I think our school has lost it!...update post #48

[parkers*momma]

About two weeks before Thanksgiving, my son came home and said they were having a food drive for the needy. We usually provide for this but this year, I decided not to furnish anything for the food drive.

We have three older children that live out on their own and all three of them has recently been laid off so I've been helping them with groceries and things for their families. Then on 11/26/08 my Dh was laid off so things are really tight.

Welllll, when checking his grades online this morning, he fell from an A- to a C in one class. Checking out why/what happened to make his grade fall this much, I notice a big zero as a grade. Guess what the zero was from...

DONATING FOOD FOR THE THANKSGIVING FOOD PANTY---0/100

I was/am totally upset by this. Of course, when I called the school I feel I got the run around from them. I was told that this teacher feels it is a good way to get the students involved and it is part of the study in this subject (health). My response is how can you give a grade to a child for something like this. They haven't a clue what goes on within a family structure, if a family can honestly afford it, or doesn't celebrate for whatever reason. I feel awful for my son because he works really hard (this is a child who studies for hours to pass a test) for those grades. It's not something that comes natural to him...he really applies himself. Now that I chose not to participate in the food drive, he was given a ZERO and will really have to work to overcome that grade.

Please share with me you thoughts. Of course, now that it is over, my DH is saying I should have sent in items based on the points they put on items so my son would get a "A" in it.(of course, my son didn't tell me this part, he just came home saying food drive-partically his fault) but as I told my DH, I am trying to provide food for 4 household and I don't think a school should base a child's grade or grade them on what they donate to the food drive.

WWYD if this was your child/school. I'm really upset by this and feel the need to see about getting this changed for future students and their families who simply can't afford to "DONATE" or for a child to recieve a bad grade because of it.

 

[daleswife]

I think you should go talk to the principle and explain to her what is going on with your family situation and explain it just like you did to us. I dont think it is fair that your child get a 0 because he didn't donate. I understand they want to "give" and all, but im like you, what if a family simply cannot afford it???? And to put a points value on food to get an A is awful too. That teacher needs a good talkin too....

 

[december]

I would throw a fit! And I'm a high school teacher. We can offer incentives (we were allowed to give bonus pts for our food drive, and if we raised 1000 lbs of food we got a week in jeans - instead of uniforms-but not to give a grade. ) I would go as high as I needed to to contest the 0. Our school has a policy against this kind of thing.

 

[skhermsmeyer]

You need to have a talk with the teacher and tell him/her your reasons for not participating in the food drive. If they won't change the grade or let your son earn this credit doing another project, talk to the principal. As a former teacher, I didn't always know what was going on in every student's life.

It sounds like you need to have a face to face meeting.

Sorry about his grade!

 

[mommytoone]

I totally agree!! Sometimes a family cannot afford to donate to such causes. To base a childs grade on a donation is just not right, in my opinion. I would call back to the school and even the board office. My DD has no idea sometimes what comes home, and I am the one who chooses to participate or not and for her grades to drop because I choose not to or just couldn't is not fair. Just my .02 cents.

 

[RobinFabulous]

I've delt with our school system a lot. Last year Hannah's grade mysteriously went from an A to a C. She was missing assignments. She was out of the classroom and not required to do them b/c she was in gifted.

TAKE A DEEP BREATH and talk to the teacher. Explain exactly as you have here, if that gets you no satisfaction, THEN go to the principal. Be willing to escalate, but givethe teacher the chance to fix it. Our system prefers to let teachers handle things, then the principal, then you go to the district....

I'd be willing to bet the teacher will try to come up with some solution

 

[mjantz]

Personally, I'd be very, very upset & angry. I think you need to speak to that teacher & explain to her that, especially given the economy right now, there may be a lot of families who just can't donate. If she says 'Well, your son was the only one that didn't' I'd ask her if she knew the financial situations of all those families. If she refuses, go to the principal. If he refuses, honestly, I'd go to your favorite local TV station. Nothing seems to make a school back down faster than a reporter with a mic asking 'What do you have to say about this?'

 

[The Disney Bunch]

I would not only complain to the teacher & principal but the superintendent as well. That is not a subject matter that a child is being graded on. That is something that your child would have no control over. It is NOT something that he shuld be penalized for. That is ridiculous. The school has no idea of your family situation & even if you were able to send food in, you could choose not to for other reasons. I would really complain about this.

