How much do you interfere for grading?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The kid should email the teacher.

OP here. I did suggest he email him. But he said he never reads his emails. He also told me not to bother emailing him, again cause he never responds to emails.

Umm. . . Because if you email the teacher she’s going to tell you he was definitely laughing. You have you answer.

Teacher is a he. But besides the point. Like I said above. I’ve asked him to explain himself next week. But seems like not a very reasonable teacher to fail a kid for a project the group spent days on for potentially laughing. But I’m sure that type of teacher is easy for a 14 year old to reason with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The kid should email the teacher.

OP here. I did suggest he email him. But he said he never reads his emails. He also told me not to bother emailing him, again cause he never responds to emails.

If that’s his attitude then that’s it. How closely do some of you watch grades anyway? Crazy

[Anonymous]

I would sit my kid down and extract a full and honest account and stress that my actions depend on him being accurate in his reporting. You know your child best.

Then I would write and send, in front of him, a polite email to the teacher, requesting that the grade be changed, and explaining the situation. Explain to your kid that if you get no response within 48 hours, you will send another email, and this time copy the counselor and the assistant Principal (or other admin) assigned to your child.

Why? Because docking so many points for supposedly laughing in class or being fidgety goes against all modern educational practices for teachers. It's hardly believable, in fact. Maybe you're in a very traditional private school?

I've got a 19 and 14 year old. None of their teachers, in two different school systems, have ever done that. I haven't heard such a story from any of my friends either.

So if your kid is telling the truth, this teacher needs to be reprimanded and the grade reinstated.

Also, if he's fidgety, perhaps he has ADHD and he needs a diagnosis, ADHD stimulants and therapy, and a 504 plan in place that you can point to when teachers have difficulty understanding his behavior.

This should also be a wake-up call that he cannot let people think he's doing something shady. If he fidgets, he'd better fidget right there in front of everyone, than turn his back on the teacher. That's Classroom Behavior 101, OP. You need to teach him survival skills to deal with his "fidgets" (ADHD, autism, whatever it is), so this doesn't happen again. But none of this is a reason to give a zero!

- parent of an ADHD/ASD kid.

[Anonymous]

Could your kid write a written letter to the teacher and hand it to him -- the teacher does not read emails but it is harder to ignore something given to him in writing. Also, no one writes anymore (esp by hand) so maybe that would count for something, assuming your kid has legible handwriting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would sit my kid down and extract a full and honest account and stress that my actions depend on him being accurate in his reporting. You know your child best.

Then I would write and send, in front of him, a polite email to the teacher, requesting that the grade be changed, and explaining the situation. Explain to your kid that if you get no response within 48 hours, you will send another email, and this time copy the counselor and the assistant Principal (or other admin) assigned to your child.

Why? Because docking so many points for supposedly laughing in class or being fidgety goes against all modern educational practices for teachers. It's hardly believable, in fact. Maybe you're in a very traditional private school?

I've got a 19 and 14 year old. None of their teachers, in two different school systems, have ever done that. I haven't heard such a story from any of my friends either.

So if your kid is telling the truth, this teacher needs to be reprimanded and the grade reinstated.

Also, if he's fidgety, perhaps he has ADHD and he needs a diagnosis, ADHD stimulants and therapy, and a 504 plan in place that you can point to when teachers have difficulty understanding his behavior.

This should also be a wake-up call that he cannot let people think he's doing something shady. If he fidgets, he'd better fidget right there in front of everyone, than turn his back on the teacher. That's Classroom Behavior 101, OP. You need to teach him survival skills to deal with his "fidgets" (ADHD, autism, whatever it is), so this doesn't happen again. But none of this is a reason to give a zero!

- parent of an ADHD/ASD kid.

+1 Perfect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The kid should email the teacher.

OP here. I did suggest he email him. But he said he never reads his emails. He also told me not to bother emailing him, again cause he never responds to emails.

Your kid has a whole lot of excuses OP. “I wasn’t laughing, I was fidgeting.” He was laughing. “He won’t read his emails.” Yes teachers read their emails.

You need to let it go and teach your son some accountability too. He sounds like a whiner.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would sit my kid down and extract a full and honest account and stress that my actions depend on him being accurate in his reporting. You know your child best.

Then I would write and send, in front of him, a polite email to the teacher, requesting that the grade be changed, and explaining the situation. Explain to your kid that if you get no response within 48 hours, you will send another email, and this time copy the counselor and the assistant Principal (or other admin) assigned to your child.

Why? Because docking so many points for supposedly laughing in class or being fidgety goes against all modern educational practices for teachers. It's hardly believable, in fact. Maybe you're in a very traditional private school?

