The hardest thing I had to do.

I have often been asked what the hardest part of my trip was. My answer has always been leaving. I love change, I hate change, and leaving a place and the people there means change is inevitable, as is my love-hate relationship with it. While I know I will have a hard time leaving Dalat and Penang, the hardest thing I have done here so far is dealing with a student's plagiarism on a big assignment. 


When my first cooperating teacher left, I was left with many unfinished projects. One we decided to continue was an intensive, quarter long biography assignment. The students had been assigned a biography to read, write summaries and reflections on for every chapter, and give a presentation dressed up and in character. 


Of course they procrastinated. 


However, the presentations went smoothly, and I moved on to grade the reflections.


Some of the students had clearly put a lot of time and thought into their summaries and reflections. Some had obviously not.


Overall, I was impressed. I was too impressed, it turned out, especially when a student's writing began using advanced phrasing and words that I didn't even know. With some google detective work, I found out that the first 11 chapters were directly copied from CliffsNotes. I was highly upset. It was late at night, and I had to now go back over the other students' work to make sure they had not done the same thing. 


I was also very upset with the book assignment. It was an adult level book, in content and in language. Assigned to a 6th grade ESL student. You don't do that. It puts the student in a position of needing to seek outside help, and in a position of cheating. It is not pedagogically sound in the least bit, either.

The next day, I discussed my findings with the MS Principal. He said according to Dalat Policy, a zero should be given. I also talked with the long-term ESL sub about the situation. The book was inappropriate, in content and in level. We didn't want to give the student a zero. The book was ridiculously hard. However, something had to be done. 

I ended up talking with the student about the situation and their actions. Extreme remorse was expressed. (I was holding back my own tears). Blatant plagiarism was never the intention, the book was simply to hard, and the content too inappropriate. Copying was coping for this ELL (English Language Learner). The embarrassment and shame of the situation was enough of a consequence, we felt. I made sure the student knew they were put into a bad position, but also that they could go to the teacher or principal for help if they felt an assignment was above their level.  Hopefully a lifetime lesson was learned.

I know I learned.