Posted on 11/20/2009 1:23:02 AM PST by MacMattico
OK, I'm really wrestling with this and need some sane minds to help me decide what to do. I know this isn't a world wide major issue effecting us all, but I value the opinions (most of them!) I read on Free Republic so here goes. And there is a political element to the story if you can bear with me for a minute.
I have a daughter in middle school and report cards just came out. She received a 95% or above in all classes but one: Math. In advanced math, she got an 84. In order to stay in advanced math, you have to maintain a 90 or above. She can stay in the class now, but needs to bring it up to a 90 or next year she drops down to regular math, which means she can't take Algebra in 8th grade (a year ahead) and would then mean no Calculus Sr year which had been her goal. We do not put a lot of pressure on her to acheive high grades, she does it all herself and I applaud her for wanting to do her best when she is capable of so much.
So I told her to buckle down next quarter and do the best she can. End of story, right? Not so fast.
I had a parent/teacher conference and asked her Math teacher why the 84, when at the mid quarter (5 week) report she had a 93 average? I look at all her work as it comes home, good grades. He said "Let me check" and brought out a print out of all her grades-- home work average, 88, quiz average 94, test average 75.
Huh? 75? Oh yeah, did I mention that He gave ONE test during the whole semester? And that my daughter kept all of her other grades up despite missing 7 days of school with swine flu? Then she comes back in and is handed a test she knows nothing about and is told to take it right then and there. Still not feeling so great, and missing the previous 7 days of school, I said, hey, a 75 is ok, you can make it up with all of the other grades you've gotten in math, don't worry. It was never specified this was an all important test, it just covered the last 2 weeks of work. Little did either of us know this teacher decided to count this grade as 43% of her course grade (why 43%?-- he gave me no reason) and that the other kids had been preparing all week. For some stupid reason he gave a 10 point bonus question that was-- wait for it-- "What are my (his) daughters names?"-- WORTH 10 POINTS! (remember this is 10 points on a test worth 43% of her grade.) My daughter was not in school when he gave the class their names (the week she was sick), and what the H*** does that have to do with math? His explanation-- a "fun" way to have a bonus that could help the kid's overall grades-- but not my daughter because she "got it wrong". He then says to me that she should have told him she wasn't ready for the test or asked him if she could "fix" it after the fact before report cards and maybe he could have "given" her some more ponts, like he did for other kids. (Should have asked to be "given" a higher grade? Like he did for other kids that "asked"?!!)
Huh? She's 11 and wants to earn her own grades, and was handed a test and told to take it. She didn't ask for free points, but I want some fairness here. Do I go over his head? I want my daughter to be self reliant, but I'm really mad.
One last point, and I hope this isn't the case. His wife ran in a local election a few years back with some seriously crazy democrats. I was the republican chair. Needless to say in our little part of the world things got nasty, fast. A local internet forum gone awry, lies were told, people attacked by her supporters and vice versa. Could this be payback? If so I feel responsible to my daughter, although I personally never even posted on this local forum. What do you all think?
And a wonderful Mom you are. I can tell.
Thank you so much. That really means a lot to me!
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