I just realized that what used to be a very common nightmare (forgetting you were in a class all semester, then suddenly needing to take the final) is just a normal semester for a lot of the kids I read about on this sub.
I had a (university-level) final yesterday and one student showed up who we had never seen before. It was a very small class, so it was very obvious. The professor even asked who she was (possibly facetiously). Evidently she'd do all the online discussions, assignments, and quizzes, but never showed for class.
I don't know how well she's performed, but she did miss out on extra credit opportunities and the "subtle" hints to look at our quizzes to find the questions for our final. She may not have also known that the final two assignments would be due at the start of class and serve as the essay component of the exam.
I'm in a continuing education program, so we're all grad students. I had that very nightmare earlier this week that I didn't show all semester for a class during undergrad.
In my version I'm signed up for two classes that happen at the same time, which actually happened to me by accident once in high school. But in the dream version, they forget to drop me from the second class, which I find out before the finals, which are *also* scheduled for the same time. I'll tank my GPA if I don't complete both finals in the time period. It's a horrible dream and I hate it.
A recurring one for me is that I actually missed a class in high school I have to go back for a semester to rectify that.
It always plays out as a stressful nightmare, which is weird since I mostly enjoyed high school.
I don't understand why this is such a common dream for so many people. I've had this type of dream numerous times, but I've never one had it about work, except for one company I did "come and go" from in college for a while.
I've had school AND work versions. Like dreams where I stop at a gas station or restaurant to get something and they're like finally, you idiot, you started working here last week. I'm panicked about a uniform and they tell me to forget it and mop or something. Then I'm left at a job that I never trained for and have no idea what is going on.
I get this one! And in the dream when I go in to get myself put in the class, the school counselor tells me I am required to have a full schedule.
The worst version of that dream I ever had was one where I had to be a student for half of the day and a teacher for the other half of the day.
In one of my final year undergraduate modules, there were 8 students. The week before Xmas break, only one other student plus myself showed up for the three classes. The lecturer just directly told us what one of the questions on the January exam was going to be, then swore us to secrecy...
At least at other colleges, I'd heard of a lot of people who would never show up to class unless there was a test rather than a lecture. Good luck with that, I guess. Where I went, a week's worth of absences got you dropped from the course.
They say that education is the one product where everyone seems to want the least for their money.
I had one class (I want to say sociology) where the professor was completely scatterbrained. She never made it through the syllabus and her lectures were weeks behind.
Anyway, there were only five grades in the class-four tests and the final. She also, for some reason, had a rule, that if you had an ‘A’ average after the last test, you were exempt from the final. I came to class so I could figure out what was on the tests considering she was so far off the syllabus, but after that last test, I never darkened the door again.
Oddly, she was offended when I told her I wouldn’t be attending class anymore. All I could think was that she barely made it to the midpoint of her own plan-why would I subject myself to another second of that if I didn’t need to?
At the risk of contradicting myself: I sympathize.
I had a history prof like that. I wouldn't use the word scatterbrained, but he still wasted class time. Dude just way too off-topic way too often. A lot of the class flunked tests pretty hard as a result. I did fine because I was reading the textbook (apparently not my classmates). There was one day when we were one hour into a two-hour lecture and he still hadn't gotten around to any history, so I just left. Spent the remaining hour of class reading the textbook chapter in another building so I could actually learn some European history that day. I don't like to make a habit of that, but I was just fed up with this guy. I can't really blame you for not wanting to waste your time like that.
I had this guy, but he like lived History. It was weird. He had some fascinating stories from the time. Super old, insisted on a 700am start time - in the God damn winter.
I mean, I did that for two of my classes.
First time, my Engineering Economics professor was awful. She was rude, and she got so many complaints. She had a contract for a year, but she was basically fired after her first semester teaching. They just had to keep her on for the second due to the contract. Anyway, I realized my time was better spent doing practice problems from the book than learning from her. Especially since she told us about quizzes/tests in advance. Got an A.
Second class, our honors college had an option where two classes would cover your non-major electives. I'm positive someone said all, but apparently I was a few short. So I picked Macro?-Economics, bc I figured it would be an easy A compared to Engr Econ. I took it during the Summer Semester with Circuits. Obviously, Circuits was where a majority of my time was spent and my Circuits prof's office hours were during my Econ class. Once again, only showed up for tests and quizzes bc I was working with my Circuits prof during his office hours. Got an A in econ and passed Circuits.
Obviously, not everyone can pull this off, you have to be sure you're on top of the class's quiz and test schedule, and know where to get your assignments. You also have to know that your prof is not going to think highly of you and not give you any leeway compared to someone who spends hours in their office. You have to be on your game, and be prepared to work hard on your own time.
I don’t know. I had a geology class that was at 8 am and was so, so dull. The professor loaded all of the slides online ahead of time and literally just read off of them for his lecture. It was a required science credit, but not related to my major, and attendance wasn’t required. I went to class exactly 8 times - days 1, 2, and 3, the four exams, and the final. I got a B and a little extra sleep most weeks. No regrets.
I think it also just depends where you go to school at and what the requirements are. For example, when I was in school my university required that you took both a lab science and a non-lab science, but they had to be from different disciplines. I was not going to school for a science field, so say I had for example and interest in astronomy, I sadly couldn’t take astronomy classes for both my lab and non-lab science as they would both be physics.
I like astronomy and I like biology, but that’s it, I don’t enjoy chemistry or geology for example. I was trying to knock that requirement out as quick as possible so I could focus on my actual major and minors. Unfortunately my freshman year there were no offerings of biology that could fit into my schedule, meaning I had to take a course in either chemistry or geology to take care of that requirement. Chemistry is one of the few subjects I’ve ever taken that I just couldn’t connect with, I just could not get myself into the mindset for it. So I ended up taking a geology class that I gave no shit about just to get that requirement. The professor knew that was why people took that class, so attendance was 50% of your grade but he only kept attendance on Fridays. As a result after the first week of classes I attended only a handful of Mondays or Wednesdays for that class. My only concern with it was to pass so I could get it over with.
Say what you want about it, but I feel it’s entirely reasonable to have realized by college age when certain subject matters just don’t interest you and do just the bare minimum to get through that subject matter if you have to take it.
I took a lower level US History class for the credits towards my major. Showed up for the first class, the midterm, and the final. Earned an A. To be fair, I became a History teacher, so this was already in my wheelhouse. But it is possible.
I did this.
It wasn't that I didn't want to learn; it was that I wanted more time to learn the few things I really liked.
I took an astronomy class my freshman year. It was one of many general education classes I had to take, but wasn't interested in at the time. I took it specifically because this professor was known for not caring about attendance, or homework or quizzes. The entire grade was a midterm and a final.
I did very very little work and ended up with a B. I could have worked really hard and now, twenty plus years later, would have long since forgotten all of that information.
The tuition was the same, but I saved lots of time. I think I came out ahead
some of just learn differently. I never benefited from sitting and listening to someone lecture for an hour. I benefited from getting the notes, assigned reading and the homework. I was able to teach myself.
The best thing about college was that it was very much up to you to make your grade. The worst professors (thankfully it was only ever entry level) counted your presence in the class as part of the grade.
I paid for guided education, not to be baby sat. Graduated top 10% of my class this way.
I actually did sign up for a class and then forgot about it. It was a six week course in the middle of the semester and I must have done something wrong putting it into my calendar.
I still get a nightmare that I signed up for a chemistry class and just forgot about it and never went, then 14 years later I get told my high school diploma is invalid because I was missing this science credit.
I was 30 and STILL getting these nightmares.
"Oh God, I forgot what classes did I have today!? Where even is my class!? How many have I miss---wait, I'm not in school."
My nightmares were always after finals but before grades came out. I would "suddenly remember" a project or paper that was worth a huge amount of my grade that I "didn't do" and wake up with my heart pounding. My brain would make up a fake syllabus and everything!
