On Jan. 25, junior Victor Zhang posted an email exchange between him and substitute teacher Adam Wies on his Tumblr. The post received a large response from fellow students. Soon, teachers and students began discussing the exchange throughout Facebook and Tumblr.
An email exchange
In the email, Zhang asked Wies to edit his most recent essay, a Rhetorical Term Entry in which students were to analyze a symbol or motif present in The Great Gatsby, for English teacher Chelsa Anderson’s American Literature Honors class. Wies advertised his tutoring and editing services while he substituted for various English classes and Anderson later promoted him as a “Free Editor!” on her School Loop site.
Wies responded to Zhang’s request with an email that contained the following:
“There are many issues that put your paper into the “B- or B” category. My emendations will, of course, bring it to an “A- or A.” … Because I am currently tutoring other students in both of Ms. Anderson’s classes, I cannot ethically charge them and not charge you….
If you want access to the edited version before friday[sic], you will need to agree to the following terms: my rate of $25 an hour; and, payment bringing either a check made out to Mr. Adam A. Wies or $50 in cash to Ms. Anderson’s class in a sealed envelope.”
Junior Victor Zhang, after consulting substitute teacher Adam Wies for edits on his Rhetorical Term Entry, posted the email exchange on his Tumblr on Jan. 25. Students have shared the post on Tumblr and Facebook. Screenshot from Zhang's Tumblr.
Zhang chose to decline the offer, saying he could not make a $50 commitment. Wies responded to the email with the following response: “No worries. Then you will get what you get … I will NOT do for you what I charge others, so unless you are willing to compensate me for my time I will no longer make a commitment to review your work. When you want the undisputed “A” let me know.”
Another email exchange
According to a male student, who asked El Estoque not to use his name because he is still in the class, a majority of the students began questioning Wies’ presence in Anderson’s class after he started appearing more frequently than once a month. Then in early January 2012, according to the student, Wies announced, in class, the cost of editing essays. According to Wies, since implementing his new policies regarding his services, no student has yet paid him.
“I guess that got on some people’s nerves because that sounded more or less like buying your essay instead of actually getting revisions for the sake of education,” the student said. “It seemed really unfair for those who decided not to get revisions who seemingly get low grades.”
According to the student, after he sent Wies his essay, he agreed to the new price terms, unlike Zhang. Wies gave the student the address he could mail the check to and the edited version of the essay. According to a female student, who asked El Estoque not to use her name because she is also in the class, Wies’ edits ranged from fixing MLA errors to occasionally changing the thesis of the paper.
“I got the [edited] essay back [from Anderson] and I actually ended up getting a B on it. So I asked him, ‘You promised an undisputed A. What’s going on with this?” and he said, ‘Oh. Undisputed doesn’t mean guaranteed A’,” the male student said.
Wies declined to comment about this email.
Chelsa Anderson declined to comment for this article.
Several students noted that those who consulted Wies on a paper eventually received an A. According to Zhang, some students believed having Wies edit their essays would result in a guaranteed A.
While Wies believes that, because of the nature of his edits, the students‘ final draft should receive an A, he added that his edits do not necessarily guarantee an A. The “undisputed A” is his own opinion.
“Essentially, ‘undisputed’ or ‘indisputable’ means ‘not questionable,’ not ‘guaranteed.’ There’s a huge difference. It’s something that people should be well-aware of. In that sense, I meant ‘undisputed‘ meaning that his work and our interaction would lead to improvement and would lead to an A,” Wies said. “And, not to mention, because of my extensive experience in all things literature and English related I am more than qualified to offer a reliable opinion as to whether or not a sample of work is a B- or a B or an A or an F or a D. So the fact that I say or I comment about Victor’s paper being a B or a B-, that is my opinion — not anybody else’s opinion.”
From substitute to editor
In addition to substituting for English classes, Wies’ claims to have also formally lectured in both Chelsa and English teacher Terry Anderson’s American Literature Honors classes.
According to Wies, after receiving teaching credentials for multiple subjects in 2007, he taught at a high school in Palo Alto for a year. He then pursued an MA in English Literature and has been teaching in full-time or part-time positions for undergraduates and high school students. He has been tutoring students in Literature and English since 2004. After receiving his credentials, he has worked, lectured and tutored at high schools, junior colleges and undergraduate colleges. He is currently a FUHSD substitute teacher.
