A little bit of venting...

Must. Take. Deep. Breaths.
All week long I have had to listen to the complaining of students who are just now, 3 days before the end of the quarter, noticing that their percentage points are in the single digits. Now, I think that wanting good grades is great. But when someone comes to me 3 days before the end of the quarter, with 15 missing assignments and says, "Is there anything I can do to get my grade up? I really want to pass your class!" All I want to say is "If that were true, you would have DONE YOUR HOMEWORK WHEN IT WAS ASSIGNED!" and then maybe beat him/her a little bit with sticks. I don't because, well, they're teenagers and everyone knows their brains are marinating in hormones and endorphines and because of this they can't really think rationally most of the time. But, when PARENTS get on my case, I really want to lose it!

Actual conversation with a parent:

Parent: "My child is failing your class"

Me: "Yes. It seems that your child is missing most of the homework assignments and has failed every test this quarter."

Parent: "Can my child pass?"

Me: "No."

Parent: "Why not? There are still a couple of days left in the quarter!"

Me: "I am sorry, but it is too late to fix a 20%"

Parent: "Will you at least let my child do the missing assignments?"

Me: "Yes, for half credit. There is nothing we can do about the failed tests at this point though."

Parent: "So, my child isn't going to pass?"

Me: "No."

Parent: "Well, isn't there anything you can do about this?"

Me: "No, but there is something your CHILD can do in the future! He can do his homework! He can study for tests! There is something you can do too. You can check your kid's grades before the end of the quarter! You can make sure he does his homework! You can unplug the computer/video games/television! ARGHHHHHHHHHH!"



Alright, I didn't really say the last part, but I very much wanted to. It was tempting. Very tempting.