<p>When a public school teacher offers a kid extra credit for--</p>
<p>Buying a box of kleenex
volunteering time after school hours (after the buses have already run)
attending a sports game or a play (educational or not)
etc</p>
<p>Is this bribery? Is this a violation of the Equal Opportunity Policy (assuming that it's universal)? Should it be allowed? Or in the very least, is it fair? And not only that, but why would such activities--non academic activities--warrant extra credit?</p>
<p>No, when I was in school we could get extra credit for all types of things…bringing in cans for the food drive, bringing in kleenex, and other stuff I can’t think of off the top of my head (high school was almost five years ago…aaah I’m old!)</p>
<p>I’d appreciate if you’d elaborate–why not?
Why is it okay for a public school teacher to offer up grades in return for something of monetary value (whether for them, their school, or someone else)? Why should kids be allowed to buy x% of their grades?</p>
<p>Bribery: the act of taking a bribe
Bribe: money or favor given or promised in order to influence the judgment or conduct of a person in a position of trust</p>
<h2> I guess you could replace the words “judgement or conduct” with “academic system” (or something like that) and replace “a person in a position of trust” with “that person’s teacher”</h2>
<p>money or favor given or promised in order to influence the academic system of of that person’s teacher</p>
<p>I think ASC means bribery because the teacher is technically bribing the student with points on their grade if they’ll spend money [or time and money] to bring some silly thing in to class.</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s fair, and it’s certainly a stupid idea.</p>
<p>I did that my freshman year, with help from another teacher who agreed with me.
We got our school’s policy changed, but we had to jump through some hoops to do it, because both the principal and teacher refused to drop the extra credit even just once. What my principal said to me–</p>
<p>“look. Even when I was triple-cutting coupons, I could STILL afford to donate to charity.”</p>
<p>During the entire meeting, she asked me what I had issue with, and that was all she said. She then dismissed me from her office. </p>
<p>But again, my teacher and I changed all of that!! :)</p>
<p>I was just wondering what everyone else thought on the issue.</p>
<p>Yes, it’s not fair…especially for those unable to afford to buy those things. I think this has been done probably from the beginning of time…that’s why no one really has a problem with it. I, myself would never do it if I was a teacher because I know it’s not fair and I’m all for treating everyone fairly. Plus, there are those people who could care less about extra credit, think its fair, and those who don’t bring it to anyone’s attention.</p>
<p>I can’t believe it was actually in your school’s policy to be ABLE to do that. I thought it was just something that a handful of teacher’s did.</p>
<p>Yeah, probably 80% of my teachers have offered this type of extra credit. It never really occured to me, either, that it was wrong until I found myself unable to donate to my freshman biology teacher’s charity: COTS, in exchange for FIFTY points of extra credit (the equivalent of 5 homework assignments or half of our final exam!!)</p>
<p>At first, they tried to change the policy into this:
Teachers could offer this form of extra credit, but ONLY if a duplicate assignment is offered which is academic.</p>
<p>–so, the kid sitting next to me can go shopping, but meanwhile I have to do academic work? That’s fair?!</p>
<p>I don’t think that it was explicitly in our policy to be able to do that, but we ended up having to define something somewhere to say that the teachers were NOT allowed to do that :(</p>
<p>if it’s educational then i think it can merit extra credit. For example, attending a history presentation after school and presenting your notes to the class. But stuff like buying kleenax? that’s just stupid. i think going to a play is fine, sports game no. basically, as long as it’s educational. </p>
<p>do all your teachers give out extra credit?
cause most of mine rarely give any.</p>
<p>When my teachers did give out credit (which 75% of mine did), 90% of the time it was for garbage like this. </p>
<p>But let me ask you, though, how is it fair to the kid who takes the bus to school and can’t attend the after school play, or doesn’t have the $5 to attend (more than school lunch, which many kids can’t afford as it is [free lunch]).</p>
<p>The fact is, it’s EXTRA CREDIT. It’s probably no more than 10 points. If the kid can’t do it, it’s not going to kill their grade.</p>
<p>I don’t see what the big deal is. There’s always a way. Get a ride home with someone else. I bet if the kid REALLY wanted to see the play and not just because of extra credit, he or she would find a way.</p>
<p>I had a teacher this summer for whom this was a recurrent joke – he would offer points or letter grades at the end of the year for us to buy, but his rates would be so exorbitantly high that nobody could afford it (he mentioned how he would likely be fired if the practice grew common in his classroom, so he’d need to amass enough so that he would be able to retire comfortably =D).</p>
<p>Of course it’s bribery, lol, although it’s effects are being a tad overstated here methinks. A subtler version occurs, btw, in any class where the grading scale is determined for an assignment only after it’s been completed and turned in, lol (most prominent in essays and the like, but it can happen with the more quantifiable tasks as well).</p>
<p>I’m sure if you told your teacher you can’t afford to buy kleenex they’ll just give you extra credit. </p>
<p>I don’t know why some people get so upset over this. Just do it. I see nothing wrong with offering extra credit to students who are active participants in the school community. Plus, it’s EXTRA credit. so you aren’t losing anything if you don’t do it. </p>
<p>The problem we’re ignoring is the problem where students see other students benefitting as their loss. What you really have a problem with is class rank, not whether or not tissues should be a valid form of extra credit.</p>
<p>Exactly, I don’t know about your school but here that’s like 2 classes, and once-a-year kind of opportunity.</p>
<p>2 points. LOL. That affects, what, less than .02% of a grade in most cases? And for one of my teachers, it was the class missing a tissue box that for the benefit of the entire community, a student donated a kleenex. His grade went up from a 92.1 to a 92.2.</p>
<p>I really doubt teachers raise like 5% of your grade or give 200 points for a box of kleenex. It isn’t so much “extra credit” big deal or anything.</p>
<p>Well actually, the teacher that I eventually got fed up with offered us FIFTY points of extra credit–the equivalent of 5 homework assignments or half of our final exam! And I DID bring it up with her (she basically told me to get over it) AND eventually the principal (who said the same thing). Another teacher and I had to go even further than that to get anyone to give a damn. But in the end, we stopped this from happening for any student, not just that one assignment that I couldn’t afford–we changed the district’s policy.</p>
<p>Just thought I’d address your points and answer your questions.</p>
<p>My teacher offers extra credit for kids who come to tutoring in an effort to bring up their grade but I’m the only one who comes and I guess her plan is backfiring. But anyways why are you trying to change things that have been the same for years. I don’t understand why you are against people trying to bring their grades up, I’m pretty sure your grades are high ASC are you just greedy.</p>