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“If you want access to the edited version before friday[sic], you will need to agree to the following terms: my rate of $25 an hour; and, payment bringing either a check made out to Mr. Adam A. Wies or $50 in cash to Ms. Anderson’s class in a sealed envelope.”
- substitute teacher Adam Wies stated in an email exchange with junior Victor Zhang
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With his background in teaching and English, Wies believes that he is overqualified for the position of a substitute teacher. According to the female student, Wies would lecture once every month and a half. The anonymous students and a few other student sources, however, found his lectures to be irrelevant to classroom curriculum.
It was after his first lecture regarding rhetorical devices in The Scarlet Letter that, according to the female student, he announced his proofreading, editing and tutoring services to Chelsa Anderson and her other classes. Wies claims that he announced his services to the class without Chelsa Anderson’s knowledge.
Following his guest lecture, Wies claims to have lectured to both the Andersons’ American Literature Honors classes about once every month and a half regarding symbolism in novels, rhetoric, essay writing techniques and literature device identification. Though the female student and Zhang found his teaching ineffective, his edits were said to be otherwise.
“For some people he did help a lot. For one girl, he helped a lot, making her writing less complex. And she did end up getting an A, which was good. He was helpful,” the female student said.
The male student explains what Wies’ edits on his essay look like.
“I think what he mostly did is he crossed out the parts he didn’t like and inserted what he wanted in there,” the student said. “It wasn’t really editing it was more like literally just revising it so it looked good in someone else’s view.”
Students discuss their grades
Conversations about the implications of Zhang’s email exchange began on social networking sites and on campus. Some interpreted the situation as “paying for a grade.”
“It’s really implying that if you don’t come to me for help, then you’re not going to get an A,” Zhang said. “That’s kind of interesting to make it sound like that. So I posted it on Tumblr and I was sharing it because I thought it might be amusing. I wasn’t, like, mad about it or anything. But people saw it and they got really pissed.”
The female student, however, recalls Wies stating in class that he has read students’ essays, after they were due, in addition to making references to student grades.
“He would be like, ‘You guys need to really work on this.’ He would kind of threaten us — well, not threaten, but he’d be like, ‘You guys really need to work hard or else you’re going to get bad grades. I know that you guys don’t have good grades at this point … or…’I know who has A’s’ … or something like that,” she said. “It was weird.”
While Zhang, the female student, the male student and other students notice the effectiveness of Wies’ edits on student essays in obtaining the grades desired, some are hesitant to make assumptions.
“I have gone to [Chelsa Anderson] for help and she would say what I wrote was good,” the female student said. “And I remember once I was really upset because I got a B and I thought it was an A [paper]. And other people who had given it to Mr. Wies had gotten A’s. There may be a sort of connection, but maybe we shouldn’t jump to conclusions. But it’s pretty clear [after talking to those that did receive edits] that whoever went to him got an A, and whoever didn’t got a B. I was one of [those that got a B].”
Although the male student had similar feelings to the female, he also believes there is a possibility that the reasons for the discrepancies in grades could be that Wies is simply a better editor.
Wies stated that not only was Chelsa Anderson unaware of his policy change, he did not ever have any conversations with her about grading, contradicting the speculations of many students, including that of the female student. Anderson removed the recommendation for Wies’ services from her website during the week of Jan. 22.
Several sources suggested a close relationship between Chelsa Anderson and Wies which contributes to the suspicion of Wies’ potential influence over grades, however Wies claims that though he and Chelsa Anderson are friends, it has no effect over her grading of essays.
“We do not talk specifically about my tutoring or my rate or anything of that sort. For specific reasons of course, it’s not appropriate for us to do that,” Wies said. “Just like she does not tell me anything about her students’ grades. She doesn’t tell me anything confidential, and I don’t talk to her at all in relation to my fees or my rates.”
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“I guess that got on some people’s nerves because that sounded more or less like buying your essay instead of actually getting revisions for the sake of education. Seemed really unfair for those who decided not to get revisions who seemingly get low grades.”
- the anonymous male student
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Wies responds
Having had years of experience tutoring and teaching, Wies deemed the students’ interpretation of paying for a grade as “devoid of logic”.
