Jane, I just called my union lawyer. He believes that since the
context of the beginning of the sentence places the student in the
resource room, the "teacher" is then the special education teacher--
so you were correct in seeing that as a possibility. I thank you for
arming me with that possibility.
That means that the special ed teacher can let my student "cheat,"
and it's all legal. When I phrased it this way to my union lawyer,
he insisted that that is the point of an IEP. If the SpEd teacher
has determined that rote memorization is part of this student's
disability, then I am powerless to disagree.
He also told me that I can't get the document rewritten unless the
parent, SpEd teacher, and principal all agree with me that it needs
to be rewritten.
My only recourse, according my union lawyer, is to tell my principal
of my concerns about the SpEd teacher, which I have and she already
knows anyway--and yet he continues to be employed. At least I
haven't been fired or suspended yet. I can report to work next Monday.
But there will be a test on Friday.
Even if I am fired, I will still be a part of this community because
I find grammar discussions so darned interesting!
Susan
On Apr 6, 2009, at 11:07 AM, Jane Saral wrote:
> It seems to me that a case for ambiguity also lies in the identity
> of the teacher entitled to the discretion. Which is it? The
> classroom teacher or the special ed teacher?
> Jane Saral
>
> On Mon, Apr 6, 2009 at 11:47 AM, O'Sullivan, Brian P
> <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Karl said
>
> "And, of course, if the special-ed teacher is going beyond the
> specified
> accommodations and actively helping the student, that would be
> cheating too,
> but that would have nothing to do with the grammatical
> interpretation of the IEP."
>
> I assumed that what Susan meant by "cheating" was something like
> the excessive intervention Karl describes in the above paragraph,
> and that the grammatical interpretation of the IEP is relevant
> because Susan wants to justify keeping the test out the special ed
> teacher's room so that this kind of cheating can't occur.
>
> I agree with Karl that extra testing time and different testing
> environments are common, and often appropriate, accommodations for
> students with learning disabilities. At the colleges and
> universities at which I have taught, the advising office sends out
> notices like this every semester to identify students with such
> needs and request that faculty members make the needed accommodations.
>
> Brian
>
> Bruce Despain wrote:
> >
> >
> > Susan,
> >
> >
> >
> > My take on the matter is that the last phrase is meant to modify the
> > last clause only. Notice that the first two clauses share the same
> > subject (he) and that the subject to the last clause is "tests." To
> > make it have solely the meaning you want the phrase would have to
> end ".
> > all at the teacher's discretion." The fact that there is no comma
> > before the phrase further suggests that there is contrast to a
> sentence
> > adverbial intended. However, that said, the whole spirit of the
> > sentence suggests that it is indeed meant to relate to all these
> > test-taking activities. The teacher is being allowed to use her own
> > discretion in just one aspect of test taking? That seems absurd,
> as all
> > these circumstances would seem to compromise the test taking
> environment
> > in similar ways. The fact that "discretion" is misspelled should
> > suggest as well that the rule cannot be taken literally.
> >
> >
> >
> > Bruce
> >
> >
> >
> > *From:* Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar
> > [mailto:[log in to unmask]] *On Behalf Of *Susan van Druten
> > *Sent:* Saturday, April 04, 2009 1:43 PM
> > *To:* [log in to unmask]
> > *Subject:* syntax in a legal document
> >
> >
> >
> > The IEP reads as follows: "He may take tests in the resource
> room, have
> > extended time to complete them, and they may be open book per
> teacher
> > discreation [sic]." Is there any way the /per teacher
> discretion /line
> > could be seen as modifying the entire sentence?
> >
> >
> >
> > I am the teacher who must give my tests to the special ed teacher
> who
> > lets the students cheat on tests. I'm looking for a loophole, so
> the
> > IEP will have to be rewritten.
> >
> >
> >
> > Thanks for any help!
> >
> > Susan
> >
> > To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web
> > interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and
> select
> > "Join or leave the list"
> >
> > Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/
> >
> >
> >
> > NOTICE: This email message is for the sole use of the intended
> > recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged
> information.
> > Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is
> prohibited.
> > If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by
> > reply email and destroy all copies of the original message.
> >
> > To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web
> > interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and
> select
> > "Join or leave the list"
> >
> > Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/
> >
>
> To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web
> interface at:
> http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html
> and select "Join or leave the list"
>
> Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/
>
>
> To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web
> interface at:
> http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html
> and select "Join or leave the list"
>
> Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/
>
> To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web
> interface at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html and
> select "Join or leave the list"
> Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/
>
To join or leave this LISTSERV list, please visit the list's web interface at:
http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/ateg.html
and select "Join or leave the list"
Visit ATEG's web site at http://ateg.org/