* Hilarie Orman <ho@alum.mit.edu> [Feb 17. 2014 08:15]:
I had to argue with with a graduate student over an ambigram. On two adjacent true/false questions, he wrote "yes" and "no" respectively, then very lightly drew arrows reversing them. The answers were wrong, and I refused to accept the reversal as a legitimate mark. He told me that in Germany, erasures and cross-outs are not allowed, and he had no choice but to use arrows. Nice to see that Americans are now learning to apply European techniques.
... of boldly lying to the instructor. A rather large proportion of students considers cheating in exams as OK. Is that a German (European?) disease?
As for the test in general, I strongly believe that these things are part of education in the broader sense. Thinking about ill-posed problems is an important skill,
... it is considered part of intelligence ...
especially in math.
erm, of all things, shouldn't math (more so school math) rather be a shining example of clarity and unambiguity? Actually, in written exams I detest ambiguity in questions, no matter what the topic is, at the very least in those "exact" sciences. It appears to me that students silently assuming questions are unclear and have to be reinterpreted is a positive obstacle when it comes to math. Would you agree?
Realizing that your teacher is deeply confused and coping gracefully with him is an important life skill.
Yes, sadly. Also, that two teachers tell you the exact opposite and you have to give him "their" version of answer. Also, to never correct them, even at the most glaring and idiotic errors; something I try to make my students unlearn, which seems incredibly hard.
My grandfather was a sports writer, and he knew the difference between probable and possible.
Hilarie
[...]
Best, jj