He Tried to Swap a Tough Class for an ‘Easy A,’ and His Mom Treated It Like a Academic Crisis
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Imagine working at a high school, and a high school senior requests to switch to an easier class. He thinks this particular class is too hard for him, and he’s worried that he’ll get a bad grade which will lower his GPA and possibly his chances of getting into a good college.
If the dad called you and was on board with the teen’s request to switch to an easier class, would you do it, or would you insist on talking to the dad in person?
In this story, one high school administration worker is in this situation, and it’s school policy that they can talk to parents over the phone instead of requiring them to come into the office. Everything seems fine until the teen’s mom calls the school and questions this policy.
Keep reading to see how the story plays out. It’s pretty funny!
Have a problem with the policy? Fine, I’ll change it.
I used to work as an administrator in a secondary school in the US (Grades 9-12) around 10 years ago.
We were a school that didn’t have a specific “zone” or neighborhood, so to speak.
Some of our students lived 30 or 45 minutes from the school, which made it necessary for us to sometimes conduct business with parents or guardians over the phone as opposed to in person.
She was happy to help a student with his request.
One day I met with a Senior (Grade 12) who was in a class that he and his father had deemed too hard for him, and since they didn’t want it impacting his ability to attend college, asked for him to be changed out of the class.
It was early in the semester, and there was plenty of space available in other courses, so I had no problem doing it after a conversation over the phone with his father.
The student was a good guy, and he was totally grateful to me for helping him out. He would now get to enjoy his last year a little more, with one less difficult class to worry about.
But the teen’s mom was not on board.
The next day, I get a phone call in my office from mom, who is irate. She spends approximately five minutes berating me about changing his schedule.
I indicated to her that dad was on the contact list for her son, and he was allowed to make these decisions if he chose to do so. She is the person who put dad on there several years before.
Evidently, mom put dad on the list before their divorce. She had raised the child over the last several years by herself (according to her), and she should make all of the decisions.
I didn’t know this, and the records didn’t reflect it.
The mom tried to argue a different point.
Since she knew this argument wasn’t going to work, the next objection was against our policy of making decisions over the phone. The conversation went something like this:
Mom: “How do you know for sure it was his dad on the phone? There’s no way you can be sure. I can’t believe you would ever make a decision like this without a parent present. By doing business over the phone, you could be speaking to anyone.”
She continued on and I tried to explain that it is necessary at times to use the phone, since parents work in another town and may have to travel an hour or more to get to the school.
Well, she wasn’t buying it.
She got what she asked for and still wasn’t happy!
So finally, I relented. “Ma’am, you are right. I will no longer make decisions like this over the phone. I am going to insist parents come in and meet with me in person.”
Mom: “Good. Now I need my son to be put back into the class he was in originally.”
Me: “Ma’am, I’m sorry. You are going to have to come in and meet with me. I’m no longer changing schedules over the phone. How do I know you are this student’s mother?”
Mom: “I can’t do that. I live 45 minutes from the school, and I work every day.”
It was at this point she dropped all of her objections.
That’s hilarious! She was trying to do the exact thing she was complaining about!
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Apparently not.
I don’t remember needing a parent’s permission to choose classes in high school either.
These are good questions.
Either that, or she didn’t think through what she was requesting.
I assume the mom in this story was mad at her ex more than anything. Instead of complaining that her son switched classes and that her ex approved it, she should’ve taken the opportunity on the phone to remove him from the contact list who could approve changes.
I think I can see why the teen is struggling in that class. I hate to say it, but maybe he takes after his mother. She doesn’t seem that bright.
She got what she asked for only to realize that’s not what she really wanted. Some people really need to think before they speak.
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