Student called parents to bail him out

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bubbebia

Wed, Apr 02 2014, 6:07 pm

Wow. I certainly believe things like this happen, but I still marvel at the chutzpah kids have these days. You have to love entitlement issues. And principals are so afraid of losing the full tuition that these parents pay that they'll do anything to bend over backward for the parents. They need to get spines and stand up for their teachers.

Since your principal isn't going to back you for the failure, it's going to be hard to make it stick. He might even go over your head and change the grade. That's monumental chutzpah on the part of the principal but my DD has had that happen, I believe. If you are sure that it's going to be a problem to fail the kid, give him the option of taking a retest (not the original one but one created especially for him) with an automatic penalty and he has to surrender all electronics to you prior to sitting for the exam. And, if he is caught with his phone or other electronics out in the future, he will automatically fail and will not be permitted to take the exam over. Make the kid and his parents and the principal sign a contract as such. Now no one can say there has not been fair warning.

Good luck. And thank you for being a conscientious teacher. You are a credit to the profession.

ruby slippers

Wed, Apr 02 2014, 6:13 pm

As a former teacher - I am soooo frustrated for you I could scream!! Stick to your guns though because once the kids see you back down you will lose more classroom control. These are the rules you stick to it. That is just how life is. Mommy and Daddy have to learn they can't always bail out their poor bubbeleh and they sure are doing a disservice to their child by running to school to bail him out. He will never learn to follow rules and will have some big problems as an adult. UGh - I am still sooo frustrated, why are some parents so *&^%^&&*!!!!

ruby slippers

Wed, Apr 02 2014, 6:13 pm

oh and lots of hugs!!!!

MrsDash

Wed, Apr 02 2014, 6:31 pm

Honestly, I don't think it should make any difference that it was his parents on the other end of the text. Rules are set in place for a reason. Had it been my kid, I'd be just as ticked off as the teacher, and let my kid suffer the consequences for their actions. (I wouldn't be texting my child during school hours, unless it was an emergency, and in that case, I'd contact the office, not my child's personal cellular device.)

greenfire

Wed, Apr 02 2014, 7:03 pm

the only reason I would want to check if the student were really texting mother - was to see if he was actually cheating or not ... not because it would make a huge difference - because not using phones is a rule in & of itself

also there are many state exams that require no phones ... they give you a locker & key for anything you need to keep safe ... such as the NREMT's my daughter took

Quote:

Test Day
On the day of the test, you should report to the test site at least 15 minutes prior to the scheduled starting time. You
should bring your Student Examination Ticket and several well sharpened number 2 pencils with erasers with you to
the test site. Your course instructor should provide you with this ticket prior to the test date. If you did not receive
or lost this ticket, follow the instructions listed under the section entitled Policies and Procedures.

Your Student Examination Ticket is the only material you will need to take the test. Books, papers, and calculators
are not allowed into the testing room. No scratch paper is provided, however, you may write in the test booklet if
necessary. Note taking during the examination is prohibited and no one is allowed to duplicate or retain any portion
of the examination. Only one person may be excused from the room at a time. If you wish to leave the room, you
must leave all your test materials with the proctor.

another example

Quote:

Bar Examination Laptop Program

The Ohio Board of Bar Examiners is permitting the use of laptop computers to answer the written (essay and MPT) portions of the February 2014 Ohio bar examination. Use of a laptop is optional. Applicants who choose to answer the written portion of the exam on a laptop must use their own laptop computers with ExamSoft’s SofTest™ software technology. This technology provides a word processing function during the exam while blocking access to all other programs, files, and the Internet. Applicants will be required to connect to the Internet on Tuesday and Thursday following the exam to upload their exam answers. A nonrefundable $110 fee is required to register with ExamSoft for use of your laptop at the exam.

failure to comply is an automatic dismissal of exam

imasinger

Wed, Apr 02 2014, 8:43 pm

I cannot stand the privileged attitude that some parents have and pass on to their kids.

I like Greenie's point about planning ahead by requiring all phones to be turned in before the exam starts. For the future, it wouldn't hurt to have a line at the top of the test form for kids to write, "On my honor, I have turned in all electronic devices. I understand that if I am found with one during the test, it will be an automatic zero", and then sign.

