Help me think this through

[EKS]

My son takes three classes at the local high school.  

A while back, for one of the classes, he printed out an assignment on the printer in the school library and turned it in.  When he got it back, he found that he had received 50%.  When he looked at it to see why, he discovered that somehow the last page (double sided) was not there.  It could have been because it never printed.  It could have been because something happened to it after it was handed in.  It could have been anything.  I do know that he did all of the work.  He told the teacher what had happened and as soon as he could (a few hours later), he emailed him the entire paper and then handed in a hard copy the next day.

The teacher gave him a 90% but then docked him an additional 15 points.

Fast forward to the end of the semester.  He has done well in the class, including getting an A on the final.  This one assignment is going to mean the difference between a B+ and an A- for the semester grade. 

As a teacher myself (both homeschool and as a tutor) I understand how incredibly arbitrary grades are (especially around the edges, as this one is).  This particular teacher made a big deal about being "fair" during his presentation for parents night.  

If my son was your kid, would you encourage him to discuss this with the teacher?

 

[lmrich]

It does not hurt to ask.

[Amateur Actress]

Your son turned in his paper late.  The teacher is well within his right to lower the grade.  Let it be a learning experience.

[EKS]

29 minutes ago, Amateur Actress said:

Your son turned in his paper late.  The teacher is well within his right to lower the grade.  Let it be a learning experience.

If he had actually turned the paper in late, I would agree.  But the entire point of my query is that he did the work, but when the paper came back it was missing the last page.  It might have been my son's fault.  It might have been something else.  And even if it was my son's fault for not noticing that the final page didn't print, shouldn't grades reflect a student's actual performance in the class?  There is a huge difference between not doing an assignment and having a technology glitch.  If that is even what it was.

Edited January 20, 2019 by EKS

[Tree Frog]

I see both points of view. I doesn't hurt to ask, as long as the answer will be respected and not argued. However, you son now knows to double check what he's turning in to ensure it's all there. There's a lot of value in checking the details.

 

 

[Alicia64]

HI EKS!

I think this is an amazing learning experience in two ways:

1 -- Absolutely have him talk w/ the teacher and explain in a calm, rational way what the heck happened. (In real life, this sort of thing happens.) Hopefully the teacher will see what happened and make the change. I think learning to "make an ask" is a super important part of being an adult that they don't teach in school. I learned about it when I worked with a bunch of expert fund raisers. Super cool method that I use often years later. When I "make an ask" I'm always aware that I might be turned down. But I go for it.

2 -- Help him to remember to double- and triple-check his work. Machines are iffy at best. I've thanked the stars that I've triple-checked emails that needed fixing before I hit send. Oooh, boy -- there were a couple that needed major deleting!!

There's the actual learning that kids do in high school -- and then there's the "meta" learning (info. around the actual topic like that copy machine) that kids get too

I'd call it a win. He may remember to check machines until he's 95 because of this situation!!

Alley

[Farrar]

I agree that it doesn't hurt to ask. It's extremely disheartening when teachers have this sort of attitude. A paper that just suddenly stops mid-sentence or mid-paragraph... I mean, why would a student do that? I guess it could be an elaborate "I didn't finish my work and was trying to get a secret extension" plan, but come on, the Occam's Razor answer is that it was a printer issue or when you grabbed the papers you lost the page. If that was me when I was in the classroom, I'd have been actively looking at my papers wondering where the page was.

Sadly though, it may just be a learning experience about having to double check your printouts and always staple or clip everything. And understanding that sometimes life isn't fair and you have to press on anyway or decide when to give up on experiences that aren't just (which, hopefully he doesn't, but I might have at that age... sigh). It's is an infuriating lesson and I feel for him.

[EKS]

41 minutes ago, Alicia64 said:

I think learning to "make an ask" is a super important part of being an adult that they don't teach in school.

I think that kids are actively socialized *not* to ask because maintaining the power structure in schools requires that most kids (and parents) simply acquiesce.  

[Frances]

1 hour ago, EKS said:

I think that kids are actively socialized *not* to ask because maintaining the power structure in schools requires that most kids (and parents) simply acquiesce.  

I think this varies widely from location to location. I’ve had friends who were teachers in very wealthy areas who spent a good deal of their time dealing with all of the “asks” from both parents and students. On the other hand, during the one semester my son spent in middle school, I stopped myself 99% of the time from asking and only did it once. Perhaps had I done it more, it might have been a better experience for him.

[MerryAtHope]

Yes, I always encourage my kids to go talk in person with their instructors over any kind of issue. It may or may not help, but it certainly wouldn't hurt. He could also ask if he might do something for extra credit. Help your son be prepared for a possible negative answer. It's frustrating, but sometimes that's how it goes with a situation like this, and it really depends on the teacher. (I'd think a high school teacher would be a bit more understanding, but in college, it's the student's responsibility to make sure it's all there, and whatever is in the syllabus for grading procedure for incomplete/late papers would apply even to technology issues--in fact, I've seen many syllabi specifically mention that it applies even to technology issues.) It's a tough lesson, but a B+ is still a good grade, and better to learn this now rather than later.

[Penelope]

My son had something similar happen once. I told him it was his responsibility to check that all the pages were there and that things printed correctly before submitting, so we chalked it up to a learning experience. 

I don’t see it as much different than overlooking an assignment, or getting the date wrong for when something was due (this also happened once and resulted in a letter grade change for something that was worth a lot of points). They are all part of executive function skills and better learn now than later. Maybe I am harsh, lol, but most of the world won’t accept excuses. I say that as someone who once received a lower grade in college for something along those lines. My story doesn’t have the same effect on my teen as something that happens to him, though. 

That said, I think learning to approach teachers is also a great skill to learn and I would encourage him to ask if he could explain and if there is anything he could do to help his grade. Just also to be prepared that the answer might be “no”.

Edited January 22, 2019 by Penelope