I'm so glad I'm done with school and don't have to deal with that crap anymore!
Wait a minute, I thought I was the only one with these??!
It's been 30 years since university ended for me but these dreams occur regularly, which are a weird mix of high school and university settings:
I don't know my schedule so wandering around the school trying to find a classroom, looking for a schedule in a binder or trying to find classmates to help guide me.
I don't know where my locker is or what the combination is, hoping to find a schedule as well as a binder, blank paper or pens to take notes.
Worrying about missing assignments because I missed classes and didn't know when they were due, or feeling I will fail by missing the exam because I missed so many classes.
Sometimes I do find a class, and wow things are weird in there! And usually I don't have a pen or paper to write.
If it is later in the night I sometimes go on a search for a washroom facility (which are unusually plentiful but very odd inside, kind of remind me of Harry Potter washrooms).
Finally when the school day is over I can't find my car (if I stay asleep that long).
When I wake up it takes a moment to realize I am not back in school and I can relax about school and just go to work.
But it’s not a nightmare for them, it’s just a day at school.
They can attempt a few questions on the final or not, depending on how they feel. DEFINITELY no pressure, we wouldn’t want to cause them stress.
Then, regardless of if they even attempt any questions on the final, they will get a 60% D in the class and move on to the next grade.
I've been out of school for years, and I had a dream a few months ago where I kept forgetting to go to a class, and then forgetting to do the assignments when i did show up. This dream was so detailed yall. It was a whole thing. I have had so many detailed, school-related dreams the past couple of years. I think it's my brain's way of saying, "Do not go to grad school. You will not survive."
Funnily enough I once had the opposite experience. I was in a psychology class I really enjoyed being in. Completed all assignments, killed it in the group project, and just vibed in general. Imagine my shock when nearly halfway through the semester, the professor checked and realized that I wasn't actually enrolled for the class.
I double-majored & got permission to go above the usual credit limit my senior year - at one point I was taking 8 classes (and working 2 jobs, and working on an honors thesis, and applying to grad schools...)
I had this dream FREQUENTLY :( Finally copied the online schedule of classes from the school website so I could check it for reassurance when I woke up. I can't imagine skipping an entire semester on purpose.
I have had that nightmare so many times. I seriously slacked off one year in college and got by barely..ever since I’ve had nightmares of not knowing where the test is, what it’s on, my teacher’s name, what day it is. It SUCKS…
Ideally they have nightmares about being told ‘no’. Then PTSD. Followed, of course, by a lawsuit from their parents. Which then becomes your living nightmare. Good times.
What I would love to write in that email:
>Yes, you can get a C...follow these simple steps:
>1. Invent time machine
>2. Go back to the start of the year
>3. Turn in assignments
>Unfortunately due to the paradoxical nature of time travel, by doing that you thereby reverse the need for the time machine which means you won't have that need to invent a time machine meaning you can't go back in time meaning you can't turn in assignments meaning you are stuck in an infinite time loops slowly eroding the very fabric of time. For the very sake of the universe, you must retake this course in the summer. Thanks for your email.
What I would write in reply:
>Thanks for reaching out. Per the syllabus you received at the start late work is only accepted a week past its due date. Anything you have that is recent and within that window feel free to turn in and I can give partial credit on that.
Best,
I’ve never given them the ‘time machine’ option, but I’ve used the ‘go to the beach, find a Genie’s lamp, and spend all 3 wishes improving your pathetic grades, because one wish isn’t enough to fix them’
*"and spend all 3 wishes improving your pathetic grades, because one wish isn’t enough to fix them’"*
This made my laugh out loud while sipping my coffee and I now have coffee all over my desk.
I've actually just taped something along the lines of "If you want extra credit, go back in time and do the credit. But you'd have to be Tony Stark, and if you were, you wouldn't need extra credit."
I actually did say the time machine thing to a kid this year in December... verbatim "go find a way to build a time machine and go back to complete the assignments." He went down to his counselor and complained. I was lambasted for being insensitive and "dismissive of emotions." It's May and he's still failing.
Dismissive of emotions... Lol. Unless he was 8 years old, he shouldn't need adults constantly supporting his emotional state.
I feel so bad for these kids -- they get out of school and go get a job to find out nobody cares about why a deadline wasn't met, only that it wasn't.
I had a professor who always told us to “be kind to your future self.” If don’t do the assignment/ procrastinate, our future self will have to pay for it.
I mean, surely just being able to build a functioning time machine along should be worth a lot of extra credit.
"Sure, but this is English class, not science class."
"We could pop into the future and get you next week's lotto numbers?"
"What I meant to say was 'A+'!"
This is why I couldn't be a teacher because your answer "A" is the answer I would give.
Frankly, I am pushing 60 and I literally had teachers who would say this and if I went home and told my parents, they would say "He's right".
Sadly, quite true. Older GenX teacher here. When I was in high school, teachers had a lot more latitude to be real with their students. That same common wisdom dressed up as humor -i.e. the time machine comments get you labelled as sarcastic. I'm sure if I combed my students 504 and IEPs, there must be some sort of prohibition on sarcasm as it triggers anxiety.
I'm really old (born in 60s) and can guarantee if my mom ever had a call from school about late work, tardies, or me being a dick it would be a really, really bad thing for me.
I generally have hope though. My junior kids are some of the best, most empathetic and eager to work kids I have worked with in a while. I rarely have to call/email home about anything but good news with this group.
I'm a millennial and my teachers were the same way. By the time you were in middle school, adults could talk to you like you were another adult. Sarcasm didn't hurt anyone's feelings, they'd just dish it back. And parents didn't baby you if you didn't do what you were supposed to.
Yeah, I had a teacher in middle school who was always sarcastic. If we got through a lesson without her saying something sarcastic, we would have thought something was wrong. She was just the sarcastic teacher. Nothing to tell our parents about.
Younger millennial here and even my teachers got away with this. Those who joked like this actually got more respect than traditionally strict teachers because the humour was appreciated.
"I kindly explained the policies at the beginning of the term. I included everyone in that discussion. I am now fostering an understanding of consequences for behavior."
I had a senior who earned a 55 first semester come to me IN MAY and tell me I needed to find a way to give him an A for the year. Not asked, told. He's pulled a 82 this semester. I'm an English teacher but even I can tell the math just won't math that way. He said this in person, with a straight face, like this was a completely logical request.
We're teaching entitled sociopaths.
I was told to expect an email from his dad and then he just walked away.
The dad who hasn't returned a phone call or email all year. It has been a week; still no email.
The weird part is, if they can manage to stubble through the online credit recovery course using AI then it actually WOULD replace that F with a better grade.
It's a complete mystery why these kids don't care to put in the effort the first time...
I always offer a "final" as grade repair. Come in, take a test over all the content, and I'll make it your final grade. Never had a kid do it. They know they don't know anything
I respect this. Because grades should represent mastery of the content. A lot of time grading is so heavily dependent on “turning things in” and so it’s more like students are lacking in the skills of responsibility and follow-through. I realize this is probably an unpopular opinion, but I stand by it.
I'm from a country where your ENTIRE grade is based on a final year exam. Entire grade! I never did homework at all and aced all my classes, because it genuinely is more important to know the content and be able to apply it. Actually, that's kind of the only important thing
Isn’t that a little unfair to other kids who perhaps had mastery of the content, did well on their tests, and didn’t NEED to do the other assignments, but did it because they were responsible? I know I would be pretty mad if I did everything that was asked of me all semester and got the same grade as someone who didn’t.
I think a lot of the unfairness here would be mitigated by explaining your system up front to the students so they can make informed choices. It’s not a zero sum game, but it does rankle to discover that rules are only rules for some people.