Sad that a few bad apples make this necessary.
In this case, I would work with the administration to plan the consequence. Because if they don't back you, you are in a bad place.

ruby slippers

Wed, Apr 02 2014, 9:24 pm

Where was the office staff that did not see him take out another electronic device to contact his parent's?

amother

Wed, Apr 02 2014, 9:47 pm

OP here. While the parents were there, they gave us permission to check the phone and confirmed that he indeed was texting his mom something innocuous. That doesn't change the fact that he took out his phone during a test, which is absolutely verboten. Here's the thing. My official policy is "grounds for zero", because I need the out in case of mitigating circumstances that deserve some leniency. Of the times I've had to deal with this sort of thing, they almost always result in the zero, but there was one time where due to certain factors, I did allow the student the chance to get up to a 65 rather than zero. I may have been willing to do so with this student had he (and his parents) not displayed this attitude as he was not, technically, cheating. But I feel he really crossed a line here but calling in mommy and daddy to save him from the Meanie Teacher and am not feeling so magnanimous. But of course, I have the principal pushing me to do the 65 thing, and parents who think that's not enough I should let him retake the test and give him an extra assignment to write an essay on why one shouldn't take a phone out during a test Rolling Eyes

While there is no way I'm giving into the parents, I probably have to do what the principal wants. I'm annoyed with him, but I know he's backed into a corner. As awful as it is for me to deal with these parents, it's ten times worse for him. This isn't the first time I've encountered Special Snowflake Syndrome, but this is certainly the worst so far. Stay tuned, we have another meeting about this tomorrow...

amother

Wed, Apr 02 2014, 9:49 pm

BTW, typing from my phone, so please excuse any spelling mistakes/missing words Smile

ruby slippers

Thu, Apr 03 2014, 8:54 am

I am assuming you have already left for school and will not see this in time- what is the school policy with electronics- my sons have to turn in their phones each day and it is returned when school is dismissed- of course not all the boys do this- in any case if the school policy is no electronics which includes tablets your principal is doing a disservice to himself- he will come off as a push over.. also is this family big donors to the school is that the pressure the principal is getting- still wrong.. once he crosses the line and is lenient for this student there will be no going back...
good luck!! Wonder if you can have the student removed from your class, so you don't have to deal with him or the parents again!

Sherri

Thu, Apr 03 2014, 11:24 am

Special Snowflake Syndrome? Smile

greenfire

Thu, Apr 03 2014, 11:36 am

Sherri wrote:

Special Snowflake Syndrome? Smile

that's a good one - isn't it ...

abound

Thu, Apr 03 2014, 1:06 pm

Check with the principal, but I would give him a report to write and only then give him the 65. The report is not about electronics in classroom. The report should be about personal responsibility and facing consequences maturely. And how mistakes is not what makes a person fail, but the way they react to the mistakes or what they do next after doing something wrong, can either make a person strong in character or a failure in life.

marina

Thu, Apr 03 2014, 1:14 pm

yeah, if he was really texting the mom, I would give in and give him the 65. You make your point anyway with that.

As an aside, during my bar exam, someone had handwritten notes in their lap. Other students saw, alerted the proctors, and the person was immediately escorted out. So I don't think cheating is allowed everywhere

Sherri

Thu, Apr 03 2014, 1:37 pm

Wow, someone tried to cheat like that while taking the bar?

OOTforlife

Thu, Apr 03 2014, 1:38 pm

amother wrote:

Of the times I've had to deal with this sort of thing, they almost always result in the zero

Not saying what you should do, but you and the principal should be prepared for those other students' parents (the students who got zeros) to complain if their kids find out that this one didn't get a zero.

amother

Thu, Apr 03 2014, 2:27 pm

I am truly troubled by what appears to be a universal opinion that parents are not entitled to be part of any process by which severe sanctions are imposed upon students.

Imagine this. Your child is in high school. He’s a bit immature (as the OP states). A decent student, but not a top one. He wants to go to college, but his grades are a concern.

He’s taking a test, and is accused of cheating by the teacher. He believes that the accusation is not founded, and tries to explain. The teacher refuses to listen, immediately imposing the penalty by telling him that he cannot complete the test. (Clearly, he cannot complete it later, already knowing or having access to the questions.) He knows, and you know, that this will bring down his final grade one full grade, and could very well keep him out of the college he’d like to attend. (If there are 10 gradable events in the year, for example, having an 87 average on all events other than the test in question would result in the student receiving a C for the course.)

Again, he’s a bit immature. And he’s upset. And the thought of facing two adults in positions of authority –one of whom has already imposed a severe sanction without hearing his side, and the other of whom is the school principal – is terrifying to him.

