Mom Refuses To Fight A Teacher Over A Bad Grade After Her Daughter Forgot The Due Date Of A Huge Paper And Got A Zero
by Ryan McCarthy
Some of us are more.. *ahem*… attuned to deadlines than others. Some people have every due date for the semester logged into a calendar, and have everything finished a week in advance.
But others, including myself, only remember the due date a day or two before it actually comes.
Many an all-nighter was pulled during my high school career, and even more were pulled during my time in college. I can’t tell you how many assignments were submitted at 11:59!
But when this user’s daughter missed the due date for an important assignment for school, she went to Reddit to see if she was wrong for refusing to fight the bad grade she received for it!
Check it out!
AITA for not fighting the school since my daughter got a zero on a big assignment since she didn’t turn it in when she was sick
My daughter is 16 and with modern technology everything is turned in online.
Her teacher (Mr.Cat) is a strict teacher, he is probably the best teacher at the school even though his classes are considered difficult. She is also 16 so she is responsible for her work.
My daughter has has a big paper assigned for at least two months. This assignment, gets turned in online and he made it very clear that not turning it will result with a zero.
He told everyone (I saw the emails) that the only exception would be if you are in the hospital or no internet.
And OP said that even though it was a strict rule to enforce, she agreed with Mr. Cat and his emphasis on the consequences of one’s actions.
He also said he will give time in class so there is no excuse to not turn it in.
I agree with him, since he has made it super clear this is a hard deadline and I have experience hard deadlines at lot in life.
Sometime you just need to turn stuff in on time or deal with the consequences.
When OP’s daughter wasn’t feeling well the day the paper was due, things took an unfortunate turn.
My daughter last Friday wasn’t feeling well, and asked to stay home, I agreed and remembered her that she still needs to turn anything in since she is missing school.
We have good internet and she has her school laptop.
Well she didn’t turn it in and she got a zero for the assignment. This has dropped her a letter grade A to a B.
But OP’s daughter also expected OP to fight Mr. Cat on the grade she received, despite the fact she had reminded her the day it was due!
We got in an argument when I wouldn’t fight with the teacher to let her turn it in.
I told her she forgot and she needs to live with the consequences, and That this is a good learning opportunity since it’s just a letter grade.
Also, it’s not like her forgetting to turn something in in college, which could result in her failing the class; or her losing her job for not hitting a deadline.
She thinks I am a huge jerk and I want more opinions.
I’ve definitely been in the daughter shoes, kicking myself because I forgot a big deadline.
But sometimes you really do just have to take your lumps and learn to remember the deadlines for next time! And I’m sure there will be more assignments to bring her grade back up to snuff!
Reddit was somewhat split on this one, but many pointed out that she had 2 months to turn it in, and chose to wait to the last minute.
Others suggested she turn the essay in just to show her teacher she had it done, and that it was an honest mistake on her part.
And another person said a show of good faith like still submitting it might actually change the teacher’s mind.
But others said his hard deadline was extreme, and that in the real world the consequences are never that serious for a single mistake.
And finally, this user said if OP’s daughter wanted to fight the grade, than she should be the one to do it, not OP.
I can literally feel the anxiety creeping into me reading this post, I already am starting to panic that I missed some deadline and didn’t realize it!
If you enjoyed that story, read this one about a mom who was forced to bring her three kids with her to apply for government benefits, but ended up getting the job of her dreams.
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