Joker Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 Oldest dd, 10th grade, missed seven days of school due to illness. We have hospital/dr notes. Her school is on a block schedule. Her Algebra II Honors teacher gave her a worksheet with missed problems. Teacher expected all work to be turned in this Tuesday (dd returned last Wednesday) which was a total of 180 problems. She would have had to do 30 per night, including the weekend. They are not easy problems especially since she missed the new material and is having to learn it at home with us. She, of course, didn't have it because not only is she trying to stay on top of current work she is also having to do make up work in all other classes, which are mostly Honors and AP. This is the only teacher with such expectations. I'm going to send an email and talk with all appropriate people but I am wondering if my feeling is one of only a mom or if others would see my side of this being too much. Does it sound reasonable or like overkill? At this point, I honestly feel like most of it is busywork and the important thing is she actually understand the material. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barb_ Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 Check the handbook and see what the official word is on missed work after an illness. It's often spelled out to avoid unreasonable demands 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1GirlTwinBoys Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 I think that is unrealistic for the teacher to expect her to complete that much work. She should understand that your daughter has makeup work in her other classes too. I wouldn't hesitate to address this with the teacher. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joker Posted February 18, 2016 Author Share Posted February 18, 2016 Teacher fits the time frame written in handbook but goes against what we had already discussed with counselor. Counselor said there comes a point when the length of absence and time given to make up the work don't really work, especially given the level of work. All other teachers have been amazing. This one yesterday threw us for a loop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barb_ Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 Hm. That stinks. I'd address it with her then. She maybe is just panicked about how far behind your daughter will be. Decide ahead of time what a reasonable time table would be and tell her, "with all the work ds has to make up, she won't be able to properly Learn these concepts by Tuesfay. We will do our best to get it in by Friday. Don't ask permission, just assume it'll be ok :) Then the ball is in her court. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garga Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 Why didn't you talk to the teacher last Wednesday when the work was assigned? Or am I confused and it was assigned today? 180 problems miiiiight not too much (maybe) if that was all she had to do for the class, but I'm assuming the class is moving forward and the teacher is still assigning more homework each night in addition to the original 180 problems. I would talk to the teacher. Perhaps she wasn't thinking for the moment and didn't realize the volume of work that had built up and the limited time your dd would have to work on it, as well as the current assigned work. (Plus the work for all the other classes.) I would think a reasonable person would say, "Oh, sorry! I didn't realize it was just so much," and would lessen the practice problems that need to be done. I think it's worth it to talk to the teacher. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joker Posted February 18, 2016 Author Share Posted February 18, 2016 The teacher was sent an email on the return day, Wednesday, from the counselor. She still assigned the work but we thought she was on board like the rest of the teachers so it wasn't actually due that soon. There was nothing explicit either way said to dd. That is why I was checking to see if I'm missing something. And, yes, dd still has work currently in the class. She even made up an exam for that class this week. So, she had to study for that as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 Doesn't sound like too much work to me *if* it is all needed for comprehension. I might ask the teacher if we could cut it down if the child in question has a good grasp of the material and doesn't need all the repetition. 30 problems per night in calc 2 would be too much. Trig? Eh, it's doable. It really just depends on the course and kid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 The teacher was sent an email on the return day, Wednesday, from the counselor. She still assigned the work but we thought she was on board like the rest of the teachers so it wasn't actually due that soon. There was nothing explicit either way said to dd. That is why I was checking to see if I'm missing something. And, yes, dd still has work currently in the class. She even made up an exam for that class this week. So, she had to study for that as well. The time limit is an issue if other work is due concurrently. I'd push back on that if it seems extreme, even if the number of problems remains the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 She probably should get caught up as soon as possible to limit the amount of time she's trying to do both current work and catch up work. It can be easy to lose focus on the current work and you don't want her to start having trouble with that. I would have asked permission to modify the number of problems - like perhaps half of the assigned problems with the understanding that if dd didn't do well on them that she would need to do the skipped ones too. I probably would have spent the weekend doing a lot of shorter sessions to get caught up. But at this point, it's hard to go back and negotiate. Hope you can work something out. Dd is probably already feeling a bit overwhelmed and this can't be helping. Can she turn in the work already done and then turn in more each day so the teacher sees she's making progress? Hope the counselor can intervene on your behalf so it's not just a parent asking. Sometimes a counselor has more pull. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzanne in ABQ Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 Can she turn in the work already done and then turn in more each day so the teacher sees she's making progress? Hope the counselor can intervene on your behalf so it's not just a parent asking. Sometimes a counselor has more pull. This. I would have her turn in what she has completed, and ask for an extension on the remaining problems, and work out a schedule for getting them all turned in by next Monday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joker Posted February 18, 2016 Author Share Posted February 18, 2016 Thanks, everyone. It seems a bit mixed here but we've figured it out. She won't even be doing half of the problems. Dh is more than capable of teaching the concepts and deciding which problems need to be done for understanding of the material. Dd has an A in the class and homework seems to just be a completion grade for a very small percentage of the overall grade. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 My kids' school has a pretty draconian make-up policy, so I feel ya. I believe in a healthy challenge, but kids need rest and exercise and sleep too. I am glad you got it figured out. I help my kid when I feel the work is too much, by talking her through it and sometimes writing part of the work (not the answers but the problem setup or whatever). If that isn't enough, I will ask the teacher for a little more time, reassuring her that the kid is working at capacity. Some teachers are more considerate than others. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 Thanks, everyone. It seems a bit mixed here but we've figured it out. She won't even be doing half of the problems. Dh is more than capable of teaching the concepts and deciding which problems need to be done for understanding of the material. Dd has an A in the class and homework seems to just be a completion grade for a very small percentage of the overall grade. I was going to ask how much the homework was worth, so glad you found out. With an A in the class, I would till talk with the teacher and explain what's going on so s/he wouldn't think badly about the student, but I'd go with what was best for the situation and that could easily be taking a lesser grade on this assignment. Some teachers are really "By the Book" and everyone had better be there, 'cause they aren't changing for anything. It's part of who they are. Sometimes they're very good teachers, so it's worth putting up with their Type A behavior. Other teachers are far more understanding about real life and make modifications accordingly. I'm in that latter category, but I definitely know some who aren't. I'd have adjusted the # of problems that needed to be completed in her situation. At our school a student gets a one day allowance for each day they missed. If your daughter missed 7 days, all HW can be due 7 days after she's back. Each school makes their own guidelines though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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