific "footwear" answer, so sock was out. Categorization is also something that he struggles with sometimes due to his autism.

But ummm Los AngelOs? That's the one that threw me for a loop. Actually, it had me questioning my own spelling abilities. Maybe I've been spelling Los Angeles wrong for more than three decades (hush, I learned to write early).

Oh. Wait. I googled it. I haven't been spelling it wrong.

Less than two months left in the school year. Less than two months remaining. It's the mantra I keep repeating as I wait to hear whether or not Mister Man's petition to attend Little Miss's school is approved.

What are the words that throw you for a loop when you're writing?

I'm Right. No, I'm Right.

Education is important to my husband and I, and we try to impart that to the wee ones. For us, it isn't about the grades. While I want to know that the wee ones have given their best effort, I'm ok if that means they didn't get straight As. That said, I want to make sure that they understand the material - especially in the younger grades where what they learn is truly the foundation for everything else that's to come.

In that vein, we go over all the assignments and work and tests that come home. We go through what they did well - where they remembered some of the lessons they're being taught or where they did their best handwriting or where I can see that they checked their work and erased a wrong answer. And then we go through the parts that the teacher marked wrong to ensure that the wee ones understood what was done incorrectly.

I have to be extra careful with Mister Man, however. Not only does his Asperger's mean that he's extra sensitive, but his teacher isn't the best at grading. She'll miss problems that are clearly wrong, and sometimes she'll incorrectly mark a problem wrong that isn't. That drives me batty, but I do my best not to let it show.

When the wee ones do a problem wrong, I have them redo it, especially if it's something that they've gotten wrong on a regular basis or where they clearly haven't used their best efforts.

I came across this paper the other day where Mister Man had to measure an object and report its length to the nearest half centimeter. Apparently, Mister Man also has a very strict sense of right and wrong.

But I have to give him credit. When I went back and measured it myself, it is definitely 8 1/2 centimeters. And you know, it's not such a bad thing to teach him to stick to his guns, too.

How do you handle it when your child's teacher doesn't grade things correctly?