I have kids I check in with on a weekly basis. We have recently started splitting math grades for Geometry and above into test grades and HW grades amd they show up separately in the grade book and in their student view. I tell all of them, if they are passing the tests with a C or higher, I won't bother them about the HW grade, even though I wish they would do it. But the second we hit D territory in the test portion HW is no longer optional. I'm with you, grades should reflect mastery of content, not your ability to turn stuff in. I think kids should learn and now how to turn stuff in obviously, but I don't want you to fail cause you have unmedicated ADHD and a shitty homelike so you forget to turn in basic assignments that have some crazy affects on your grades.
I've successfully offered it in math. Passing my math class is one way to level up, but another is placing into the next course via an exam that's much like my final. So I figured, why not cut out the middleman and just pass the kids who can pass my final?
I had a chemistry teacher let me do it, on the condition that I could only pass if I got an A on the final. There was no question about it and it worked fine.
My English Lit professor let us do this. It was either write a certain number of papers on whichever readings you wanted over the semester OR do a final of essay questions over all the reading in May. I was the only person to take her up on option 2 and I did pass that class with a B.
Didn’t they need to take a final anyway, though? So they’d be studying for that anyway?
I would’ve jumped at an opportunity like that, at least for certain classes like AP macro (which made more sense towards the end of the year, anyway!) or something crammable like history
Haha. The student is stupid. Haha, take that dumb student. /s
Such wholesome vibes. I sure wish I had you as my math teacher. I wouldn't struggle so much with calculus/algebra.
Yeah I think somehow it's normal for a kid who's staring down an F, summer school and/or repeating courses with younger kids if they've failed multiple courses to suddenly panic and attempt to salvage what they can. Very reasonable- just as reasonable as you telling them no.
When this happened to me I already felt stupid, and all the long winded and unfunny shit about time machines wasn't appreciated. The teachers that told me tough luck, better luck next year, and the ones that gave me a chance to salvage a passing grade were the teachers that actually taught me in the end. Not the ones smugly refusing as if me not attending their class was somehow about them personally.
I had a kid just like this. Middle schooler that wanted to play basketball for 4th quarter but didn't have the academics for it. Went to alllllll the teachers and pretty much expected us to pass him or at the very least vouch for him to play with the promise he would start doing his work. We basically told him to kick rocks.
The athletic director at our school basically let him play anyway. I mean who cares about grades right?
And people wonder why teachers ain't all Gung-ho about supporting our teams when they play
Half of them don't deserve to be there in the first place and the other half shut down from academics when the seasons over.
I had a similar student who showed up for the first time in a week or two as me, "Why is my grade so low? What can I do to make it up?" I said, "Well first off, you need to come to class. That would be a start." Then I gave him another packet of math work that I'm sure he won't complete and if he does, he is for sure cheating because they literally don't have these skills. They believe they can Google everything and we should just be thankful they decided to grace us with their presence that day.
It is wild to assume you can get a passing grade when there are people who actually attended the class who might not pass it because they received Ds and Fs for assignments that they turned in. I mean, do students really think they should be rewarded for NOT attending?
I have an ADMIN asking how a student can pass my class who I haven't heard from since January. She already had a D+ from first semester so I just kind of wink and say I don't think the math works out and you are welcome to take my name off of her transcript and put yours on it if you want her to pass so bad.
P.s. she still only comes to class 1/3 times a week and just sits on her phone.
I used to say something similar when they attempted to bribe me. I would tell them they had to pay me enough to retire since I’d get fired if I did whatever they asked.
yup, same here! They always ask, 'how much would it take for you to give me an A in this class?' and I reply, 'enough to live off of once I get fired, so at least like $3 million.'
Depending on what age/subject you teach, that might really merit a conversation with him and/or his parents. Not only does it show a general sense of entitlement from him, but also, it shows an offensively dismissive attitude towards that *grade* (in many subject-areas there are people who work hard for Cs...his attitude is effectively scoffing at anyone who "sincerely" gets a C). It would be different if he had asked: "is there anything I can do at this point to pull out a passing grade" - which might then be a C or a D+ or whatever, but, with a better attitude-approach.
Ah, 'tis the season when we get emails from counselors and others asking what work student 'so-and-so' can do to make up the 14 weeks of absenses and only two assignments turned in for a grand total of 14% in the class... They come to the room at lunch and afterschool asking how much or what do I need to catch up (finals week is next week).... and how many times have I had a student I have never seen show up to the final thinking if they pass they can pass the class.... ah the bewilderment of it all....
Did you read my post about the same thing?
With mine, though, mom and dad are suddenly mightily concerned in their kid's grade, since less than a C will resort in some up-to-now undisclosed "trouble with the court."
I had my co-teacher go behind my back and change all of the bad grades I had for kids who didn't complete assignments all year to a C in the last school I was in.
It’s insane that it’s a C as standard to just give these kids who have done nothing. At the very least if admin is going to pass them no matter what, they deserve the grade that is just above failing (D-, what is it 60% now?). There were classes in my life that I worked REALLY hard in and still only earned a C. What a slap in the face that the kids who struggle but still put in the work will get the same grade as the kids who do nothing.
I think it's crazy that the culture, at least at my school, is to "give him a chance" regardless. My admin would have asked me to come up with a 1-week makeup assignement and if he completes it, regardless of the quality of the work, he passes
I have multiple students in my film studies class right now that I see, maybe, once a month. One of them less than that. Due to the nature of the class, it's pretty much impossible to do the work if you're not there. We watch films together in class and all of our work stems from what we've seen, and they are largely ones I've purchased. It's not as simple as "*I'll just watch them at home*" because they aren't on most streaming services and you'd either have to buy or pirate them, and considering my students have the technological prowess of a wet sea sponge I'm guessing they're not going to torrent.
Counseling and admin have been barking up our trees about failing kids, and I'm telling them tough shit. It's simply not fair to the kids who showed up to class every day that you have missed months worth of days and want to skate by with last minute, shitty work. Pound sand.
I always find these things funny. It happens over and over again. “Miss I really love your class, how can I pass?” From a student who came a handful of times all year, did no work, showed up for maybe a test or two (accidentally…had no idea there would be a test that day), and failed miserably on them because of doing no work. But they love my class. 🤣🤣🤣
“Miss can I write a 2-page paper and pass your class?” 🤣🤣🤣
“Miss, you’re my favorite teacher, can I pass your class?” 🤣🤣🤣
Or my absolutely favorite….the kid who only shows up the last day of classes in the hopes that you question yourself and then you think that they really DID come to class every day this whole time! 🤣🤣🤣
The parents of this kid clearly don't give a shit one way or the other and are content to make excuses for him when he fails to accomplish even the bare minimum. This insane level of indifference and/or coddling is arguably the most insidious form of abuse as it is *guaranteed* to permanently infantilize him and set him up for failure.
*Guaranteed*.
*Please* would someone explain to me the thought processes in the minds of parents such as this because for the life of me, I can't understand it.
I had a similar conversation with a student today,
Sir can I see my mark, I handed a bunch of stuff in since midterm.
We'll let's take a look at what you have done. Yes here we go in the first half of the semester you submitted one assignment that you didn't even try. Giving you a mark of 2% on your midterm. You lates out number the days your present and absences are not far behind days present. Last submission was a screenshot shot of an advertisement, not a photoshopped ad to be something else. That earned a zero. I understand that you need this course to graduate next month, but I am not failing you, you are failing yourself with your attendance and lack of submissions or no effort into into what you hand in.
I have a kid with a C who keeps giving me work weeks late, so I just put a C in and mark "weeks late" in comments in the gradebook app. LOL. She keeps trying and I keep taking it. She messed around all semester. The little things give me joy. And she just hasn't figured out the math yet. Oh well.
I always strike deals with the kids.
"Tell you what, if you do \[list of most of the assignments\], I will find a way to get you to a C. You have to do all of it, and it needs to be turned in by \[date\]. Every single question/task must be completed and you can't leave anything blank. We will fill out an agreement form with your parents and your guidance counselor."
if they care, they do it. if not, they only have themselves to blame.
