The last week before a break feels refreshingly festive, even at the secondary level. Despite the drudgery of exams, there’s still a buzzing excitement in the air as the last day approaches. Trips, parties, naps, treats—they’re all within reach.

And then … you get brought back down to earth with the parade of students begging for a grade change at the last minute.

Now, I think I speak for most teachers when I say we’re willing to forgive a lot. The past couple of years have been really tough on all of us. We understand if you had a few rough weeks back in October (who among us didn’t?). We empathize with the feeling of overwhelm when you realize work is piling up. Teachers don’t expect perfection: We just expect you to try.

Which is why it can feel like our generosity gets taken advantage of with requests like these shared by Reddit user @Ariesjawn:

I just laughed so hard I choked on my lunch from Teachers

Other teachers responded relaying their own versions of the same conversation:

“I need to be eligible to play today!”

“Can I get some extra credit to bring my average up 66 points?”

“Please grade ASAP.”

Mom is waiting.

I think I just felt my blood pressure go up.

“You said that if I retook it you wouldn’t fail me!”

We just ask that you try!

Why are these conversations even happening? These two sum it up pretty well:

And if you didn’t have a student approaching you this week asking you to change their 4 average to a passing grade, don’t worry. There’s always next semester.

What was your most outrageous grade change request? Let us know in the comments.

Kelly Treleaven

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