 

[ms_missy66]

I'd be really upset too! I would definitely request a conference with the teacher and perhaps the principal as well. Though definitely go in with, essentially, a presentation. I'm not at all saying you'd do this, but dealing with hysterical people is extremely difficult and rarely productive. So if you arrive with a list of concerns and disputes with how the grade was given, you'll like get a better result.

How shameful that a school would grade a child on his donations that would be his parents' responsibility to obtain. And trust me, I know too many families with jobless parents who would be unable. It's insensitive for them to assume some families within their school are in the same situation of those they are trying to help. :-(

On a side note, I'm really hopeful that your family members all find themselves gainfully employed very quickly. *hugs*

 

[ScrapperBelle]

I cannot believe the teacher was actually allowed to grade participation in a food drive equal to a test score! I have heard of bonus points for charitable donations and my sons school actually has "dollar days". On a certain day they are allowed to wear regular clothes (instead of uniforms) for making a one dollar donation to certain charities.

We live in a poor, rural area so I don't think grading on a 100 pt scale for participation in an activity that cost money would go over too well around here.

 

[tanyaandallie]

Regardless of your financial situation, your decision to donate or not donate to a particular cause is YOUR decision. The school has no right to mandate that you donate to a particular organization. Grading a child on whether or not the child's parent chooses or does not choose to donate is simply insane. I would be through the roof at the teacher and the principal. While I agree you can talk to the teacher and explain your reasons for not giving, you should NOT HAVE to explain your reasons for not donating. Your reasons are your own reasons and you should not have to explain them to anyone.

I would talk to the teacher about this issue. If she will not relent, go to the principal. Don't stop until you get resolution. Otherwise, this will continue next year.

 

[labdogs42]

That is CRAZY! He should at least have the option to write a paper about the food pantry or visit the food pantry to help for an hour or two or something to give him points instead of having to bring in food for a grade! That is like BUYING a grade, don't you think? Sounds wrong to me. I'd talk to the teacher, then the principal.

 

[ilandrazdsw]

is this a private or public school. I agree talking to the teacher, but also find out if this was a teacher thing or school wide. If it is school wide, go directly to the principal and if s/he won't budge go to the board or district. Be honest about your situation...schools have a tendency to assume WAYYY to much. Grade could have been given for participation in sorting/distributing food that was donated, but not for bringing in items. If this was my son the whole school/system would hear me until it was corrected. DO NOT accept your child doing some sort of extra credit because it was not his "fault", nor was it yours!!! The school is completely to blame...take it from a former teacher

 

[MM27]

I don't think you owe any explanation as to why your son didn't bring in food for the food drive. That is an optional thing. I would question why a child's grade is being based on food contributions. We do food drives in my school, but some of the kids in my school are the ones that end up receiving the food baskets. What about those kids? Talk to the teacher first. If you don't get anywhere, speak to the principal about the grading policy.

 

[gaelic grace]

In all fairness there is fault here on both sides. If your son had explained that this was for a grade you would have had an opportunity to speak to the teacher about the assignment before it was due and come up with alternatives and possibly persuade the teacher to change the assignment. Teachers aren't perfect and they make mistakes- this may not have been the most well thought out assignment. However, with nothing turned in and no conversation with you the teacher didn't have anything else to go on. I think if you now talk to the teacher and explain that you are in fact participating in your own food drive and that your son gets the concept of helping others and the importance of providing for others I think you can come to a resolution. If you don't get satisfaction then you have cause to go to the administration. People often forget that one of the things children have to learn in school is how to follow directions and comprehend the whole concept. The child didn't give all the information. You at least owe the teacher a chance to explain and the opportunity to make it right.

 

[ilandrazdsw]

In all fairness there is fault here on both sides. If your son had explained that this was for a grade you would have had an opportunity to speak to the teacher about the assignment before it was due and come up with alternatives and possibly persuade the teacher to change the assignment. Teachers aren't perfect and they make mistakes- this may not have been the most well thought out assignment. However, with nothing turned in and no conversation with you the teacher didn't have anything else to go on. I think if you now talk to the teacher and explain that you are in fact participating in your own food drive and that your son gets the concept of helping others and the importance of providing for others I think you can come to a resolution. If you don't get satisfaction then you have cause to go to the administration. People often forget that one of the things children have to learn in school is how to follow directions and comprehend the whole concept. The child didn't give all the information. You at least owe the teacher a chance to explain and the opportunity to make it right.

