How do I handle this? Teacher gave kid F for questionable reasons. (Long)

[Anonymous]

I think that was OP's point, that the grade makes no sense.

[Anonymous]

I would talk to the teacher and ask her to describe the behavior that earned him an F. Perhaps she was fed up with funny stories and whatever else at this point. Did it warrant an F, though?

I had a teacher who hated me and did everything he could to fail me. You need to find out where she found the basis for failing your son.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think that was OP's point, that the grade makes no sense.

It does start to make sense if you look at everything OP said, that this is a kid who gets into trouble in all of his classes for goofing off and not paying attention, but teachers have largely given him a pass on it before. Now he's encountered one who won't. Looking at it from that perspective, it doesn't surprise me at all that OP's son might not appreciate why he got the grade or what was so bad about his behavior if all of his other teachers have been excusing it rather than holding him accountable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a teacher, I am having trouble with the idea that he was doing exactly what he was supposed to be doing, and somehow also telling funny stories. Which was it?

I also have trouble with the idea that a middle schooler on the last day of school needs a reminder about behavior expectations before a consequence.

It seems to me that most home ec classes would have periods where talking and conversation would be acceptable. It wasnt exactly Russian Literature

Conversation and telling funny stories to get a reaction from peers are two totally different things.

-- teacher again.

....Not really.

[Anonymous]

The F is just for the lab, not the class, correct? Does he have to take another quarter of this class? If so, he needs to buckle down, be quiet and do the work without funny stories, chatter, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think that was OP's point, that the grade makes no sense.

No, you're misunderstanding. My point is that OP is not making sense.

Grades are scrutinized too carefully and OP's story doesn't add up. If her son was really passing, meaning that he had a score of 70% or above, there is no way that a one-day lab would have enough points or enough weight to drop the entire quarter's grade down to 59.9% or below. Especially since a lab would be in a different weight category than the tests and quizzes. Even if his overall score had been a 61%, it would be difficult to envision a lab given enough points and value to cause the child's grade to drop to a 59.9% or below.

In other words, OP is lying about the entire scenario.

One further indicator is that IF she HAD been telling the truth she would have been falling all over herself to tell us this child's grade before the lab.

Anyway, OP is getting her wish, which is lots and lots of attention. I just wish that some of it were therapeutic by a licensed practitioner and not enabling by a bunch of us responding on an anonymous forum.

[Anonymous]

I would probably let it go or request a conference to talk about the behavior observed by the teacher. Behavior worthy of an F must have been pretty bad if the teacher is accurate. I'm surprised at how many people are in denial about teachers who have grudges against certain students. I was a quiet, shy straight A student until I encountered a French teacher who hated me since Day 1. I never did figure out what went so wrong, my written assignments all got A's but anything spoken got an F. She made fun of my accent all the time and told me it was the worst she had ever heard. I hated that year so much.

[Anonymous]

No, you're misunderstanding. My point is that OP is not making sense.

Grades are scrutinized too carefully and OP's story doesn't add up. If her son was really passing, meaning that he had a score of 70% or above, there is no way that a one-day lab would have enough points or enough weight to drop the entire quarter's grade down to 59.9% or below. Especially since a lab would be in a different weight category than the tests and quizzes. Even if his overall score had been a 61%, it would be difficult to envision a lab given enough points and value to cause the child's grade to drop to a 59.9% or below.

In other words, OP is lying about the entire scenario.

One further indicator is that IF she HAD been telling the truth she would have been falling all over herself to tell us this child's grade before the lab.

Anyway, OP is getting her wish, which is lots and lots of attention. I just wish that some of it were therapeutic by a licensed practitioner and not enabling by a bunch of us responding on an anonymous forum.