“Over 30 students used me when I was free. Now, all of a sudden, it’s a problem or it’s in some way me guaranteeing them an A because they pay? Because I charge them?” Wies said. “Essentially nothing has changed except for the fact that I am charging. So if by some way somebody is insinuating that …. because money is transpiring that there is something that is unethical or could constitute cheating is ridiculous. Whether or not you pay for my services, my services are the same and I guarantee improvement.”
Wies began charging students for his services toward the beginning of the second semester in 2012. According to Wies, before second semester, he had been receiving numerous requests from not only students in the American Literature Honors classes but in other English classes from MVHS and other schools as well, leading to a large time commitment on his part. In addition, according to Wies, parents of some MVHS students sought him out for his tutoring and editing services and requested to pay, prompting him to change his policies.
“So, am I disappointed that I was unable to help [Zhang] and that potentially I disturbed him and made him frustrated? Yes, I am disappointed about that,” Wies said. “But am I going to all of a sudden compromise my ethics for him? No.”
According to Wies, this was not the first time he informed students of his changed policies, whether through email or in class.
“I have made that announcement numerous times to numerous classes that I have subbed in. I said that situations and circumstances have changed and my services are no longer free,” Wies said. “I said that months ago, so this should be nothing new to the kids.”
Administration responds
Once informed of Wies’ email exchange with Zhang, Principal April Scott anticipated the conflicting messages the situation would send to students and parents as “purchasing a grade”, and hence made specific suggestions to Chelsa Anderson.
“We walk a fine line of ever, ever recommending specific tutors because even recommending specific tutors sends a message as if by using the tutor that I have told you, good grades will come as a result. And if the good grade doesn’t come as the result, then why did you make that recommendation?” Scott said. “So this one was a very specific link, which now had some big areas for misunderstanding and big areas for some assumptions to be made. “
After conversing with Chelsa Anderson, Scott was reassured that only Chelsa Anderson was grading student papers and that Wies served solely as a resource for students to gain feedback on essays. Scott does, however, realize the implications of the language used in the e-mail, specifically the mentioning of the “undisputed A.”
“I think it becomes sticky the minute we say, ‘I’m going to provide you with this feedback,’ and now he’s switched midstream as far as charging … and also to say, ’There’s money tied to it. I’m going to guarantee the A.’ Or the ‘undisputed A’. And so now we’ve probably got a couple of issues that might be separate if you looked at them kind of just from the outside, but they are not separate when you see them in totality,” Scott said. “They become connected.“
Some students speak up, most don’t
Neither the anonymous students nor Zhang have brought up the incident to either Chelsa or Terry Anderson so far; some are indifferent, others remain resentful.
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“So the fact that I say or comment about Victor’s paper being a B or a B-, that is my opinion – not anybody else’s opinion.”
- substitute teacher Adam Wies
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“I think it’s another reason why no one really acts up about this issue anymore. We are always scared that it might affect us personally because no one really knows the whole truth behind the issue,” the male student said. “And I think that we’re just scared that it might cause personal enmity from the teacher instead of kind of subsiding as a quieted issue.‘’
The student realizes the importance of students consulting administration to resolve such matters.
“I am almost certain other students feel the way I do,” he said. “I mean, I can understand the fear, but I think that those who have gone to my extent, we should kind of talk out more because, I mean, the problem’s not going to be solved if we just literally shut up and continue with what we’ve been doing.”
According to Scott, no further legal investigation will take place, as she believes that the situation was not the result of any malicious intent. Scott recommends that students who encounter such situations in the future should either report them to any administrator they feel comfortable with or come directly to her; she added that they are guaranteed complete confidentiality.
“What’s done is done,” the male student said. “So I hope it calms down and we can just get back to what our class should have been at the start of the year and things return back to normal.”
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“We walk a fine line of ever, ever recommending specific tutors because even recommending specific tutors sends a message as if by using the tutor that I have told you, good grades will come as a result.”
- Principal April Scott
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Now this is bribery, corruption, and extortion all in one.
agreed
I would like to inquire on the current status of the Wies fee… Is he still running the service at this moment, even with all of the backlash? It would be interesting to know, with all of this information now out to the school–and public–at large.
