<p>In my math class, my first Marking Period, I received an F. I know it's horrible but let me explain:</p>
<p>I was sick for several days with the flu. Soon after I caught food poisoning. All of this is well documented with the doctor's note. My teacher gave me one night to make up 5 days of homework (and I had other classes to catch up on) and gave me a test on information I had not learned the SAME DAY I returned. </p>
<p>My F is a high F (if such a thing exists). Guidance is siding with the teacher, given all of this. If I get an F, I'll be ineligible for regionals debate, not to mention college. WHAT DO I DO?</p>
<p>You write (as in a piece of paper) a formal "appeal," listing, without hystrionics:
1. Your illness
2. Your makeup period
3. The results
Then you say that you are appealing this decision because:
4. You are willing to make up the work, given a reasonable time to do it (or better yet, say that you already have made it up)
5. Such a marking is not indicative of your knowledge/work in the rest of the class
6. The reasons why such a mark are very consequential to lots of things.</p>
<p>Such a formal, written appeal would carry a lot of weight with teacher and administration.</p>
<p>BUT... I cannot see how missing some work can affect your grade that much unless your overall grade was not that great to start with, which might also give a clue as to why they aren't so willing to negotiate.</p>
<p>What year are you in school? Does your school have written policies on how long you have to make up work after an absence? Is there enough time for you to bring up your final grade?</p>
<p>Isn't there a written policy at your school, or even the district level, to set policy for making up work due to an excused absence? I think in our district, it's one day for every day of absence. So here, you would have five days to make up all the work in all your classes. </p>
<p>If your absence was due to illness, and it's documented, you have every reason to appeal a grade that has such far-reaching consequences. I think you might not be able to do anything about the test grade, but perhaps you can get enough time to turn all the homework in and that would make enough of a difference. </p>
<p>If you were my kid, I'd be calling everyone up the chain, from counselor to principal, superintendent, and school board, demanding to see a written policy on make-up work due to excused absence to determine if this teacher is following the policy or making up her own rules.</p>
<p>I don't have our school's rule book in front of me but I thought that our high school's policy was one day per day out to make up the missed work. If such a policy exists in your school you would have been allowed 5 days. </p>
<p>The teacher's policy was also probably documented for you at the beginning of the year ie how quickly missed work has to be made up, taking of tests, etc.</p>
<p>Is there a department head that might be a superior to this teacher?</p>
<p>You spoke w/ Guidance but further steps are Principal, Superintendent, School Committee?</p>
<p>Just be prepared if you have history that you have not shared with CC. Teachers are not going to help out a student who was already not putting effort into the class.</p>
<p>PS Apparently Jazzymom and I were thinking the same. I did not see her post while I was writing mine.</p>
<p>Think about dropping the class entirely - and think quickly because you may run into deadlines to do so. Better to make up the class over the summer, online, or next year than fail. Talk to your guidance counselor right away. Sometimes it's better to walk away than fight a teacher. Administration has an understandable tendency to support a teacher's decision, so it's a hard fight otherwise.</p>