Teacher claiming assignment not turned in when it was

[Anonymous]

8th grade son has never failed to turn in an assignment, so I was surprised when I saw his English teacher had given him a zero on a recent assignment, saying he hadn't turned it in. I asked DS about it, and he said he turned in the work on time, got an A, and the teacher actually had it hung up in her classroom with the work of the rest of the class. He took a picture of his completed assignment hanging on the wall. He talked to the teacher about the zero and showed her he had turned in the assignment. It's been 3 weeks and the teacher has not changed his zero in the grade book.

I want DS to advocate for himself, and he has done that well, but the teacher is not listening to him, and he should not be penalized for not doing work that he actually did. Is it time to intervene? WWYD?

[Anonymous]

Did she agree to change the grade when he showed her the picture? I'd handle it differently if she agreed to change it but hasn't, or if she disagreed that he'd ever handed it in.

[Anonymous]

Teacher may have forgotten. Does it have an effect on the overall grade? If no, then who cares. If yes, then tell your kid to remind the teacher.

[Anonymous]

Tell you ds to follow-up with the teacher in an email. Only intervene if you notice the grade has not been updated in the week before end of quarter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did she agree to change the grade when he showed her the picture? I'd handle it differently if she agreed to change it but hasn't, or if she disagreed that he'd ever handed it in.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did she agree to change the grade when he showed her the picture? I'd handle it differently if she agreed to change it but hasn't, or if she disagreed that he'd ever handed it in.

DS said the teacher said she would "look at it." It's obvious he did the assignment, and he has proof -- she graded it.

[Anonymous]

Help your son write an email. The lesson is "how to write a formal email." Script your kid no one is born knowing how to do it. Here it a suggestion. At this point, I would have him CC you, because a ton of time has passed and the teacher won't want to appear unprofessional to you.

Dear Ms. Crabbople.

As you may recall, my assignment about X was marked missing but was turned in. We discussed this, and I showed you a picture of it on the wall with a grade. (I got an A).

The electronic grade book still has it marked as a zero. Can you please let me know when I can expect the grade book to be updated? If there is a problem, please let me know so that I can provide any additional documentation you need.

I have attached the photo again for your convenience.

Sincerely,

Larlo Smith

3rd Period English
email address
cell phone

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Help your son write an email. The lesson is "how to write a formal email." Script your kid no one is born knowing how to do it. Here it a suggestion. At this point, I would have him CC you, because a ton of time has passed and the teacher won't want to appear unprofessional to you.

Dear Ms. Crabbople.

As you may recall, my assignment about X was marked missing but was turned in. We discussed this, and I showed you a picture of it on the wall with a grade. (I got an A).

The electronic grade book still has it marked as a zero. Can you please let me know when I can expect the grade book to be updated? If there is a problem, please let me know so that I can provide any additional documentation you need.

I have attached the photo again for your convenience.

Sincerely,

Larlo Smith

3rd Period English
email address
cell phone

This is a good idea. DS is following up, with your assistance. And it'll be in writing.

Good for DS taking a picture and having proof! This has happened to my DS a few times in HS and it's frustrating. Not so much that the teacher claimed it wasn't turned in, I understand they miss some things and have piles and piles, but the length of time it takes to get rectified.

[Anonymous]

Deep breath Op, this is not high school with grades needed to get into college, thank goodness. Assume something like this will happen again when the stakes are MUCH higher. Great he had some way to prove it (need I say it was a oddly convenient that he had proof at-the-ready ... are you sure there's not more story you're not telling us ... or he's not telling you ...)

[Anonymous]

OP, over the years we have learned that teachers who manage to incorrectly record grades are the same teachers that take several weeks to input grades in the first place.

So in the future if DS starts to notice a teacher has trouble posting grades in a timely fashion, he should start photographing his homework with an online news or sports page that shows the days date.

Yes, this step is pretty drastic but once they get 2 or 3 or 4 weeks behind for 100+ student's assignments, it is bound to happen again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Deep breath Op, this is not high school with grades needed to get into college, thank goodness. Assume something like this will happen again when the stakes are MUCH higher. Great he had some way to prove it (need I say it was a oddly convenient that he had proof at-the-ready ... are you sure there's not more story you're not telling us ... or he's not telling you ...)

It's not "oddly convenient" the kid had proof the assignment was turned in -- his assignment was hanging up in the teacher's classroom. She could see for herself he had turned it in and she had graded it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, over the years we have learned that teachers who manage to incorrectly record grades are the same teachers that take several weeks to input grades in the first place.

So in the future if DS starts to notice a teacher has trouble posting grades in a timely fashion, he should start photographing his homework with an online news or sports page that shows the days date.

Yes, this step is pretty drastic but once they get 2 or 3 or 4 weeks behind for 100+ student's assignments, it is bound to happen again.

Good point!

[Anonymous]

The teacher has obviously forgotten.
Your son must write an email to remind him or her. Even better if he includes the photo.

My middle schooler has had to remind certain distracted teachers multiple times to correct grades, etc. Teachers have too many students and too much to do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Help your son write an email. The lesson is "how to write a formal email." Script your kid no one is born knowing how to do it. Here it a suggestion. At this point, I would have him CC you, because a ton of time has passed and the teacher won't want to appear unprofessional to you.

Dear Ms. Crabbople.

As you may recall, my assignment about X was marked missing but was turned in. We discussed this, and I showed you a picture of it on the wall with a grade. (I got an A).

The electronic grade book still has it marked as a zero. Can you please let me know when I can expect the grade book to be updated? If there is a problem, please let me know so that I can provide any additional documentation you need.

I have attached the photo again for your convenience.

Sincerely,

Larlo Smith

3rd Period English
email address
cell phone

This is a good idea. DS is following up, with your assistance. And it'll be in writing.

Good for DS taking a picture and having proof! This has happened to my DS a few times in HS and it's frustrating. Not so much that the teacher claimed it wasn't turned in, I understand they miss some things and have piles and piles, but the length of time it takes to get rectified.

Glad you found this helpful. If the kid pushes back about the formality say "yes, I know young people are more casual, but she is old. So write the email that will make an old person think you are responsible."

The "As you may recall" should be included with any email to a teacher -- they have too many kids to remember any one person's circumstance.

Next time this happens, the night of the discussion, he should send her a reminder that the discussion occurred. Including "As you may recall, we talked about the missing assignment X. I am sending this email to remind you that you said my grade would be changed. ..."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Deep breath Op, this is not high school with grades needed to get into college, thank goodness. Assume something like this will happen again when the stakes are MUCH higher. Great he had some way to prove it (need I say it was a oddly convenient that he had proof at-the-ready ... are you sure there's not more story you're not telling us ... or he's not telling you ...)

It's not "oddly convenient" the kid had proof the assignment was turned in -- his assignment was hanging up in the teacher's classroom. She could see for herself he had turned it in and she had graded it.

Because zeros have such high stakes, tons of kids take photo proof of things like this.

It isn't "oddly convenient" so much as it is a good step toward self-advocacy.