To Wells Lucas Santo:
Wies responded to your question in an email with the following statement:
“There is no backlash and I am still happily tutoring. My clientele is extensive and is definitely by no means restricted to MV. I have been this for a long time, and I will continue to do so until I decide to stop.”
Karishma Mehrotra
El Estoque Editor-in-chief
Great that it’s not restricted to MV, or by now he’d have no clients
Very groovy that Wies would take the time to respond to my original question. Thanks for the quick response, and the resolution to a great article.
Thank you to El Estoque for a spectacularly well-researched, detailed report on this important issue. I commend you for your thorough research and covering all angles of the story, without indulging tabloid-esque speculation.
However, there’s no requirement for this comment to be objective and factual, and here is my opinion about this issue:
Wies self-righteously says, “But am I going to all of a sudden compromise my ethics for him? No.” The implication is that up until this exchange, Wies’ had had some semblance of ethics and integrity. Clearly, however, offering “services” for a fee to students of your friend already poses a conflict of interest. High school students are a captive audience, and Wies’ presence in literature classrooms, even ignoring his close (ostensibly platonic) friendship with Ms. Anderson, already gives him an aura of credibility he does not deserve. He unfairly took advantage of his position in marketing to high school students in the first place.
It is as if Trader Joe himself went into Mr. Birdsong’s physics class and recommended students buy his dark chocolate to get the rush they need to do well on physics tests.
Wies’ whole involvement in literature classes has been useless. With all due respect (that is, none) to this bald guy, his marginal benefit to literature students, especially surrounded by other intelligent students that have been through the rigor of classes such as Ms. Tanabe’s and Ms. Borelli’s, is little, if it exists at all.
In conclusion, Mr. Wies should not have exploited impressionable high schoolers in the first place, regardless of whether he is or is not grading their essays, whether he is or is not soliciting bribes, is or is not literate. In the future, he should market in decent ways, such as relying on word-of-mouth stemming from good essays, craigslist, etc, rather than thrusting himself inside literature rooms.
What’s the problem with this? Obvious favoritism exists in every single classroom at our school. Some teachers take bribes in the form of kindness, others in gifts, and Wies in money.
School isn’t fair. Grades aren’t fair. The students either need to suck it up or demand an immediate removal of Wies and other teachers that promote favoritism, as opposed to posting a wish washy post on the blogging network Tumblr.
“wish washy post on the blogging network Tumblr.”
Obviously you didn’t read the whole article or the Tumblr post…
Lol I love how Mr. Wies tries to wiggle out of his statement “undisputed A”… “Undisputed doesn’t mean guaranteed A” hahaha
How the heck does Wies even qualify for being a *substitute* teacher… unbelievable
Update at 7:02 p.m. on Feb. 6: The original comment did not comply with El Estoque’s comment policy and has been edited for content. The policy guidelines are available here.
When I first saw this on tumblr, I was outraged. The language Mr. Wies used was simply outrageous. His whole response was just a “you can only get an A if i correct it.” although i do kind of understand that in his shoes, he’s grading too many papers, i think he should charge considerably less. maybe about 5 dollars a paper? “buying a grade” is not right though
So is Ms. Anderson in no way implicated in this matter at all? I find it ridiculous how hard the administration strives to protect the teacher.
YESSS. ADMINISTRATION, PLEASE LOOK INTO THIS MATTER.
Well, in the past, admin is always on the side of teachers. They’ve never moved teachers around the district or silenced dissent, and it’s clear their singular goal is to give the lit department the creative license it needs to do a good job teaching. They’ve even put all the best teachers in the Honors and AP level classes!
Clearly they are being consistent with their devotion to the innocent, wonderful teachers of MV.
that comment isn’t dripping with sarcasm at all…
not hinting at a certain (former) chem h teacher…
He sounds pompous, very full of himself, and selfish. Considering that most people seem to find his “lectures” useless it doesn’t seem like he’s making a significant contribution. I really doubt he’s overqualified to teach at monta vista.
I can kind of understand why he would like to get paid for his services, but that means that all the rich kids get to have their essays bumped up while the relatively poor ones are basically stranded which is very unfair. That’s not the point of a public school. Especially considering that his fee is pretty high. But that puts him in the category of some tutor that you can hire.
