Hi, I am a straight A student who takes the hardest courses possible at my school and I intend to apply to the very competitive universities.
However, I got very unlucky this year and got a horrible teacher for my spanish 4 honors class, and have been struggling heavily in that class.
She is determined to give me a lower grade than I deserve, for example, marking off points for grammar although she clearly said she wasn’t looking for grammar.
Anyway, I have been upset because I am not confident that I can get even a B+ in this class and might ruin my hard work of earning nearly all A’s and A+'s.
I am wondering if colleges will understand that there are some horrible teachers out there that hate certain students, and if colleges will overlook this type of outlier of a grade.
Thanks in advance!
I don’t think a B in a class will kill your chances of getting into the college of your choice. That being said, everyone gets “bad” teachers and its hard for Colleges to know exactly who is at fault.
I would try to get on the teacher’s good side by attending extra help sessions or something. I doubt there is more that you can do unless your school lets you transfer to another class.
No, definitely not. Colleges are perfectly aware that there are better teachers and worse teachers, but they will not take that into account; it’s your job to overcome that obstacle and get your A regardless.
Agree with @marvin100 You are not the only student in this class; presumably others are able to get A’s.
@skieurope thanks for the response! but i have almost the highest grade in our class, and everyone is also struggling
Regardless, a B+ will not ruin your chances, but colleges will not overlook it, nor should you attempt to explain it.
A B will not ruin your chances and I am sure colleges realize there is a disparity in teacher quality. However, you cannot carry that mentality of "it’s all teacher’s fault’. You also shouldn’t explain it to anyone because it will come across as whiny. IT is up to you as well to get on your teacher’s good side, work hard, and get an A. The other kids struggling or not struggling is none of your concern.
Like the others said, a B will not hurt your chances significantly when it comes to college admissions. After each project/homework, maybe just go ask her and try to find out what she’s actually looking for in your work. If she is specifically looking for grammar, then maybe just check your homework once before you turn it in.
There are going to be classes like that where the teacher is a very harsh grader, but I don’t think colleges will see this as an excuse. There are going to be tough teachers in college as well, so might as well try to adapt to their teaching methods.
It sucks that you have a very tough teacher this year, but you still have a month left and improve your grade. Go ask her for help/feedback whenever you can, and I’m sure you won’t get docked off those points anymore.
Good luck, hopefully you get an A in Spanish 4 this semester!
@rdeng2614 thanks so much!
It is not the end of the world. Go talk to the teacher. Find out what you can do to improve your grade. A great AP Spanish SAT II score will also help.
A single “B” is not terminal. With this said, I respectfully suggest you consider:
- We have all had “bad” teachers (as well as some who graded more-tolerantly than they should have).
- Your attitude seems to be somewhat “entitled;” specifically you state: “She is determined to give me a lower grade than I deserve, for example, marking off points for grammar although she clearly said she wasn’t looking for grammar.” Of course, EVERY teacher – especially in English or a foreign language – should be zealous in correcting grammatical errors. It’s called EDUCATION.
- How many of your classmates will receive “A’s”? If any do, than perhaps the reason for your B-level assessment is YOUR PERFORMANCE, not teacher bias or inability.
It’s time for you to grow-up. Throughout life, you will be confronted and challenged by less-than-ideal situations; however, the true measure of life-successes is not achievement when things are near-perfect, but rather when things are quite adverse.
I’m trying to think of what Level 4 Honors language teacher would NOT take grammar into account for a grade… :-?
I’m with the last few posters.
You say you’re taking the hardest level of courses your school offers… why on earth would you expect NOT to lose points for work that wasn’t correct? It’s a language course-- language is grammar.
It seems to me that perhaps you’ve finally gotten a GOOD teacher.
@bjkmom it was in bullet points. also a “good teacher” would imply that she teaches but she simply refuses to.
no one knows what she is looking for in assignments and she makes up new ways to take points off even if we do what she asks initially
Despite best efforts, there is no way that you can spin this where you will not come off as whiny. Stop blaming the teacher and focus on you.
If no one knows what she is looking for in assignments, then wouldn’t the first step be to approach her and ask her about what she’s looking for?
@OrchidBloom trust me, we’ve tried everything
I don’t teach language, but I think it’s always safe to assume your teachers want correct grammar. I want it in my math classes. I’m not surprised that your Spanish teacher insists on it as well.
What surprises me is that it surprises you.
I’m not sure what you mean by “.it was in bullet points.” What was in bullet points??
I will say that no teacher I know starts any academic year “hating” any of our students. They’re a blank slate; we don’t know anyone and we assume the best of all of our students. Of course, things can sometimes change over the course of a year, but always for a reason. So if, indeed, your teacher does hate you, then why? What prompted the change in attitude?
And it’s May 1st. What are you going to do about it? In my school, there are 23 days of classes left.
@bjkmom you are getting off the topic. my point was this teacher is giving everyone unfair grades; one person has above a 90 and thats a 92. so I’m wondering if colleges understand that there are some dumb teachers out there
College admissions counselors obviously understand that grading styles will vary by school and by teacher; after all, most of them went to school too. However, an A is an A and a B is a B. There’s no way for them to know that your grade (whatever it ends up being) was given unfairly and that you really deserved an A. All they can do is assess your overall performance and make their admissions decision based on that.
After all, there are plenty of normally straight A students who get a B or a C in one class because they had a hard time with the subject matter or goofed off because it was late senior year and they stopped caring. Colleges can’t know why you got one lower grade unless it’s something that can be documented (e.g. you withdrew from the class for medical reasons and had to take a ‘W’).
If it makes you feel better, it’s unlikely that getting one non-A grade is going to end your hopes and dreams.