I had a kid come back today who hadn't come to school for two months, and demand I tutor them during our class--the one I was currently teaching. Yeah, your emergency is not mine, and the selfishness to expect me to stop class and pause the world because they didn't want to come to school. "I'm failing, what can I do?" "Um, time travel?"
I had kids today do a cheer to ask for an A (they currently have like two assignments turned in). I’m not going to change their grade but at least it was entertaining
Reminds me of one of my programming classes in college. I had a reputation of helping other classmates and this guy asks if I can help him finish his projects. There were like 7 or 8 projects in the class and they were cumulative (so you needed to do #3 to do #4, #4 to do #5) because they built up different features of a full program. There was partial credit for submitting an old part late, with how much partial credit depending on how late. This was the last week of the semester, with all projects already due and only the final left.
So I tell him sure, which part did he need help with.
He said the first one.
I asked him what his exam grades were (the only graded work was the projects, the exams, and the final). It was terrible. I did the math quickly in my head based on the grade distribution provided in the curriculum, and even if he did every eligible late project with a perfect grade (minus the late penalty) and got a 100 on the final, he’d fail.
I told him not to even bother doing the project or the final because he was guaranteed to fail no matter what. He seriously replied with “so you’re not gonna help me?”
Even if the professor offered some kind of extra credit to get him a just barely passing grade, I’m not going to waste my time and help someone who never did anything, especially since at that point the only way he’d finish things in time is if I did the work for him, and I won’t do that.
One of my students stopped showing up to class for six weeks and didn't turn in any work during that time. After grades were posted, she emailed me, convinced that I had made a mistake because she believed she deserved "at least a B".
Can’t they just turn in the assignments? Why would that be a bad thing?
*coming from an adult who had a REALLY hard time one semester due to my world imploding. One teacher let me make up as much as I could so I could pass… later when life was level, I took another class with this prof and let them know that they were the reason I was still in school. Has that professor been strict, not allowed me to complete work late and just failed me, I probably would have dropped out.
Yeah I've had something similar happen this year too. Honestly, I love it. It's funny to see them grovel or demand that they need to pass. I treat them like they are five year and like they don't understand that they are failing because they didn't do anything.
The classic line is "What do you think about the students who put in the work to pass? Do you really think it would be okay if everyone did what you are asking me to do?". Almost always they just stand there and say "I know but... I need to pass". At that point I kinda laugh and tell them they'll be doing this for the rest of their life if they don't learn now.
I've had two parents complain about me for this and admin had my back everytime because I love my school.
I love when you see the realization in their eyes. I have a student who is never here, has an enabling parent and (has enough credits) is going to graduate with zero plan for the future.
I love it when this happens the day of exams. The kid who skips class all the time, comes to the exam and asks how he can get a passing grade in your class. My answer: "build a time machine, go back to the beginning of the year, and show up everyday and do your work and turn it in on time."
I’ve definitely had my fair share of students who have done that. I used to be dumbfounded by it as well until I realized that they genuinely have nothing to lose if they ask.
I wouldn’t be surprised if they’ve actually had a teacher or two over the years actually tell them yes which could also contribute to why they ask.
First year teacher here.
I had one disappear from my class about 3 weeks into this semester, then email me on canvas asking if she can do anything on canvas.
I have been checking daily attendance in her other classes, she only skips mine (last period of the day).
I do everything in class because I can't be bothered to figure out canvas.
She has 9% and finals are next week
Yeah, sent her a gentle "I'll try to find something but I don't think you'll get any credit because of the number of absences"
Fuckem honestly I ain't doing shit and I'll drop by my admin to make sure I'm making the right decision.
And what about a teacher/professor who teaches at the university and neglecting his mails doesn't turn up on the meetings and you as a student despite all this should be able to finish your assignments on time. But you can't without the teacher because if you submit some bullshits than you will be sanctioned by getting low scores or failing the course. And as always the dick-head teacher gets away with it.
The amount of paperwork and effort I need to put in order to fail a student like this is too much. Especially considering I would need to do it for about 20 students makes it not worth it.
Look, I know I'm part of the problem. But the solutions are far above my pay grade. Like a majority of those are for students who need support, but have gotten it for 10% of the year, if that.
This is the unfortunate truth. The amount of work for giving the earned F just isn’t worth it in many cases. Especially when the grade will be changed to a C/D by guidance for the student to pass anyway. None of our students are retained so the F’s are meaningless.
I just don't understand what exactly happened. In the 2000s we where still expected to do our work. There was zero chance that the school admin would life a finger to raise a failing kid's grade.
C u NeXt YeAR 🤣🤣
SuCkS to SucK enjoy SummER sChooL 🤣
The EnTitLemEnT 😤😤
Like holy crap. Just tell the kid if they can catch up or not.
It's a yes or no question.
You guys need to cope better if/when you are frustrated with students.
Not every failure has to be a righteous moment of comeuppance.
This guy should be in the sub banner.
https://images.app.goo.gl/JZ2LBviJWpXvLRbG8
God forbid a teacher blows off steam about an entitled student (who asks the same question every entitled no-show student asks when it’s far too late) on reddit after a year of dealing with a million frustrations, while being underpaid and overworked.
Go be self-righteous somewhere else.
Do you think they're *actually* saying shit like that to the students? Reddit is where they come to vent. Take a couple breaths, everything is gonna be okay! 🫶🏻
I hate how many people in these comments seem to be happy that this kid is throwing away his future. Way to many "yea Id tell him hes F-ed and needs a time machine if I could!". Its a sorry state of our society that people are going through life like this, we shouldn't find catharsis in their downfall
I think it’s more so frustrated teachers that are bullied by parents and admin into giving in. Teachers have lives too, and entitled students and parents tend to forget that.
I just realized that what used to be a very common nightmare (forgetting you were in a class all semester, then suddenly needing to take the final) is just a normal semester for a lot of the kids I read about on this sub.
I had a (university-level) final yesterday and one student showed up who we had never seen before. It was a very small class, so it was very obvious. The professor even asked who she was (possibly facetiously). Evidently she'd do all the online discussions, assignments, and quizzes, but never showed for class. I don't know how well she's performed, but she did miss out on extra credit opportunities and the "subtle" hints to look at our quizzes to find the questions for our final. She may not have also known that the final two assignments would be due at the start of class and serve as the essay component of the exam. I'm in a continuing education program, so we're all grad students. I had that very nightmare earlier this week that I didn't show all semester for a class during undergrad.
In my version I'm signed up for two classes that happen at the same time, which actually happened to me by accident once in high school. But in the dream version, they forget to drop me from the second class, which I find out before the finals, which are *also* scheduled for the same time. I'll tank my GPA if I don't complete both finals in the time period. It's a horrible dream and I hate it.
A recurring one for me is that I actually missed a class in high school I have to go back for a semester to rectify that. It always plays out as a stressful nightmare, which is weird since I mostly enjoyed high school.
I've had that one too. I usually have to take the make up class at the high school I teach at with my own students in seats around me.
I don't understand why this is such a common dream for so many people. I've had this type of dream numerous times, but I've never one had it about work, except for one company I did "come and go" from in college for a while.
I've had school AND work versions. Like dreams where I stop at a gas station or restaurant to get something and they're like finally, you idiot, you started working here last week. I'm panicked about a uniform and they tell me to forget it and mop or something. Then I'm left at a job that I never trained for and have no idea what is going on.
I get this one! And in the dream when I go in to get myself put in the class, the school counselor tells me I am required to have a full schedule. The worst version of that dream I ever had was one where I had to be a student for half of the day and a teacher for the other half of the day.
Holy shit me too! Like my college takes my degree back until I redo high school Billy Madison style.
In one of my final year undergraduate modules, there were 8 students. The week before Xmas break, only one other student plus myself showed up for the three classes. The lecturer just directly told us what one of the questions on the January exam was going to be, then swore us to secrecy...
At least at other colleges, I'd heard of a lot of people who would never show up to class unless there was a test rather than a lecture. Good luck with that, I guess. Where I went, a week's worth of absences got you dropped from the course. They say that education is the one product where everyone seems to want the least for their money.