What actually really bothers me is his term of “undisputed A” and that he doesn’t talk to you about your essay, he “fixes it for you”. I think that’s why there’s the notion of paying for the grade. You are handing your essay to him, paying, and then handing it in to the teacher. When money wasn’t involved, people obviously had no qualms about it, but now they stop and think. Also “undisputed” means that it’s unquestionable and not able to be disputed. That’s the same thing as guaranteed.
I don’t understand why he’s kept around, but most things I’ve heard about am lit honors this year have unfortunately been negative.
This is why graded writing should not be taken too seriously. No matter what the teacher or whoever else may say, literature will always be subjective. There will always be some personal bias, whether is is from first impressions of your essays, or how likable you are.
You devilish creature acting as a demagogue against the virtues of literature, how dare you come here to utter sanctimonious words against the souls of the mind!
I think it is pretty apparent that Mr. Wies does not have the correct mindset. His goal is not to help the Lit Honors Students succeed, but to gain some sort of profit. By seeing how he tries to defend his words of the “undisputed A,” it is clear that he is trying to justify his wrong actions. His defense does not even make sense! He uses SUCH circumlocutory language that it makes him seem like a bumbling idiot.
People should also keep in mind that Chelsa Anderson was very aware of this transaction for he states in his email that students should pay him through her.
This class is essentially an AP CLASS and individuals like Wies should not be teaching this class.
Just wondering: were you allowed to post this? It seems as if Victor Zhang didn’t know about this being posted on elestoque. I’m a sophomore and I’m glad that this issue was addressed though!
To: uh….
Victor Zhang had consented to an El Estoque interview for this story, and thus had the knowledge that the story would be posted.
Thank you,
Karishma Mehrotra
oh thanks for clearing it up. Just making sure.
Wies was substituting once a week or something around those lines, so that’s already a problem: Chelsa isn’t taking her responsibilities as a teacher seriously. And then I’ve heard that Wies graded papers (or at least told the class that he was grading papers) as well. That means he was charging students to edit their papers and then grading them. THAT is no doubt buying a grade.
Karishma should be congratulated for striving to write an article about such a controversial topic in a fair, factual and unbiased way.
good job!
obviously the anon above who complemented karishma is karishma herself trying to make herself look good haha! but anyways this article is really biased and really irrelevant for the rest of us…
Lol well that’s awkward cuz what if that comment was me…and i’m def not her LOOL.
obviously the anon who commented this is jealous or something..
but anyways the comment is assumed incorrectly and irrelevant..
i believe the article was interesting and very well written.
this is really well written
if it is so irrelevant to your life, then don’t read it
comment about the news, don’t waste your time making assumptions about who’s writing the comments…
haha, i agree with you anonymous #1 and 2s !
Very impressive article, well done El Estoque!
Wonderful job Aafreen and Karishma for covering this story with such finesse. It is very difficult to write about such a topic in an objective manner. Great work!
Mr. Wies’s “undisputed A” does not equal “guaranteed A” does not make any sense and should be under serious scrutiny from the administration.
It will be a shame to the MV community if admin does not take disciplinary action. This is the height of incompetency. If they don’t, I’m sure parents will take matters into their own hands.
why should there be any disciplinary action?
so exactly who is this guy? if he think he’s “overqualified” to be a substitute teacher than what is he doing at mv at all?
this is absolutely absurd. ms. anderson should be ashamed of herself for letting him wield such control in her classroom.
by the way, you wrote an amazing article. this was excellently written
Honestly, this is the most douchy thing anyone can ever have done. This guy doesn’t make a lot of money…hope you guys know that; he’s a friggin substitute in a really bad economy, not even a permanent teacher. Do you really god damn think he has the time to check all your work for free? Having said that, he should never have offered his services in the first place; giving a grade for money is absolute bullshit. You el estoque people just made the situation a whole lot worse though, smh…
Personally speaking, I think this is outrageous… no this is pathetic. This is a blatant conspiracy going on in the office as even through this, the anderson teacher’s do not suffer a bit. Compare this with Mr. Javier’s case where he did nothing wrong and was forced to move teachers. Okay if say something happened there, take the fact that these lit teachers are the worst of the worst you could possibly pick. I would admit they are nice, wonderful people. No doubt about that. But their credentials as teachers… no, just no. In this class, flowery writing is valued over concrete writing and only recently has this changed. I do not feel adequately prepared for our ap language and composition test and I believe many others can concur. Please bring back Mrs. Cler, and the rest of the wonderful teachers
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
I totally agree. And I want to add for the record: ABC = B. A. D.
