Not the Prom Queen

My daughter came home with her 1st progress report of 4th grade. Crying. She is an honor roll student, always has been. She makes straight A's, is one of the class "managers" and always sets an example. She's a high achiever and has aspirations to become a doctor - OB to be exact, she wants to deliver babies.

The report card was A after A until Math - 76 ... wtf? I asked her about it and she said she didn't know, she was just as surprised as us. I asked if she did all her work or if she forgot to do an assignment. I even asked if the teacher spoke to her about anything or she had gotten in trouble. Nothing.

The school has an internet system where parents can review grades, assignments and even missed school days. I checked and found that she had a zero in a 3's multiplication assignment. I questioned her and she said she remembered doing it. Ok - now wth???

I called the school & left a message for the teacher. Twice. She finally called back and we discussed the issue, according to the teacher, when a child doesn't put their name on their paper or doesn't turn it in they get a zero. Look biatch - this isn't med school...we are talking 4th grade here. The teacher claims she discussed it with Girlie. Highly unlikely. She also said she doesn't offer make up work nor extra credit. I'm a hair away from reaching through this phone... But not to worry she'll bring up her average with time. Oh really?

At some point shouldn't the teacher mention to the child "hey where's your work?" or "put your name on it, or else" I think a big fat zero is harsh and unfair. Especially since neither Girlie nor Ms. Teacher can produce said work. Not to mention, she didn't even consider the type of student Girlie is. When I questioned the teacher to find out if she spoke with Girlie about it - she paused before answering vaguely how she would normally have done that. I don't believe you. Also, work is trashed once graded.

Just to give you an idea of the type of child Girlie is - even after she came home crying, we were upset & I said I'd speak with the teacher, she still went to the teacher to get an explaination herself. I don't know that many 9 year olds that are confident nor take their education seriously enough to do that.

Obviously I was dissatisfied with the Ms Teacher's response. I contacted the school to speak with the Assistant Principal. I explained the situation and explained how we felt it was harsh to give a zero. Ms Asst Principal agreed we had valid concerns - Ultimately she said they "suggest" to teachers that if a child is in class and does the work whether the paper is turned in or not or without name or not, the lowest grade they *should* get is a 50 (F). She said she'd reiterate their "suggestion" to the teacher for her to "consider".

Two hours later I checked the online gradebook - changed from 0 to a 50. Avg went from 76 to 90.

That's what I thought...