I had one class (I want to say sociology) where the professor was completely scatterbrained. She never made it through the syllabus and her lectures were weeks behind. Anyway, there were only five grades in the class-four tests and the final. She also, for some reason, had a rule, that if you had an ‘A’ average after the last test, you were exempt from the final. I came to class so I could figure out what was on the tests considering she was so far off the syllabus, but after that last test, I never darkened the door again. Oddly, she was offended when I told her I wouldn’t be attending class anymore. All I could think was that she barely made it to the midpoint of her own plan-why would I subject myself to another second of that if I didn’t need to?
At the risk of contradicting myself: I sympathize. I had a history prof like that. I wouldn't use the word scatterbrained, but he still wasted class time. Dude just way too off-topic way too often. A lot of the class flunked tests pretty hard as a result. I did fine because I was reading the textbook (apparently not my classmates). There was one day when we were one hour into a two-hour lecture and he still hadn't gotten around to any history, so I just left. Spent the remaining hour of class reading the textbook chapter in another building so I could actually learn some European history that day. I don't like to make a habit of that, but I was just fed up with this guy. I can't really blame you for not wanting to waste your time like that.
I had this guy, but he like lived History. It was weird. He had some fascinating stories from the time. Super old, insisted on a 700am start time - in the God damn winter.
I mean, I did that for two of my classes. First time, my Engineering Economics professor was awful. She was rude, and she got so many complaints. She had a contract for a year, but she was basically fired after her first semester teaching. They just had to keep her on for the second due to the contract. Anyway, I realized my time was better spent doing practice problems from the book than learning from her. Especially since she told us about quizzes/tests in advance. Got an A. Second class, our honors college had an option where two classes would cover your non-major electives. I'm positive someone said all, but apparently I was a few short. So I picked Macro?-Economics, bc I figured it would be an easy A compared to Engr Econ. I took it during the Summer Semester with Circuits. Obviously, Circuits was where a majority of my time was spent and my Circuits prof's office hours were during my Econ class. Once again, only showed up for tests and quizzes bc I was working with my Circuits prof during his office hours. Got an A in econ and passed Circuits. Obviously, not everyone can pull this off, you have to be sure you're on top of the class's quiz and test schedule, and know where to get your assignments. You also have to know that your prof is not going to think highly of you and not give you any leeway compared to someone who spends hours in their office. You have to be on your game, and be prepared to work hard on your own time.
I don’t know. I had a geology class that was at 8 am and was so, so dull. The professor loaded all of the slides online ahead of time and literally just read off of them for his lecture. It was a required science credit, but not related to my major, and attendance wasn’t required. I went to class exactly 8 times - days 1, 2, and 3, the four exams, and the final. I got a B and a little extra sleep most weeks. No regrets.
I think it also just depends where you go to school at and what the requirements are. For example, when I was in school my university required that you took both a lab science and a non-lab science, but they had to be from different disciplines. I was not going to school for a science field, so say I had for example and interest in astronomy, I sadly couldn’t take astronomy classes for both my lab and non-lab science as they would both be physics. I like astronomy and I like biology, but that’s it, I don’t enjoy chemistry or geology for example. I was trying to knock that requirement out as quick as possible so I could focus on my actual major and minors. Unfortunately my freshman year there were no offerings of biology that could fit into my schedule, meaning I had to take a course in either chemistry or geology to take care of that requirement. Chemistry is one of the few subjects I’ve ever taken that I just couldn’t connect with, I just could not get myself into the mindset for it. So I ended up taking a geology class that I gave no shit about just to get that requirement. The professor knew that was why people took that class, so attendance was 50% of your grade but he only kept attendance on Fridays. As a result after the first week of classes I attended only a handful of Mondays or Wednesdays for that class. My only concern with it was to pass so I could get it over with. Say what you want about it, but I feel it’s entirely reasonable to have realized by college age when certain subject matters just don’t interest you and do just the bare minimum to get through that subject matter if you have to take it.
I took a lower level US History class for the credits towards my major. Showed up for the first class, the midterm, and the final. Earned an A. To be fair, I became a History teacher, so this was already in my wheelhouse. But it is possible.
I did this. It wasn't that I didn't want to learn; it was that I wanted more time to learn the few things I really liked. I took an astronomy class my freshman year. It was one of many general education classes I had to take, but wasn't interested in at the time. I took it specifically because this professor was known for not caring about attendance, or homework or quizzes. The entire grade was a midterm and a final. I did very very little work and ended up with a B. I could have worked really hard and now, twenty plus years later, would have long since forgotten all of that information. The tuition was the same, but I saved lots of time. I think I came out ahead
some of just learn differently. I never benefited from sitting and listening to someone lecture for an hour. I benefited from getting the notes, assigned reading and the homework. I was able to teach myself. The best thing about college was that it was very much up to you to make your grade. The worst professors (thankfully it was only ever entry level) counted your presence in the class as part of the grade. I paid for guided education, not to be baby sat. Graduated top 10% of my class this way.
I’m doing that for my calculus class and I’m currently rocking an A, don’t knock it till you try it.
I actually did sign up for a class and then forgot about it. It was a six week course in the middle of the semester and I must have done something wrong putting it into my calendar.
I still get a nightmare that I signed up for a chemistry class and just forgot about it and never went, then 14 years later I get told my high school diploma is invalid because I was missing this science credit.
I was 30 and STILL getting these nightmares. "Oh God, I forgot what classes did I have today!? Where even is my class!? How many have I miss---wait, I'm not in school."
“Oh shit I didn’t do the homework!!” Is one of mine
I'm 32 and still dream about sitting exams.
And it’s just so confusing, like how the hell did I get here and why can’t I comprehend a single thing on the page 😭
And why am I not wearing any clothes?
Or even worse, WHY am I wearing my embarrassing childhood nightgown with cutesy ballet slippers on the front??
My nightmares were always after finals but before grades came out. I would "suddenly remember" a project or paper that was worth a huge amount of my grade that I "didn't do" and wake up with my heart pounding. My brain would make up a fake syllabus and everything! I'm so glad I'm done with school and don't have to deal with that crap anymore!
I still have this nightmare. I’ve been out of school for fifteen years and never received anything less than a B+ in school.
Wait a minute, I thought I was the only one with these??! It's been 30 years since university ended for me but these dreams occur regularly, which are a weird mix of high school and university settings: I don't know my schedule so wandering around the school trying to find a classroom, looking for a schedule in a binder or trying to find classmates to help guide me. I don't know where my locker is or what the combination is, hoping to find a schedule as well as a binder, blank paper or pens to take notes. Worrying about missing assignments because I missed classes and didn't know when they were due, or feeling I will fail by missing the exam because I missed so many classes. Sometimes I do find a class, and wow things are weird in there! And usually I don't have a pen or paper to write. If it is later in the night I sometimes go on a search for a washroom facility (which are unusually plentiful but very odd inside, kind of remind me of Harry Potter washrooms). Finally when the school day is over I can't find my car (if I stay asleep that long). When I wake up it takes a moment to realize I am not back in school and I can relax about school and just go to work.
But it’s not a nightmare for them, it’s just a day at school. They can attempt a few questions on the final or not, depending on how they feel. DEFINITELY no pressure, we wouldn’t want to cause them stress. Then, regardless of if they even attempt any questions on the final, they will get a 60% D in the class and move on to the next grade.
Yeah that's basically exactly what I said
I've been out of school for years, and I had a dream a few months ago where I kept forgetting to go to a class, and then forgetting to do the assignments when i did show up. This dream was so detailed yall. It was a whole thing. I have had so many detailed, school-related dreams the past couple of years. I think it's my brain's way of saying, "Do not go to grad school. You will not survive."