These “thesis frames” and templates would have been pathetic in Tanabe’s 10th and are even more shameful in a Lit “Honors” class
Yeah I think this whole messed up lit thing started with admin making javier and vanni leave and all that other lit department stuff last year. I think admin really needs to step up and FIX the lit department. Everyone can see that it’s such a mess this year, and now students aren’t ready for ap tests, and the biggest thing is it interferes with students’ learning.
i love how some students paid the guy. goes to show what type of students mv students are.
its the same as tutoring for help in math. Are you calling people who get tutored pathetic?
No, it’s not “the same” as getting tutored in math. See, when you’re getting tutored in math, you’re learning and have a chance to clarify concepts you don’t really know.
According to the statements presented in the article, Wies didn’t exactly tutor as he just revised essays for a few hours and gave them back, without advising his “clients” on how to improve in the long run. It would be a faulty comparison to put Wies’ essay revisions on par with an actual math tutor’s help.
The difference is that math is a real subject
But seriously
In math, you don’t pay for the grade.. math tutors actually help you understand the subject, because you can’t bs your way through a calculus test
english “tutors” like Mr. Wies though, are the exact opposite… just in it for the money i guess *sigh*
My main issue with this lies not with the supposed ‘tutor and editor’ but rather with the students themselves. It is rather disheartening to see students so desperate for a high grade that they are willing to pay such outrageous fees under such hollow pretenses. Have we all simply lost all confidence in our own abilities; that we would simply throw money at the problem in an attempt to circumvent such crucial inadequacies as being unable to write ones own essays with confidence? The measure of one’s mettle, in all arenas, lies with oneself, not with one’s grades or with the evaluations of others. That such a con would find himself able to so easily waltz into a classroom and finagle his way into the wallets of students that are well old enough to make intelligent decisions is deeply concerning at a level that goes far beyond simple disgust.
Interesting. I think I remember him. He was an mildly intriguing person to listen to, I suppose.
In my opinion, once money gets involved, things get slippery. If he received so many requests for help, and they take up a huge amount of time, [I think] he’s justified in asking for payment.
However, the way he promotes himself is just… off. The way he phrases things really does seem to suggest the ‘buying’ thing people are so upset about. Some of the quotes in the article don’t help in dispelling this impression at all.
On a side note, this article took a very neutral stance on a topic that just begs for emotion. Objectivity is important when covering issues like this, and this [in my opinion, of course] is an excellent new article. Thank you.
Everyone needs to calm down and stop overreacting. It is pretty clear that his intentions were not malicious, his argument behind charging for his services – although self-righteous and overstated – was valid, and his only error was coming across as a pompous prick in the original, and as far as I can tell from the interviews about money “transpiring”, subsequent email correspondences.
Wies is not a bad guy, just an eccentric, misunderstood, idiot; and making fun of eccentric, misunderstood, idiots is something people like doing. You don’t like his policy regarding paying for edits? Don’t pay him. You think that it’s unfair that someone is exchanging the promise of a better grade for monetary compensation? Outlaw tutoring. You think it’s shady that a frequent substitute has been recommended by a teacher? I do too and Wies, Ms. Anderson, and Mrs. Scott have all acknowledged the error, retracted any endorsements, and clarified that there was no special consideration given to essays edited by him. Face it guys, this was a egregious professional mistake that was duly corrected and punishment was most probably dealt privately (if I was a teacher/principal I definitely wouldn’t want my overprivileged, self-aggrandizing students want to feel like they could stir up trouble at their whim and succeed), yet you’re STILL trying to turn this into some sort of scandalous witch hunt. Heck, the public humiliation endured by Ms. Anderson (imagine teaching a classroom where you know that the students no longer respect you) should be “punishment” enough. There may be a variety of reasons for being frustrated at the Am Lit H classes, but this should in no way be one of them.
Students at MV need to get over themselves and stop feeling like victims at every opportunity. After all, nobody was writing articles about the altruistic English substitute Mr. Wies when he was helping 30 students free of charge first semester. If you react this fervently to people like Wies, imagine how sensitive you’ll be in the real world filled with obnoxious characters just like him.