Why should he not be entitled to even the playing field by having an adult with him?

Why do two adults get to make a decision that could impact the rest of a child’s life, without the presence of another adult?

If the teacher’s position was correct, then it should have been able to stand up to challenge by adults. Why is OP so upset about that?

More to the point, your child texts you and says, “I was falsely accused of cheating. The teacher refused to listen to my explanation, and is giving me a zero for the test. I’m now in the principal’s office so that the punishment can be imposed. I’m scared.” What do you do? Do you say, (1) “if the teacher says you cheated, there’s no excuse. The teacher is always right.” (2) “well, let’s wait for the school to impose the penalty on you. Then we’ll come in and see if we can change their minds.” Or (3) I’ll meet you at school, and we can discuss what happened with the teacher and principal before they impose the punishment. (And, for all of the OP’s complaining, the parents agreed to allow the teacher and principal to check the phone, confirming that his excuse was valid and that, while he broke the rules, he did not cheat.) Of course, we all know that its more difficult to reverse a judgment once its imposed than it is to discuss it before a decision is made.

The student should not have been texting. Nevertheless, his phone should have been confiscated, but he should have been allowed to complete the examination so that a decision as to the consequence could have been made later, with complete information. If he was found not to have been cheating, then 10 or 15 points could have been deducted from his grade, or another consequence found. If he cheated, I’d be tempted to give him credit for everything done after the confiscation, and some percentage of anything before. So, for example, if he was caught after he answered questions worth 60 points, I would give him 100% credit for what he got right on the last 40 points, and something like 50% or 60% credit for anything before that. So let’s say he got 30/40 after you took the phone, and 50 out of 60 before, he’d get about a 60 on the test. It’s a failing grade, but its possible to come back from it. A zero is a nuclear option that is virtually impossible to overcome.

abound

Thu, Apr 03 2014, 2:48 pm

I would tell a child of any age or maturity level (as long as they are in the realm of normal for their age) that there are consequences to their actions. I would let them face the situation on their own. If it means not getting into college then maybe later I would have the child or me speak to the teacher in a civilized and nice manner asking if there is anything s/he can do to up their grade. I would not run in and coddle my child and help them not face appropriate consequences.

amother

Thu, Apr 03 2014, 6:45 pm

abound wrote:

If you believe that the appropriate sanction for improper use of a cell phone by a student during an exam, that demonstrably did not involve cheating (and that the teacher concedes she suspected from the start did not involve cheating) is that they should be denied admission to college, and have the rest of his life adversely impacted, then the consequence is, as you say, "appropriate."

I don't think that's an appropriate sanction, even for cheating, particularly for a first offense.

Is there any circumstance in which you would not allow the authorities to determine the penalty first, assume that they get it right, and then maybe appeal later? What if your child were accused of a criminal offense? Would you hire counsel, or would you think that your child could deal with it? And if you would hire counsel, why do you think that a teacher who was unwilling to listen to your child's defense before imposing a draconian penalty (because, remember, that test cannot be counted at this point; its a zero, or its not included in the grade) that may well impact your child's entire life is any different from the court?

Do you think that teachers are always right, and that students should never be permitted to defend themselves? Because, as I noted, this teacher imposed the penalty without allowing the student to defend himself or explain his actions. Its not the case here, but what if the student's sister had been in surgery, and he agreed to attend school only if mom would text him when the surgery was finished and his sister was safe. Do you still think its fair to give the kid a zero?

And, again, why do you think that its the right of a teacher to impose draconian penalties without the involvement of parents? Because, at its heart, that is the teacher's complaint -- that the parents got involved, and she couldn't impose her chosen penalty by confronting only a child whom she describes as "immature." If the penalty was just and appropriate, why could she not defend it to adults?

Talya

Thu, Apr 03 2014, 6:58 pm

amother wrote:

The child presumably knew the consequences before texting. I think it's pretty universally understood that you can't text while taking a test and if you do it's an automatic zero. It doesn't matter if your parents are rich and paying full tuition. And it doesn't matter what it will cost you in the future. That's what you have to think of before cheating, yes, cheating because even if he wasn't asking for an answer or looking one up online, using a cell phone during an exam is considered cheating. And if there are extenuating circumstances like his sister being in major surgery and only coming to school if his parents would text, well, he darn well should have made sure the teacher was aware of that. And he should have handed over his phone for her to see and let him know in middle of the test. Tests are generally speaking not that long that you can't do without your phone for a bit.

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