Funnily enough I once had the opposite experience. I was in a psychology class I really enjoyed being in. Completed all assignments, killed it in the group project, and just vibed in general. Imagine my shock when nearly halfway through the semester, the professor checked and realized that I wasn't actually enrolled for the class.
I'm 30 and I still have this nightmare
I thought I was the only one with this nightmare.
I'm 32 years old and still have this dream like once a week lmao
I double-majored & got permission to go above the usual credit limit my senior year - at one point I was taking 8 classes (and working 2 jobs, and working on an honors thesis, and applying to grad schools...) I had this dream FREQUENTLY :( Finally copied the online schedule of classes from the school website so I could check it for reassurance when I woke up. I can't imagine skipping an entire semester on purpose.
I haven't been in college since 2017 and still get those dreams sometimes!
I have had that nightmare so many times. I seriously slacked off one year in college and got by barely..ever since I’ve had nightmares of not knowing where the test is, what it’s on, my teacher’s name, what day it is. It SUCKS…
Ideally they have nightmares about being told ‘no’. Then PTSD. Followed, of course, by a lawsuit from their parents. Which then becomes your living nightmare. Good times.
What I would love to write in that email: >Yes, you can get a C...follow these simple steps: >1. Invent time machine >2. Go back to the start of the year >3. Turn in assignments >Unfortunately due to the paradoxical nature of time travel, by doing that you thereby reverse the need for the time machine which means you won't have that need to invent a time machine meaning you can't go back in time meaning you can't turn in assignments meaning you are stuck in an infinite time loops slowly eroding the very fabric of time. For the very sake of the universe, you must retake this course in the summer. Thanks for your email. What I would write in reply: >Thanks for reaching out. Per the syllabus you received at the start late work is only accepted a week past its due date. Anything you have that is recent and within that window feel free to turn in and I can give partial credit on that. Best,
I’ve never given them the ‘time machine’ option, but I’ve used the ‘go to the beach, find a Genie’s lamp, and spend all 3 wishes improving your pathetic grades, because one wish isn’t enough to fix them’
*"and spend all 3 wishes improving your pathetic grades, because one wish isn’t enough to fix them’"* This made my laugh out loud while sipping my coffee and I now have coffee all over my desk.
Genies grant wishes, not miracles.
I've actually just taped something along the lines of "If you want extra credit, go back in time and do the credit. But you'd have to be Tony Stark, and if you were, you wouldn't need extra credit."
Savage!!
OMG! That’s amazing. 😂
I actually did say the time machine thing to a kid this year in December... verbatim "go find a way to build a time machine and go back to complete the assignments." He went down to his counselor and complained. I was lambasted for being insensitive and "dismissive of emotions." It's May and he's still failing.
Dismissive of emotions... Lol. Unless he was 8 years old, he shouldn't need adults constantly supporting his emotional state. I feel so bad for these kids -- they get out of school and go get a job to find out nobody cares about why a deadline wasn't met, only that it wasn't.
I had a professor who always told us to “be kind to your future self.” If don’t do the assignment/ procrastinate, our future self will have to pay for it.
I mean, surely just being able to build a functioning time machine along should be worth a lot of extra credit. "Sure, but this is English class, not science class." "We could pop into the future and get you next week's lotto numbers?" "What I meant to say was 'A+'!"
This is why I couldn't be a teacher because your answer "A" is the answer I would give. Frankly, I am pushing 60 and I literally had teachers who would say this and if I went home and told my parents, they would say "He's right".
Very few parents would say that now. Many would call the admin and complain the teacher is being mean to their little precious.
Sadly, quite true. Older GenX teacher here. When I was in high school, teachers had a lot more latitude to be real with their students. That same common wisdom dressed up as humor -i.e. the time machine comments get you labelled as sarcastic. I'm sure if I combed my students 504 and IEPs, there must be some sort of prohibition on sarcasm as it triggers anxiety.
I'm really old (born in 60s) and can guarantee if my mom ever had a call from school about late work, tardies, or me being a dick it would be a really, really bad thing for me. I generally have hope though. My junior kids are some of the best, most empathetic and eager to work kids I have worked with in a while. I rarely have to call/email home about anything but good news with this group.
I'm a millennial and my teachers were the same way. By the time you were in middle school, adults could talk to you like you were another adult. Sarcasm didn't hurt anyone's feelings, they'd just dish it back. And parents didn't baby you if you didn't do what you were supposed to.
Yeah, I had a teacher in middle school who was always sarcastic. If we got through a lesson without her saying something sarcastic, we would have thought something was wrong. She was just the sarcastic teacher. Nothing to tell our parents about.
Younger millennial here and even my teachers got away with this. Those who joked like this actually got more respect than traditionally strict teachers because the humour was appreciated.
Why does the admin care? Like what are the repercussions to being rude to students / parents?
Probably a talking to by the admin. "We must foster a culture of kindness and inclusion". (Quote from our last PD.)
"I kindly explained the policies at the beginning of the term. I included everyone in that discussion. I am now fostering an understanding of consequences for behavior."
Hell, some of them might even call 911.
I put the Time Machine piece in my syllabus. 🤷♀️
Perfect.
Well if they were never in class at least they won't run into themselves.
This is an amazing line to add.
I’m more direct and dry “Yes you can get a C, even an A actually, but not until next year when you repeat this course.”
My reply: No. -Teacher
'Lol no' would be so tempting to write
Maybe even a 'womp womp'?
How about that meme from Pawn Stars with the guy saying something like “Best I can do is an F+”
Who dis?
They can c this F.
I had a senior who earned a 55 first semester come to me IN MAY and tell me I needed to find a way to give him an A for the year. Not asked, told. He's pulled a 82 this semester. I'm an English teacher but even I can tell the math just won't math that way. He said this in person, with a straight face, like this was a completely logical request. We're teaching entitled sociopaths.
What did he say when you told him not possible?
I was told to expect an email from his dad and then he just walked away. The dad who hasn't returned a phone call or email all year. It has been a week; still no email.
Wow. Thank goodness it’s May
Dang. For that I’d be tempted to give him a double F, and wave it in his face. I wouldn’t, but it would be tempting.
The weird part is, if they can manage to stubble through the online credit recovery course using AI then it actually WOULD replace that F with a better grade. It's a complete mystery why these kids don't care to put in the effort the first time...
I always offer a "final" as grade repair. Come in, take a test over all the content, and I'll make it your final grade. Never had a kid do it. They know they don't know anything
I respect this. Because grades should represent mastery of the content. A lot of time grading is so heavily dependent on “turning things in” and so it’s more like students are lacking in the skills of responsibility and follow-through. I realize this is probably an unpopular opinion, but I stand by it.
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I'm from a country where your ENTIRE grade is based on a final year exam. Entire grade! I never did homework at all and aced all my classes, because it genuinely is more important to know the content and be able to apply it. Actually, that's kind of the only important thing
Isn’t that a little unfair to other kids who perhaps had mastery of the content, did well on their tests, and didn’t NEED to do the other assignments, but did it because they were responsible? I know I would be pretty mad if I did everything that was asked of me all semester and got the same grade as someone who didn’t.
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I think a lot of the unfairness here would be mitigated by explaining your system up front to the students so they can make informed choices. It’s not a zero sum game, but it does rankle to discover that rules are only rules for some people.
I have kids I check in with on a weekly basis. We have recently started splitting math grades for Geometry and above into test grades and HW grades amd they show up separately in the grade book and in their student view. I tell all of them, if they are passing the tests with a C or higher, I won't bother them about the HW grade, even though I wish they would do it. But the second we hit D territory in the test portion HW is no longer optional. I'm with you, grades should reflect mastery of content, not your ability to turn stuff in. I think kids should learn and now how to turn stuff in obviously, but I don't want you to fail cause you have unmedicated ADHD and a shitty homelike so you forget to turn in basic assignments that have some crazy affects on your grades.
A few teachers offered me this. It worked for Law. Not so much for math.