I've got a 19 and 14 year old. None of their teachers, in two different school systems, have ever done that. I haven't heard such a story from any of my friends either.

So if your kid is telling the truth, this teacher needs to be reprimanded and the grade reinstated.

Also, if he's fidgety, perhaps he has ADHD and he needs a diagnosis, ADHD stimulants and therapy, and a 504 plan in place that you can point to when teachers have difficulty understanding his behavior.

This should also be a wake-up call that he cannot let people think he's doing something shady. If he fidgets, he'd better fidget right there in front of everyone, than turn his back on the teacher. That's Classroom Behavior 101, OP. You need to teach him survival skills to deal with his "fidgets" (ADHD, autism, whatever it is), so this doesn't happen again. But none of this is a reason to give a zero!

- parent of an ADHD/ASD kid.

So you would demand the grade be changed before even asking the teacher what happened? Docking kids for how they act during other presentations is common. It’s part of the communication standards in ELA- explicitly written into the new standards rolling out for 24-25 in fact. A literacy standard IS you can conduct yourself respectfully and professionally during presentations and if you make others uncomfortable or create distractions during their presentation, YES, you lose points on YOUR grade. This is routine.

Imagine being in a meeting acting like an idiot because you think you’re cute or have no awareness for how your actions affect others trying to do their job. That’s what will happen if you don’t teach kids in high school that part of communication is being a respectful LISTENER.

-English teacher

[Anonymous]

Could it be that your son has a pattern of goofing off in class. Perhaps this was the final straw. If this was a one time thing, and your son has already made his case, then the teacher is being unfair. Could you also wait until other grades settle and see if this knocks him down for the semester. If you do email the teacher I’d approach more as “I’m trying to see your perspective” vs an immediate defense of your son

I can only imagine the stress—-I have a sixth grader, so know that it

[Anonymous]

Got caught off…

Doesn’t matter know but he bombed a five minute pop-quiz that brought his quarter grade down 5-10 points. I’m not sure the final approach but did make me think about the future and how easy it is for something to torpedo a grade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Got caught off…

Doesn’t matter know but he bombed a five minute pop-quiz that brought his quarter grade down 5-10 points. I’m not sure the final approach but did make me think about the future and how easy it is for something to torpedo a grade.

The final approach is you let it lie because the long term lesson for him is “if I don’t prepare, I don’t do well.” I’m not sure when my generation decided our kids were all entitled to good grades no matter what. If they goof off in a presentation, they deserve the lost points. If they bomb a quiz, they know they need to study and prepare better next time. Why on earth would any of us be emailing teachers to change grades over legitimate things like this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would sit my kid down and extract a full and honest account and stress that my actions depend on him being accurate in his reporting. You know your child best.

Then I would write and send, in front of him, a polite email to the teacher, requesting that the grade be changed, and explaining the situation. Explain to your kid that if you get no response within 48 hours, you will send another email, and this time copy the counselor and the assistant Principal (or other admin) assigned to your child.

Why? Because docking so many points for supposedly laughing in class or being fidgety goes against all modern educational practices for teachers. It's hardly believable, in fact. Maybe you're in a very traditional private school?

I've got a 19 and 14 year old. None of their teachers, in two different school systems, have ever done that. I haven't heard such a story from any of my friends either.

So if your kid is telling the truth, this teacher needs to be reprimanded and the grade reinstated.

Also, if he's fidgety, perhaps he has ADHD and he needs a diagnosis, ADHD stimulants and therapy, and a 504 plan in place that you can point to when teachers have difficulty understanding his behavior.

This should also be a wake-up call that he cannot let people think he's doing something shady. If he fidgets, he'd better fidget right there in front of everyone, than turn his back on the teacher. That's Classroom Behavior 101, OP. You need to teach him survival skills to deal with his "fidgets" (ADHD, autism, whatever it is), so this doesn't happen again. But none of this is a reason to give a zero!

- parent of an ADHD/ASD kid.

Fidgeting during a group presentation is 100% normal and not a sign of ADHD or ASD! Presenting in front of a class can be stressful / anxiety provoking and many will move or fidget or have signs of that nervousness / anxiousness / stress. Absolutely ridiculous to pathologize nervous fidgeting during a presentation as a disorder. Very few kids have perfect presentation skills. I have for twenty years and fidgeting is 100% part of every group presentation I have ever seen.

[Anonymous]

Fidgeting is normal. OP’s kid wasn’t fidgeting. He was laughing with a friend.