I think that you need to re-read the original post. I read it as the F being for the lab only, which brought his quarterly grade down to a B from an A, which is totally possible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Teachers don’t GIVE grades. Students EARN the grade they get

Ha! Not this student, or this situation ... but teachers fit the class into a grade distribution bell curve, one that was been enforced by the school and school system. It's not about what they earn, only in relation to their peers and what grade the school allows them to earn (except for the very outliners)

And how long have you been teaching? Longer than I have?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I know several posters think my kid must be far worse than described. He's actually pretty good at reflecting on his own behavior (after the fact, not necessarily in the moment), so when he tells me he did the work and wasn't out of control I believe that his reporting is not TOO far from accurate. We've had years of experience getting to the real story and now he's pretty efficient at cutting to the chase and being honest about what didn't go well. Also, in my original post I wanted to make clear that he wasn't perfect and listed everything I could think of (no hiding the ball).

I am inclined to ask the teacher to help me understand the grading rubric for the lab and how she arrived at the grade. It was a 25 point lab. She gave him 7 points. So somewhere along the line 18 points were not earned (or were docked, however she thinks of it), and I will request she detail the behavior. Once I receive her response I will go over it with my son and see what makes sense for next steps.

My goal is to help HIM learn when to speak up and ask when something doesn't make sense. But he's not willing (today, anyway) to go back and talk to her because he feels like she hates him and he thinks anything he says will backfire and get him in more trouble.

Do this or talk to the principal. It just seems ridiculous. If he finished the project whatever it was, docking points seems arbitrary. I can't imagine kids perform the task in silence. I suspect she doesn't like your kid, so if his behavior bothers her more.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Grade was for the lab only. Class grade before the lab was an A. Grade after the lab was a B.

I know my kid. I know when he isn't telling the whole story. He's being honest with me here. He knows I check the other side of the story and he knows I hold him responsible for his behavior.

The other teachers aren't giving him a "pass" on behavior. We heard NOTHING about him being disruptive or poorly behaved - but did hear about distraction and attention. Those teachers seem to look at him a bit differently: kid needs redirection to focus on task at hand sometimes but is a good kid and well within their limits of normal middle school experience. This FACS teacher is a whole different ballgame.

I plan to follow up with her and ask for specifics from the final lab so I can understand the grade.

[Anonymous]

Wait! Can you get at IEP b/c your kid doesn't pay attention and distracts others? As a parent of one goody two shoes (who get seated next to the trouble makers) and one kid who needs constant reinforcement, I'm uber-suprised you can get accommodations b/c your kids won't behave in class. My youngest needs constant reinforcement, but I won't accept that him being a jerk is OK b/c he has "needs". That actually pisses me off. Teach manners!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wait! Can you get at IEP b/c your kid doesn't pay attention and distracts others? As a parent of one goody two shoes (who get seated next to the trouble makers) and one kid who needs constant reinforcement, I'm uber-suprised you can get accommodations b/c your kids won't behave in class. My youngest needs constant reinforcement, but I won't accept that him being a jerk is OK b/c he has "needs". That actually pisses me off. Teach manners!

You sound ignorant as to what may be in a 504 or IEP, and why a child may have such a plan. It seems your time is fully occupied with judging others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wait! Can you get at IEP b/c your kid doesn't pay attention and distracts others? As a parent of one goody two shoes (who get seated next to the trouble makers) and one kid who needs constant reinforcement, I'm uber-suprised you can get accommodations b/c your kids won't behave in class. My youngest needs constant reinforcement, but I won't accept that him being a jerk is OK b/c he has "needs". That actually pisses me off. Teach manners!

Uber-surprised? I pity your kids.

[Anonymous]

I am one of this parents that is sooooo tired of these blow-off classes being taken so seriously!!! This should be a time for some learning and also some time for "telling some funny stories." I am not saying that they should get to the point of being completely disruptive but to quote another poster-- Home Ec is not Russian Lit.

For my ADHD daughter it was 6th grade typing. MAN! At one point my daughter had an 18 in the class. 18 out of 100?!?! ADHD and less than great small motor skills and already a basic knowledge of typing and it was pure torture. She had all A grades in her all honors (real) classes and then the typing debacle. She had to do in before school, waste multiple hours from her study hall block etc. to get up to a C. (It didn't help that the other typing teacher was super-nice and understanding and all of the kids in that class ENJOYED the class while all of the kids HATED the typing teacher my daughter had.) BLECH. Wish there were better ways to get rid of crappy teachers-- especially in these non-academic classes.