Evil Markers/Ajudicators

[Elm11]

I'm sure just about everyone has had them through school, or uni or whatever. That person who, no matter what you actually wrote down, would just see "give me low marks" written on the paper. Who are the people in your life that have frustrated your efforts constantly, right up to crushing your hopes and dreams in that final Uni exam for the subject you've always loved.

I just got home from the Australian national singing Eistedford, and am somewhat less than pleased with the performance of the adjudicator there. I sat through the 10 years of age and under session, as it happened to be before mine, and watched her hand out destructive critisms to 10 year olds like you'd give to proffesional signers that you didn't like. At one point she kept critisizing some poor girl till she was crying her eyes out, and her mother actaully had to tell her to stop, before leaving in a rutt.

Anyways, come my section, i actaully put on a mighty fine performance, and was fairly pleased with myself. I was somewhat surprised with the section make up, because i was the only male, and males and females got awards seperatley. This didn't matter, because medals were awarded due to score points (meaning that i wouldn't neccasarily get first, meaning it was still fair). Come adjudication, i was expecting her to tear everything to bits, but i was confident i would still get a good mark, as i'd sung my song almost to perfection. She goes through her "UR DOIN IT RONG" routine for the girls section, but hands out the awards.

What should have happened next, was her awarding me my appropriate medal or (though highly unlikely) nothing at all. Along with this, i should at least have gotten a mention, because she is required to talk about both the males and females section.

What DID happen however, was she declared and end to the section, forgetting about me completely. After about 10 seconds confused commotion, she had to be reminded that there was a male section too. She went back up no stage, and without and apology, went through every minute detail of absolutely everything i did wrong in the song. This frustrated me, because she had made most of the stuff i did Up! then, to finish the display, she said that she marked me down because i couldn't get my note values right, then listed the examples (only two of them) where i had gotten them "wrong" and what it should have been. This nearly sent me round the bend completely, because i had MARKED THAT I HAD CHANGED THE NOTE VALUES ON THE ADJUDICATORS MUSIC SHEET. as such, she had refused to ackowladge the clearly marked changes in note values, and proceeded to mark me down for them.

and that's not all!

At the end of the section, i came to see her, and politely asked her about the marks lost on note values. she told me that she had seen the markings, but didn't like the way i had changed it, so decided she should mark it like the original, that i was being rude "Arguing" with the judge, and was breaking eistedford rules by changing not values. I had her there, becausxe i made sure to check that altering a song like that was perfectly acceptable for the eistedford before i did. it was fine, and to make sure there were no misunderstandings, i brought in a printout of the rules sheet. Upon seeing this, she said it was forged, and that i was a lying bastard for trying to trick her, and to get out of her sight before she revoked my medal. her final comment was also "i only gave you that first because SOMEONE had to get it" which wasn't even true, she could have just as easily given me nothing at all.

I'm writing this after lodging a formal complaint to the eistedford board, and now have to go due to a thunderstorm

[golentan]

Ouch, that's nasty.

Personally, the one that still gets me after all this time was my eighth grade science competition. We were supposed to build a vehicle that (if built with proper materials) could transport us underwater. We then, on the day of the competition, had to ride it through an obstacle course and collect ten items in as many minutes without damaging any of the obstacle course or leaving the vehicle. We had a project budget of 80 dollars or somesuch.

My team spent weeks on our project, we decided on a two person diving bell with hand crank power, and built a frame and gear system staying within the budget and doing all our own work. The diving bell design let us collect things through the bottom with a gripper arm, and we devised a clever system with a rubber glove and slide box: since both where part of the hull we could use our hands with the glove and retrieve things easily. Point scale was out of 20, with 2 points for every item retrieved, -1 for every minute overtime, and -1 for every obstacle damaged.

We get to the competition on the day of, and find a farce in progress. To give you an idea, one team brought a rig with an ENGINE that was more expensive than the budget. Another, the "designers" were checking last minute with their dad for how the darn thing worked.

But we go through, we collect all ten items in 8 minutes and 45 seconds through the power of teamwork (we were the only two man rig, and had a pit team do a final check before the runthrough) and our unique, innovative, and cost effective design. We were the only team to collect all 10 items, we were the only team to come in under time, and damaged no obstacles. We were given 12 points. They gave us a D, on our final project, when we completed a perfect design and run by the rules.

Naturally, we contested it. Their first argument was the open bottom would let water in and drown us. No. No. Diving bells do not work that way. Then they said we had obviously received help, because we hadn't built it ourselves. (B.S. by the way). In the ensuing shouting match, it came out that some of the team members were special ed, and it became pretty clear to everyone the teachers had decided beforehand what the team was capable of and what grade we'd get, and had marked it down before seeing our project. Our families kicked us out of the office at that point, and after hearing some yelling ("lawsuit" and "blatant discrimination" where phrases that came through) we found out we'd be getting a C+, and the school district would be getting a formal complaint about grading policy.

But seriously, we poured our hearts into that gizmo. And ALL the team helped, and ALL the team contributed, and we aced that assignment. And to smack down people like that because the teachers wouldn't even give us a fair shot to demonstrate is sick and destructive.

[Grey Paladin]

In an English exam focused on descriptive writing I took a few years ago, I recall describing some massive trees in the Amazons: '... The tips of these ancient behemoths clawing at the heavens ...'. I got marked down 10 points because, and I quote, 'Trees aren't people'.

[JerryMcJerrison]

It seems like English teachers tend to have weird arbitrary rules more than teachers in other subjects. One of this poster's teachers refused to let his students write in the first person, demanding that they write in the second. This poster happens to think that it was bullpuckey, and made everything sound pompous and sarcastic.

He was also that one English teacher with the Shakespeare plays on VHS that were so old and poorly filmed you could barely make them out.

[Extra_Crispy]

My junior year in high school my band teacher came up to me and asked me if I was going to try out for regionals. This was an extra, out of school, try out to be part of a band made up of all the best in the area. I told me NO as I was going on vacation during that time with my family and would not be able to attend the try outs. Mind you I had been playing tuba for 8 years at that time, 3 years for him in highschool, and not once had he even mentioned regionals to me before. Also this year was the first year that there was only 1 Tuba player, me. Anyway at the end of the semester, when I recieved my grade I had straight A's (fairly normal for me) and 1 C, in band. With the note of "Will not take suggested improvement activities". So I got marked down from the A I had always gotten before to a C because I could not go to regionals, a contest that had nothing to do with school or his teaching, because I was going on vacation with family.

Needless I told him to take the tuba and shove it where the sun did not shine. ( I had other problems with him and this was the proverbial straw that broke the camels back) and left the band without a tuba player.

[bosssmiley]

...Australian national singing Eisteddfod...

This here. Comedy gold. It is the event equivalent of Yakkity Sax. It is straight from the brain of Spike Milligan! :smallbiggrin:

Event judges are universally vindictive, favouritist tossers. Aussie ones doubly so by the sound of it. Have a tinnie. Chalk it up to experience. She'll be roight mate. :smallwink:

[Zanaril]

In an English exam focused on descriptive writing I took a few years ago, I recall describing some massive trees in the Amazons: '... The tips of these ancient behemoths clawing at the heavens ...'. I got marked down 10 points because, and I quote, 'Trees aren't people'.

I'm both laughing and crying at the stupidity of whoever marked that.

[Etcetera]

Not quite on topic, but one student in my class tried to give himself a 10/10 instead of a 3/10 because "he would have got them all right if his pen hadn't run out of ink".

Another test was called of when it was discovered the answered were printed on the back page...