Oh and since Mr. Wies has retracted his guarantee of an “undisputed A”, I am now the only tutor on campus that offers that type of promise. So if you want an A on that next essay, wire me $50 and I will help you get a B at least.
hello there Mr. Wies I did not expect to see you here.
The question here isn’t that [Mr. Wies] is an idiot, because it is nearly universally accepted that he is. The question is whether charging money for an “undisputed A” for grading essays should go unpunished.
Again, “No malicious intent” does not excuse gross incompetence and unprofessionality on the part of the literature department, as a friend once said.
…I respect your opinion and the good grammar, but I have to disagree.
“Professional mistake” implies lack of malice. Even if you want to exonerate Anderson, admin, etc. Wies is about as malicious as something that is very malicious. Very malicious.
Furthermore, many of we 99% that are complaining do not portray ourselves/other students as victims; agreeing to pay for an edit is definitely dubiously advisable. Even if some students made bad decisions, no student acted maliciously. Wies has.
Ok, I understand where you’re going but…
“Wies is about as malicious as something that is very malicious. Very malicious.” ?????????????
I don’t recall anything in the article suggesting that he did something intrinsically “malicious”. On the other hand, the comments on the article are divided between people who think this is hilarious, people who think MV students are despicable in their quest for an A, and people calling for blood (and victimizing themselves).
Alright, I see my similes are as bad as bad similes.
Let me clarify. I am not trying to imply that MV students (categorically) are noble, good-intentioned, or even intelligent. In fact, don’t get me started at the materialistic proletariat in this place…
However, he did do malicious things. If you know that ethically something is wrong, and you do it anyway, that’s malicious. So given that my opinion is that his whole tutoring (given his personal relationship with Chanderson) was wrong ethically, because it was conflict of interest/abuse of power–even ignoring the cockiness and request for money–given that:
he was being malicious. Which is just the most general adjective — feel free to replace that with /stuff that the wise El Estoque reviewers would censor/
Haha. Your similes made me laugh
And its stupid that someone would pick on your similes when that’s not even close to the real issue here…
I actually do agree with you!! I see your point, you are not alone.
I think both parties (the students and Mr. Weis) are at fault because of miscommunication. I think Weis should have said that he would guarantee improvement instead of saying that the students would reach A level papers. However amount of editing, the student is the one writing the paper still.
As for the students, why would a qualified writing professional spend numerous hours editing papers for free? In addition, why would you believe that you would automatically get an A from paying for his services? Students should know that when being tutored, a lot of the work still comes from individual studying. Sounds like some people are looking for easy shortcuts which do not come with life.
Hey wait a minute you guys. I want to see if I can still buy my grade up to an A, as I have a “b” right now. I’ll even pay more than $50, er, my mom will. Anything to get into the right school…… Right???
You can get an undisputed A (as in any grade that will be Awful, Average, or Awesome in an undisputed way).
I’ll even cut you a special deal: $30 and one of those delicious pita chip bags. Getting into college has never been this easy… or delicious!
I don’t think this is really something new. I think this is a kind of extreme version, where the tutor literally threatens the student with a potential B if he does not consent to the tutoring. But to be perfectly honest, the many of the harder classes in Monta Vista, when A’s are few and hard to come by, students go out of their way to get expensive tutors in order to come up with the grades. In reality what it reflects what Monta Vista has trained many students to believe. My opinion is that most Monta Vista students, especially those who tend to challenge themselves academically, do not believe that learning is of any consequence. Its all about the scores, and its like that for me as well. I don’t care if I learned everything or nothing in the class, in the end all I care about is the A. It make sense after all, colleges don’t look at your transcript and see “oh he learned a lot in the class, he must be a good student” instead they just see “oh he got an A, he must be a good student”.
Ardavan,
Learning means nothing to you. I am sure you are not a straight A student. Thinking only of grades may help short term, but in the long run it doesn’t matter. What’s the point of going to college if you don’t learn things? What are you expect to get out of college? More grades?
I hate how you say “most MV students” when you’re just talking about yourself
Thank you El Estoque for a very well researched article. Is there any more news on any administrative decisions regarding this situation, and is the original Literature teaching being looked into for any possibility of misrepresented grades due to Mr.Wies?