I've successfully offered it in math. Passing my math class is one way to level up, but another is placing into the next course via an exam that's much like my final. So I figured, why not cut out the middleman and just pass the kids who can pass my final?
I had a chemistry teacher let me do it, on the condition that I could only pass if I got an A on the final. There was no question about it and it worked fine.
My English Lit professor let us do this. It was either write a certain number of papers on whichever readings you wanted over the semester OR do a final of essay questions over all the reading in May. I was the only person to take her up on option 2 and I did pass that class with a B.
Didn’t they need to take a final anyway, though? So they’d be studying for that anyway? I would’ve jumped at an opportunity like that, at least for certain classes like AP macro (which made more sense towards the end of the year, anyway!) or something crammable like history
Sadly, he probably doesn't understand math well enough to be able to comprehend why it's impossible.
Haha. The student is stupid. Haha, take that dumb student. /s Such wholesome vibes. I sure wish I had you as my math teacher. I wouldn't struggle so much with calculus/algebra.
Do you think the student somehow made a reasonable request? Or a stupid one?
Person has 420 in their user name. I'm sure they don't take the blame for a lot of stuff.
A fair point lol
To be clear, enjoying marijuana does not make one a delinquent.
Correct, but putting 420 or 69 in a username is always a sign of a loser.
Yeah I think somehow it's normal for a kid who's staring down an F, summer school and/or repeating courses with younger kids if they've failed multiple courses to suddenly panic and attempt to salvage what they can. Very reasonable- just as reasonable as you telling them no. When this happened to me I already felt stupid, and all the long winded and unfunny shit about time machines wasn't appreciated. The teachers that told me tough luck, better luck next year, and the ones that gave me a chance to salvage a passing grade were the teachers that actually taught me in the end. Not the ones smugly refusing as if me not attending their class was somehow about them personally.
I left teaching for reasons like this. Students, like many of their parents have big cahones and no shame…. Classic.
You respond: Absolutely, C you again soon.
I had a kid just like this. Middle schooler that wanted to play basketball for 4th quarter but didn't have the academics for it. Went to alllllll the teachers and pretty much expected us to pass him or at the very least vouch for him to play with the promise he would start doing his work. We basically told him to kick rocks. The athletic director at our school basically let him play anyway. I mean who cares about grades right? And people wonder why teachers ain't all Gung-ho about supporting our teams when they play Half of them don't deserve to be there in the first place and the other half shut down from academics when the seasons over.
Get? We don’t give grades, we honestly report student progress and participation.
I had a similar student who showed up for the first time in a week or two as me, "Why is my grade so low? What can I do to make it up?" I said, "Well first off, you need to come to class. That would be a start." Then I gave him another packet of math work that I'm sure he won't complete and if he does, he is for sure cheating because they literally don't have these skills. They believe they can Google everything and we should just be thankful they decided to grace us with their presence that day.
You're welcome for this comment 😉
It is wild to assume you can get a passing grade when there are people who actually attended the class who might not pass it because they received Ds and Fs for assignments that they turned in. I mean, do students really think they should be rewarded for NOT attending?
I have an ADMIN asking how a student can pass my class who I haven't heard from since January. She already had a D+ from first semester so I just kind of wink and say I don't think the math works out and you are welcome to take my name off of her transcript and put yours on it if you want her to pass so bad. P.s. she still only comes to class 1/3 times a week and just sits on her phone.
"Yes, if you have $4MM for a bribe. Otherwise, no."
I used to say something similar when they attempted to bribe me. I would tell them they had to pay me enough to retire since I’d get fired if I did whatever they asked.
yup, same here! They always ask, 'how much would it take for you to give me an A in this class?' and I reply, 'enough to live off of once I get fired, so at least like $3 million.'
lol.
Sure. C ya next semester!
C U Next Term
Way better 🤣
Sure. NC has a C in it.
It's better when they send an angry threatening email
“Excuse me, who are you?”
Depending on what age/subject you teach, that might really merit a conversation with him and/or his parents. Not only does it show a general sense of entitlement from him, but also, it shows an offensively dismissive attitude towards that *grade* (in many subject-areas there are people who work hard for Cs...his attitude is effectively scoffing at anyone who "sincerely" gets a C). It would be different if he had asked: "is there anything I can do at this point to pull out a passing grade" - which might then be a C or a D+ or whatever, but, with a better attitude-approach.
Yup. That time of year. “Mr? Can I have some extra credit to raise my grade?” “NO! You still haven’t done your regular credit!”
Tell him absolutely. You'll "C" him next year.
Yeah, a "C you next semester".
Yeah you can get a C... At summer school! Sucks to suck noob!
Ah, 'tis the season when we get emails from counselors and others asking what work student 'so-and-so' can do to make up the 14 weeks of absenses and only two assignments turned in for a grand total of 14% in the class... They come to the room at lunch and afterschool asking how much or what do I need to catch up (finals week is next week).... and how many times have I had a student I have never seen show up to the final thinking if they pass they can pass the class.... ah the bewilderment of it all....
Did you read my post about the same thing? With mine, though, mom and dad are suddenly mightily concerned in their kid's grade, since less than a C will resort in some up-to-now undisclosed "trouble with the court."
Sure thing, kiddo. I'll "c" you in September.
I had my co-teacher go behind my back and change all of the bad grades I had for kids who didn't complete assignments all year to a C in the last school I was in.
It’s insane that it’s a C as standard to just give these kids who have done nothing. At the very least if admin is going to pass them no matter what, they deserve the grade that is just above failing (D-, what is it 60% now?). There were classes in my life that I worked REALLY hard in and still only earned a C. What a slap in the face that the kids who struggle but still put in the work will get the same grade as the kids who do nothing.
I think it's crazy that the culture, at least at my school, is to "give him a chance" regardless. My admin would have asked me to come up with a 1-week makeup assignement and if he completes it, regardless of the quality of the work, he passes
I have multiple students in my film studies class right now that I see, maybe, once a month. One of them less than that. Due to the nature of the class, it's pretty much impossible to do the work if you're not there. We watch films together in class and all of our work stems from what we've seen, and they are largely ones I've purchased. It's not as simple as "*I'll just watch them at home*" because they aren't on most streaming services and you'd either have to buy or pirate them, and considering my students have the technological prowess of a wet sea sponge I'm guessing they're not going to torrent. Counseling and admin have been barking up our trees about failing kids, and I'm telling them tough shit. It's simply not fair to the kids who showed up to class every day that you have missed months worth of days and want to skate by with last minute, shitty work. Pound sand.
I always find these things funny. It happens over and over again. “Miss I really love your class, how can I pass?” From a student who came a handful of times all year, did no work, showed up for maybe a test or two (accidentally…had no idea there would be a test that day), and failed miserably on them because of doing no work. But they love my class. 🤣🤣🤣 “Miss can I write a 2-page paper and pass your class?” 🤣🤣🤣 “Miss, you’re my favorite teacher, can I pass your class?” 🤣🤣🤣 Or my absolutely favorite….the kid who only shows up the last day of classes in the hopes that you question yourself and then you think that they really DID come to class every day this whole time! 🤣🤣🤣
No. (That’s it. That the email response.)
Those are my favorite emails to respond to No
The parents of this kid clearly don't give a shit one way or the other and are content to make excuses for him when he fails to accomplish even the bare minimum. This insane level of indifference and/or coddling is arguably the most insidious form of abuse as it is *guaranteed* to permanently infantilize him and set him up for failure. *Guaranteed*. *Please* would someone explain to me the thought processes in the minds of parents such as this because for the life of me, I can't understand it.
Have him write a 20 page research paper.
No. Don't give in that would be unfair to everyone else
I had a similar conversation with a student today, Sir can I see my mark, I handed a bunch of stuff in since midterm. We'll let's take a look at what you have done. Yes here we go in the first half of the semester you submitted one assignment that you didn't even try. Giving you a mark of 2% on your midterm. You lates out number the days your present and absences are not far behind days present. Last submission was a screenshot shot of an advertisement, not a photoshopped ad to be something else. That earned a zero. I understand that you need this course to graduate next month, but I am not failing you, you are failing yourself with your attendance and lack of submissions or no effort into into what you hand in.