This is more than a poorly thought out assignment. it is unfair and unrealistic to expect any family/child to bring in anything that costs money for a grade over and above basic school supplies. Teachers/schools do not know the economic status of families! Yes the son should have conveyed all the info, but it should have never been an assignment in the first place! Following directions is one thing, but this is beyond that. Yes, the teacher should have a chance to explain her reasoning, but the grade needs to be corrected.n It is easy for the teacher to factor the student's total grade without this "assignment." As far as the parent's responsibility to meet with the teacher, yes there should be a parent meeting/call/email. IMO this assignment was for the family, not the student and I am guessing that mom and dad are not attending the son's school.
Please don't take this as a personal attack...it is not meant to be one at all! It has been one of those days, sorry

 

[mickeeemouse]

I would also suggest talking with the teacher and explaining part of the situation. Although I believe that it really is none of the teachers business, the details should significantly cut down on the amount of discussion required. The teacher may change the grade right away, but you should also have a backup plan. I would suggest to the teacher that your son can write a short description of how he is helping his brothers/sisters in other states and around the house to get by in these hard economic times. Another suggestion would be involving your son in a volunteer activity to help him give something of himself instead of giving food.

 

[gaelic grace]

This is more than a poorly thought out assignment. it is unfair and unrealistic to expect any family/child to bring in anything that costs money for a grade over and above basic school supplies. Teachers/schools do not know the economic status of families! Yes the son should have conveyed all the info, but it should have never been an assignment in the first place! Following directions is one thing, but this is beyond that. Yes, the teacher should have a chance to explain her reasoning, but the grade needs to be corrected.n It is easy for the teacher to factor the student's total grade without this "assignment." As far as the parent's responsibility to meet with the teacher, yes there should be a parent meeting/call/email. IMO this assignment was for the family, not the student and I am guessing that mom and dad are not attending the son's school.
Please don't take this as a personal attack...it is not meant to be one at all! It has been one of those days, sorry

But because the son hasn't conveyed the whole story to the parent you don't know if there weren't other components or alternatives given. It seems unfair to the teacher to say any of this when the teacher hasn't given their side. We are assuming that the grade was based solely on bringing food in- I wouldn't be surprised if there is more to it. Not knowing the whole context of the lesson I can't speak to what's appropriate. We expect students to have posterboards and backboards to support a book report or other supplies. Bringing in food depending on the parameters of the unit could actually cost far less than the supplies needed for many reading, science or social studies projects. Just tonight I used about 10.00 worth of supplies for a book report for a 2nd grader. I could send many food items for that. As someone who was a teacher and whose spouse was a teacher for even longer I just want to remind people that there are other sides and there are educational objectives that aren't always apparent from the glimpses you get from your children. It seems when it comes to teachers people are so quick to judge when we don't necesarily have all the facts. I think it's always better to give someone the benefit of the doubt and give them a chance to explain. The teacher may well have made a mistake in the assignment, the entire idea may have been ill founded and none of what I have said may apply but we don't know that. It's also possible that this is a young or relatively new teacher who may have thought that he/she was doing a great thing and doesn't have the experience to know they may have handled it wrong. A respectful conversation pointing this out could be a great learning experience for the teacher. I do know that getting angry and going to principals may feel good at the time but it ends up making people defensive. Follow the chain of command and give it a chance to work. If it doesn't work then take the next step.

 

[Alesia]

That is essentially buying a grade.

Talk to the teacher, I'm sure she just didn't realize that there might be some students who just can't afford to participate.

 

[justtobeme2]

I'd be pitching a BIG fit. That teacher was totally out of line. I'd take it all the way to the school board AND the media if I had to. I don't care what your son left out that is no way to get a grade or lack of one. I would explain nothing to the teacher about your situation. DONATING is DONATING it's not PAYMENT for a grade which is, in essence, what she was requiring.