6th Grader Didn’t Complete A Project & Got A Zero, Making His Final Grade A ‘B’ — His Parents Complained & The Teacher Was Forced To Give Him An ‘A’
All this student learned was how to get out of responsibilities.
Ground Picture / Shutterstock In the world of gentle parenting and participation trophies, many children have come to expect that they will receive what they want, even if it’s not necessarily what they deserve.
This happened to one student and his entire family, leading to an uncomfortable situation for the kid’s teacher.
A student’s parents complained when he got a B instead of an A, even though it was the grade he deserved.
"Teachers Off Duty" podcast is “the number one teacher-comedy podcast in the world,” according to their website. In one episode produced by the TikTok group @bored_teachers, a teacher detailed the time she had to bump up a student’s grade because his parents got mad.
“I had a sixth grader who did not do a project,” she explained. “No part of the project at all. It was the end of the year, and there was a zero because they did not do anything.”
Obviously, this affected the student’s grade. “The report cards came out, and the parents were very upset this child had a B in English,” she said.
Even though the parents were upset, the teacher would not budge. “I said, ‘I’m sorry. Like, he didn’t do the project.’ This is the first time I ever stood my ground on anything,” she continued.
Unfortunately for this teacher, administrators weren’t on the same page.
“My principal got an email from them,” she said. “They also emailed the superintendent, and they forced me to give this kid an A.”
This is far from the first time an administrator has stepped in to ensure a student receives a grade they deem acceptable.
Teacher Erich Martel wrote about his own experience with administrators altering grades for the American Federation of Teachers.
Martel alleged that his then-assistant principal changed a student’s grade after he refused so the student could graduate with her diploma just one day later.
“According to the agreement between my union, the Washington Teachers’ Union (AFT Local 6), and my district, the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS), the process of changing a grade requires that the teacher be informed and given an opportunity to ‘substantiate the grade given;’ and further, ‘in no case shall a grade be changed by the Board,’ unless the teacher fails to provide such substantiation,” Martel said.
In other words, this assistant principal should never have been allowed to change a student’s grade in the first place. At least, not without the teacher having a chance to offer his argument first.
TikTok commenters agreed that changing a student’s grade just because a student is upset is unacceptable.
Other TikTok users were not happy with the news that this teacher had to change her student’s grade.
“That’s a slap in the face to the kids who did the work!” one person argued.
“This right here is why teachers leave their profession,” another argued. “Administrators need to back up their teachers!!!”
Others pointed out that, while this wasn’t a desirable outcome for teachers, it happened frequently.
“No one who works in public education is shocked by this,” one said. “Happens all the time.”
Another lamented, “I have been teaching for 31 years. I am wondering more and more why I am there. The parents could just do the report cards themselves at this point … “
It’s frustrating to know that some students are receiving credit for work they did not do, while others do the work but struggle to keep their head above water. This is not fair to students who really do the work, as one commenter pointed out. However, it’s also not fair to those who don’t do the work. They are learning they can get by without properly handling their responsibilities.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer for YourTango who covers entertainment, news, and human interest topics.