Saturday, November 19, 2022

 Saturday, November 19, 2022

 Today was the day to clean the refrigerator. That meant removing everything, cleaning every shelf, drawer, and the inside walls, and polishing the doors.

  I came across videos analyzing the musical structure of popular music hosted by Beato. While I don’t know much about what he is talking about, I find these videos fascinating. He talks about key changes, harmonies, and the range of singers’ voices. I could listen to him all day.

  I was still distressed by the thought that eighth-grade K had cheated on his paper. By cheated, I mean he bought his paper off the Internet or from another student. His mother grilled him. He swore he wrote it. That mother said she didn’t want to hear any more discussion about it. I had to decide if I would quit working with this kid. If he saw cheating as a way to make his way through school, we were through.

   There is no way he could have written the paper he showed me. I even texted the educational support person in the school to ask him if there was any evidence he could write well without mentioning my concerns. He wrote back K was below grade level and incapable of doing anything without help.

  If K said he had help from a parent, a teacher, or a friend, that would be another matter. Getting help is acceptable. Having no input is not. I started composing a letter to K’s mother explaining my reasons for believing he hadn’t written it independently and why I couldn’t continue working with him. The language in that paper was above his level. How did he find those quotations in the play? It would have taken me a better part of a day. The notes he dictated to me on the characters were at a fifth or sixth-grade level—no higher. I couldn’t let go of the possibility he had cheated. I needed more evidence than the word of a fourteen-year-old who produced something beyond his capacity.Saturday, November 19, 2022 

       Today was the day to clean the refrigerator. That meant taking everything out, cleaning every shelf, drawer, and the inside walls, and polishing the doors.

   I came across videos analyzing the musical structure of popular music hosted by Beato. While I don’t know much about what he is talking about, I find these videos fascinating. He talks about key changes, harmonies, and the range of singers’ voices. I could listen to him all day.

   I was still distressed by the thought that eighth-grade K had cheated on his paper. By cheated, I mean he bought his paper off the Internet or from another student. His mother grilled him. He swore he wrote it. That mother said she didn’t want to hear any more discussion about it. I had to decide if I would quit working with this kid. If he saw cheating as a way to make his way through school, we were through. 

    There is no way he could have written the paper he showed me. I even texted the educational support person in the school to ask him if there was any evidence he could write well without mentioning my concerns. He wrote back K was below grade level and incapable of doing anything without help.

   If K said he had help from a parent, a teacher, or a friend, that would be another matter. Getting help is acceptable. Having no input is not. I started composing a letter to K’s mother explaining my reasons for believing he hadn’t written it on his own and why I couldn’t continue working with him. The language in that paper was above his level. How did he find those quotations in the play? It would have taken me a better part of a day. The notes he dictated to me on the characters were at a fifth or sixth-grade level—no higher. I couldn’t let go of the possibility he had cheated. I needed more evidence than the word of a fourteen-year-old who produced something beyond his capacity.