[Anonymous]

Why are you so invested in this detail of your child's school life? let your child solve it, if he doesn't, a B is not the end of the world. And if for him it is, he'll learn to self-advocate in the future (or to behave better during presentations, if the teacher is right). This is a low-stakes learning opportunity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would sit my kid down and extract a full and honest account and stress that my actions depend on him being accurate in his reporting. You know your child best.

Then I would write and send, in front of him, a polite email to the teacher, requesting that the grade be changed, and explaining the situation. Explain to your kid that if you get no response within 48 hours, you will send another email, and this time copy the counselor and the assistant Principal (or other admin) assigned to your child.

Why? Because docking so many points for supposedly laughing in class or being fidgety goes against all modern educational practices for teachers. It's hardly believable, in fact. Maybe you're in a very traditional private school?

I've got a 19 and 14 year old. None of their teachers, in two different school systems, have ever done that. I haven't heard such a story from any of my friends either.

So if your kid is telling the truth, this teacher needs to be reprimanded and the grade reinstated.

Also, if he's fidgety, perhaps he has ADHD and he needs a diagnosis, ADHD stimulants and therapy, and a 504 plan in place that you can point to when teachers have difficulty understanding his behavior.

This should also be a wake-up call that he cannot let people think he's doing something shady. If he fidgets, he'd better fidget right there in front of everyone, than turn his back on the teacher. That's Classroom Behavior 101, OP. You need to teach him survival skills to deal with his "fidgets" (ADHD, autism, whatever it is), so this doesn't happen again. But none of this is a reason to give a zero!

- parent of an ADHD/ASD kid.

Fidgeting during a group presentation is 100% normal and not a sign of ADHD or ASD! Presenting in front of a class can be stressful / anxiety provoking and many will move or fidget or have signs of that nervousness / anxiousness / stress. Absolutely ridiculous to pathologize nervous fidgeting during a presentation as a disorder. Very few kids have perfect presentation skills. I have for twenty years and fidgeting is 100% part of every group presentation I have ever seen.

My high school son has ADHD. I would tell him he should get points knocked off if he turned his back to the class during his group presentation. Fidgeting can be accommodated, completely facing the back is not acceptable. And no, I would not be the one contacting the teacher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would sit my kid down and extract a full and honest account and stress that my actions depend on him being accurate in his reporting. You know your child best.

Then I would write and send, in front of him, a polite email to the teacher, requesting that the grade be changed, and explaining the situation. Explain to your kid that if you get no response within 48 hours, you will send another email, and this time copy the counselor and the assistant Principal (or other admin) assigned to your child.

Why? Because docking so many points for supposedly laughing in class or being fidgety goes against all modern educational practices for teachers. It's hardly believable, in fact. Maybe you're in a very traditional private school?

I've got a 19 and 14 year old. None of their teachers, in two different school systems, have ever done that. I haven't heard such a story from any of my friends either.

So if your kid is telling the truth, this teacher needs to be reprimanded and the grade reinstated.

Also, if he's fidgety, perhaps he has ADHD and he needs a diagnosis, ADHD stimulants and therapy, and a 504 plan in place that you can point to when teachers have difficulty understanding his behavior.

This should also be a wake-up call that he cannot let people think he's doing something shady. If he fidgets, he'd better fidget right there in front of everyone, than turn his back on the teacher. That's Classroom Behavior 101, OP. You need to teach him survival skills to deal with his "fidgets" (ADHD, autism, whatever it is), so this doesn't happen again. But none of this is a reason to give a zero!

- parent of an ADHD/ASD kid.

So you would demand the grade be changed before even asking the teacher what happened? Docking kids for how they act during other presentations is common. It’s part of the communication standards in ELA- explicitly written into the new standards rolling out for 24-25 in fact. A literacy standard IS you can conduct yourself respectfully and professionally during presentations and if you make others uncomfortable or create distractions during their presentation, YES, you lose points on YOUR grade. This is routine.

Imagine being in a meeting acting like an idiot because you think you’re cute or have no awareness for how your actions affect others trying to do their job. That’s what will happen if you don’t teach kids in high school that part of communication is being a respectful LISTENER.

-English teacher

I think English Teacher’s point about how OP’s son’s behavior had the potential to adversely affect the performance of others is significant. His behavior was extremely rude and disrespectful and he deserves consequences. Given how he’s downplayed his behavior, it’s hard to tell how bad it really was and how many warnings he got to knock it off.

I’d be furious if my kids were so poorly behaved and I wouldn’t personally intervene though I would assist them in making a sincere apology and trying to work out something with the teacher. It does not seem like OP’s son is amenable though.