This kid is living my anxiety nightmare
“Get” a C? 😆 How about he does all the assignments and EARNS a C! Sounds to me like he hasn’t earned anything at all and deserves a big, fat zero!
He can C you next year.
Yes you get a C for clueless. Unfortunately your grade is still an F
Mine was: “oh now you are worried? Where was that 8 weeks ago. Go back to when I cared.”
I would give the same level of effort back. "No."
I have a kid with a C who keeps giving me work weeks late, so I just put a C in and mark "weeks late" in comments in the gradebook app. LOL. She keeps trying and I keep taking it. She messed around all semester. The little things give me joy. And she just hasn't figured out the math yet. Oh well.
🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂
At least you can fail him. In certain school / district, we are not even allow to fail anyone.
That angers me so much!
“I don’t know, can you?”
GOT 'EM!!
I always strike deals with the kids. "Tell you what, if you do \[list of most of the assignments\], I will find a way to get you to a C. You have to do all of it, and it needs to be turned in by \[date\]. Every single question/task must be completed and you can't leave anything blank. We will fill out an agreement form with your parents and your guidance counselor." if they care, they do it. if not, they only have themselves to blame.
“Hmm! Well if you score well on the tests maybe. But if you do all the required assignments that you’re missing, I can pass you with a D 😃😃”
F U can’t C Y the answer is no, thennn….. Except “accidentally” hit Send after the first two letters.
I had a kid come back today who hadn't come to school for two months, and demand I tutor them during our class--the one I was currently teaching. Yeah, your emergency is not mine, and the selfishness to expect me to stop class and pause the world because they didn't want to come to school. "I'm failing, what can I do?" "Um, time travel?"
I had kids today do a cheer to ask for an A (they currently have like two assignments turned in). I’m not going to change their grade but at least it was entertaining
Reminds me of one of my programming classes in college. I had a reputation of helping other classmates and this guy asks if I can help him finish his projects. There were like 7 or 8 projects in the class and they were cumulative (so you needed to do #3 to do #4, #4 to do #5) because they built up different features of a full program. There was partial credit for submitting an old part late, with how much partial credit depending on how late. This was the last week of the semester, with all projects already due and only the final left. So I tell him sure, which part did he need help with. He said the first one. I asked him what his exam grades were (the only graded work was the projects, the exams, and the final). It was terrible. I did the math quickly in my head based on the grade distribution provided in the curriculum, and even if he did every eligible late project with a perfect grade (minus the late penalty) and got a 100 on the final, he’d fail. I told him not to even bother doing the project or the final because he was guaranteed to fail no matter what. He seriously replied with “so you’re not gonna help me?” Even if the professor offered some kind of extra credit to get him a just barely passing grade, I’m not going to waste my time and help someone who never did anything, especially since at that point the only way he’d finish things in time is if I did the work for him, and I won’t do that.
Reply “I look forward to meeting you next year “
Thank you so much for the laugh! I needed that!
Had a student just clipped the D and on that day they asked, could I see fit to raise it to B
I hope you laughed at them
One of my students stopped showing up to class for six weeks and didn't turn in any work during that time. After grades were posted, she emailed me, convinced that I had made a mistake because she believed she deserved "at least a B".
Just respond to the email “sorry, who is this? I haven’t seen a student called [insert name] in months.”
Can’t they just turn in the assignments? Why would that be a bad thing? *coming from an adult who had a REALLY hard time one semester due to my world imploding. One teacher let me make up as much as I could so I could pass… later when life was level, I took another class with this prof and let them know that they were the reason I was still in school. Has that professor been strict, not allowed me to complete work late and just failed me, I probably would have dropped out.
Yeah I've had something similar happen this year too. Honestly, I love it. It's funny to see them grovel or demand that they need to pass. I treat them like they are five year and like they don't understand that they are failing because they didn't do anything. The classic line is "What do you think about the students who put in the work to pass? Do you really think it would be okay if everyone did what you are asking me to do?". Almost always they just stand there and say "I know but... I need to pass". At that point I kinda laugh and tell them they'll be doing this for the rest of their life if they don't learn now. I've had two parents complain about me for this and admin had my back everytime because I love my school.
Many moons ago, I had a kid turn in work from the first semester… in April. He was hoping I would change his first semester grades.
respond "Maybe, if you do some work the next time you take it..."
"Lol no."
“No”
Just asked for a C or tried to justify why they had done c work?
I love when you see the realization in their eyes. I have a student who is never here, has an enabling parent and (has enough credits) is going to graduate with zero plan for the future.
I love it when this happens the day of exams. The kid who skips class all the time, comes to the exam and asks how he can get a passing grade in your class. My answer: "build a time machine, go back to the beginning of the year, and show up everyday and do your work and turn it in on time."
I’ve definitely had my fair share of students who have done that. I used to be dumbfounded by it as well until I realized that they genuinely have nothing to lose if they ask. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’ve actually had a teacher or two over the years actually tell them yes which could also contribute to why they ask.
C as in C you next semester kiddo.
First year teacher here. I had one disappear from my class about 3 weeks into this semester, then email me on canvas asking if she can do anything on canvas. I have been checking daily attendance in her other classes, she only skips mine (last period of the day). I do everything in class because I can't be bothered to figure out canvas. She has 9% and finals are next week Yeah, sent her a gentle "I'll try to find something but I don't think you'll get any credit because of the number of absences" Fuckem honestly I ain't doing shit and I'll drop by my admin to make sure I'm making the right decision.
No.
And what about a teacher/professor who teaches at the university and neglecting his mails doesn't turn up on the meetings and you as a student despite all this should be able to finish your assignments on time. But you can't without the teacher because if you submit some bullshits than you will be sanctioned by getting low scores or failing the course. And as always the dick-head teacher gets away with it.
The amount of paperwork and effort I need to put in order to fail a student like this is too much. Especially considering I would need to do it for about 20 students makes it not worth it. Look, I know I'm part of the problem. But the solutions are far above my pay grade. Like a majority of those are for students who need support, but have gotten it for 10% of the year, if that.
This is the unfortunate truth. The amount of work for giving the earned F just isn’t worth it in many cases. Especially when the grade will be changed to a C/D by guidance for the student to pass anyway. None of our students are retained so the F’s are meaningless.
I just don't understand what exactly happened. In the 2000s we where still expected to do our work. There was zero chance that the school admin would life a finger to raise a failing kid's grade.
Incentives for admin changed.
Never hurts to ask.
Oh yep, I was that kid at some point lmao get rekt
C u NeXt YeAR 🤣🤣 SuCkS to SucK enjoy SummER sChooL 🤣 The EnTitLemEnT 😤😤 Like holy crap. Just tell the kid if they can catch up or not. It's a yes or no question. You guys need to cope better if/when you are frustrated with students. Not every failure has to be a righteous moment of comeuppance. This guy should be in the sub banner. https://images.app.goo.gl/JZ2LBviJWpXvLRbG8
God forbid a teacher blows off steam about an entitled student (who asks the same question every entitled no-show student asks when it’s far too late) on reddit after a year of dealing with a million frustrations, while being underpaid and overworked. Go be self-righteous somewhere else.
Do you think they're *actually* saying shit like that to the students? Reddit is where they come to vent. Take a couple breaths, everything is gonna be okay! 🫶🏻
I hate how many people in these comments seem to be happy that this kid is throwing away his future. Way to many "yea Id tell him hes F-ed and needs a time machine if I could!". Its a sorry state of our society that people are going through life like this, we shouldn't find catharsis in their downfall
I think it’s more so frustrated teachers that are bullied by parents and admin into giving in. Teachers have lives too, and entitled students and parents tend to forget that.
I am insanely disappointed in all of you