I'm irritated. At the beginning of the year, the 6th grade science teacher gave an assignment to be done on a certain website. Well, most of the kids couldn't even log in - there were technological problems. So, she told them to do it on a different website they were familiar with and email it to her and she extended the deadline. However, with progress reports, I looked at the individual grades online and noted she marked DD's late. DD swears up and down she extended the deadline to Friday because the kids were all having difficulties with the sites and the emails for the school (this was right after school started). And I remember at the time she told me it was due by Friday and we emailed it Thursday. Well, now the teacher is insisting she had only extended the deadline to Wednesday. That is not how I remember it, but I don't know if it's work continuing the fight. Being late took it from a 93 to a 73.
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LawyerLady
I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you.
My son had a teacher who only entered the students grades on her computer and never written them down in a grade book. The problem was her computer always crashed and she loses their grades. If the kids did not bring their graded papers in so she could reenter the grades she gave them a f. Test she would just guess. She was a horrible teacher and so glad the school got rid of her.
Had a teacher do this with one of mine. I kept a copy of any and all assignments with future due dates.
It helped.
But I also went in and had a very matter of fact talk with the teacher. Seemed I wasn't the only one either.
I will say that middle school can be the toughest on everyone. So I learned to pick battles. And helped the kids learn that all they can do is their best and sometimes it's just a crap shoot.
I'd talk to the teacher. Schedule an appointment. Be very frank.
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A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
We've been emailing back and forth - it's not going anywhere. I was already annoyed that they assigned something on an untested website in the first place.
I'm trying to walk a fine line between the slightly bitchy parent that you don't want to piss off and the total bitch parent that will cause it to be taken out on my kid.
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LawyerLady
I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you.
We've been emailing back and forth - it's not going anywhere. I was already annoyed that they assigned something on an untested website in the first place.
I'm trying to walk a fine line between the slightly bitchy parent that you don't want to piss off and the total bitch parent that will cause it to be taken out on my kid.
A face to face is probably the best route.
You don't have to be hateful.
Ask some other parents their thoughts.
I would ask for an explanation.
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A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
It depends. Will it affect her overall grade? If not, let it go. If it does, then ask for a conference and gently voice your concerns.
Several teacher and school admin friends of mine let me in on a secret. They keep files on each child, and document every contact they have with the parents. This file follows the child throughout school, including college. Parental interaction can greatly affect your child's education, and not necessarily in a good way. Tread lightly.
Personally, I think in the future if this teacher grants a deadline, I would follow-up with her personally via email and ask her to confirm the deadline because you don't want your daughter to lose points again for turning in a late paper due to a computer glitch or misunderstanding.
THat would annoy me. Are any other kids 'confused' about the Friday deadline too? I would ask around and if more kids thought it was Friday then I would step it up with the teacher.
I'm not wanting to argue with you, truly. But I recall numerous technical issues with that assignment including email issues. But this is not a hill to die on for me. I will just make sure to more fully communicate and document in the future when there are such issues as these. I also trust that no more assignments will be given to be completed on new websites prior to confirming all the children can log in and use the technology as needed, both at school and from home.
Thank you.
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LawyerLady
I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you.
I agree with Ed about her knowing she is wrong and can't admit it. I call it "teacher's disease" It seems like (for many teachers, not all) that once they say something they simply cannot admit it was a mistake for fear they will lose "respect" for their position....
A kind of feeling of infallibility.
-- Edited by karl271 on Wednesday 16th of September 2015 05:50:56 PM
It's 8th grade. It isn't worth the fight. This class won't matter when she is applying to colleges, unless it's a high school level class taught by a certified high school instructor. Either way, it isn't something I would pursue. It just isn't worth it in the long run - this class just doesn't matter. I see so many people get bent out of shape about middle school grades. They just don't matter in the long run.
Just my POV. Take it or leave it.
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Out of all the lies I have told, "just kidding" is my favorite !
I would agree. I really don't find that taking on some of these battles to be worth it. And, often what your child says and what the teacher says are two different things. MOst of the time, I think it is a miscommunication where the child thinks one thing and really the teacher has said another. But, even if the teacher is wrong, she may not realize she was wrong or there may be no mechanism to change the grade with electronic reporting.
But, I think you should just personally call the teacher and find out the situation.
Interesting. I think it's going to be important to teach DD to keep good logs of due dates. Grade 6 grades aren't necessarily going to do damage in the long run, but learning to manage an unorganized teacher will be important. Written records will be important.
I have found that it's better to work as a team with your children's teachers, or at least give that impression, rather than butt heads. Personally, I think I would have approached it as a misunderstanding between the teacher and your child and asked for a better way to communicate deadlines, perhaps with a quick email to all students so everyone is on the same page.
The problem is that the deadline was in writing to begin with - but she verbally changed it because of technilogical and email issues. So now, she is relying on the written information and "not remembering" what she said. Hence my comment about better documenting.
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LawyerLady
I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you.
Kids need to learn to manage themselves. And if something is unfair, then kids need to go speak to the teacher themselves. But, guess what? Life is unfair and sometimes teachers make mistakes. It isn't the end of the world. It's middle school.
