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:
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.
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Kelly Treleaven
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