I have taught for eight years and have never been allowed to give a grade lower than a 50. The reason I am given for this is, “It is just too hard for students to make up their grades if they receive a zero.” Excuse me, but they don’t “receive” zeroes, they earn them. What they “receive” is 50 free points when they refuse to do an assignment.
over the years i've had several teachers tell the class on the first day that "Other classes tell you you start out with 100 points, HERE, you start with ZERO points and are going to earn every one you get!" i wonder why i learned the most in those classes?