Good report, but I think people are overreacting.
First, it is a undisputed truth that students use resources outside school, and I see no wrong in it. Mr. Wie has the right to charge students for his services. I was once a tutor too. If the student eventually write his/her paper, I am fine with that. (it is like using the spellcheck in Word after all)
LOOOL I remember Mr. Wies. He came off as prideful and semi-creepy. Everyone wondered what his relationship with a single, female high school teacher was….
To be completely honest, he was pretty smart with that “undisputed A” BS, because only at MV would you find kids willing to pay 50$ for a letter grade up even though there are free resources at their disposal (Internet, teachers, peers, student tutors, even parents, etc). Remember people, if it sounds too good to be true, it’s definitely BS.
Also, the kids’ mindsets were obviously grade-oriented rather than learning-oriented (good job public education system). Nobody at MV likes writing (well some people do…) and Mr. Wies took advantage of the demographics by selling grades.
Writing is actually a timeless, useful skill that people should actually try to improve on…It invokes creativity in the non-dominant side of the brain (well in my eyes, most MV kids are logical thinkers) among a bunch of other good and scrumptious things.
Anyways, as much as I liked Miss A, she definitely should’ve seen this coming…
PEACE MR. WIES
First off, this is a very interesting article so thank you to the writers for trying to give an as objective view as possible.
My first reaction was WTF, but a lot of people have already brought up my feelings in the comments so I don’t want to rehash any of that.
The point I want to make that I don’t think has been mentioned though, is this line in Wies’ email: “I have, indeed, taken a very in-depth look at your RTE paper.”
This sentence precedes the chunk that is actually quoted in this article but exists on the tumblr post. Does anybody see anything wrong with that? Let me tell you my problem with it.
The fact is that I don’t think there’s anything wrong with asking for financial compensation for tutoring/editing services, especially as Wies was in fact already charging other students for it. However, the blinking red light for me is the fact that he has ALREADY taken a “very IN-DEPTH” look at the student’s paper…and then proceeds to say that there are in fact specific “issues” that he can help fix.
It is one thing if a tutor does not have time to look at tens of student papers for free so he must charge for the time and effort involved, it is a completely different case if this tutor decides to commit the time to review the paper, then say I will only give you the edits if you pay me. This is where the line seems to cross into the feeling of bribery or even extortion that many other commenters have already stated. It is both the tone Wies responds with and the very deliberate actions he took in the process that is questionable. I would think it was much more normal and ok if for example he said, I can give your paper an in-depth look and give you edits if you choose to hire me as a tutor/editor, and then proceeded to do so. His words, however, do not seem to hold any credibility when he says he has no time to freely edit student papers when he has already committed the time and is now only looking to gain from it.
When it comes down to it, I don’t think anything can be proved and we are left here debating Wies’ (and Chelsa Anderson’s, and admin’s) words. But it is my opinion that Wies’ words show that he had an intention to profit from these students beyond mere equal compensation for the educational benefit he was providing.
Other than the fact I agree with you, I want to point out that your comment is proof that MV Alums can think critically, deduce, write well–in short, everything lit class is supposed to be–without *expletives* like Wies
yeah, wies made some stupid mistakes. he came off as creepy and dumb in his email exchange. but ithink miss anderson is really at fault here. she brought this guy to lecture in the lit classes and he is not a good teacher. the fact that he charges for editing isn’t wrong, i mean who wouldn’t charge for doing a job?
In all honesty, it’s really obvious that this definitely had some form of malicious intent, because Mr. Wies is supposedly a credible English teacher, or he claims to be so. Now that being said, how can a well-qualified English teacher send messages that connotate a corrupt meaning? I’m sure that if he was as good as he says he is, then he would be better with his word choice and establish the meaning behind his words clearly without stupid interpretation of what he might actually mean. Good job, you just ruined your credibility as an “good” English sub, your morals, and your “ethics.”
Update at 6:42 p.m. on Feb. 12: The original comment did not comply with El Estoque’s comment policy and has been deleted for content. The policy guidelines are available here.
So what exactly is Admin doing about this now?
YEAH, REALLY!
What IS admin doing about this? Are they just going to ignore it???