Post bad situations that you got out of miraculously. Today, I had to take my last final exam of the school year. The class was government/economics, and I was feeling pretty damn confident about it. However, part of the requirement for the exam was turning in all of last semester's quizzes and tests. Failure to meet that requirement results in a failure of the entire course. For an organized person, this isn't a problem, but I'm rather disorganized. Out of the twenty-two items, I only had eighteen. Last semester, if you were missing a couple of quizzes, she let it slide. But there "is no excuse for missing any tests". Missing quizzes fine, missing tests bad. I was missing two quizzes and two tests. So, I'm thinking, "I'm so f­ucked". I stayed up until 3:00 AM contemplating what it was I was going to do. When I woke up the next morning, two hours till exam time, I decided to do the only thing I could, and that was message my teacher on Facebook explaining my situation. [quote]Hopefully you're online at the time I'm sending this. If you're reading this after the fact, just disregard it. I tried contacting you as early as I could because I had a lot to say/ask and very little time to do it in person. I'm missing a number of crucial assessments, namely the chapter eighteen test (you know, the first test we took this semester that wasn't even technically economics at all (that was me trying to justify losing it)), and the chapter twelve test (our very last one that we took). I'm also missing one quiz and one mini-quiz. If I'm correct in assuming that, judging by your methods, you are less lenient about missing items than you are LAST semester (because I think that you'd think that we probably should have learned by then), then I guess I'm just screwed. Even if your policy hasn't changed (few missing quizzes is fine, but not the tests), I'm missing TWO of them, so I'm JUST as screwed. In the ten minutes I have before I arrive (if I'm arriving at all. Having an incomplete for missing tests would render taking the exam at all pretty obsolete, wouldn't it?) I might just find the quizzes I'm missing in what remains in the trash pile I have in my locker, but I really don't think I'd miss the tests. If, on the on-chance that no tests are found, well, it's your call. If you'd be so magnanimous as to let me take the exam anyway (with a chance of passing), thank you SO much, you're the best, et cetera. If I really am just up shit creek without a paddle, I have a LOT of questions... You aren't liable to answer anything I have, but I feel as though if I am to flunk a class NOT for missing homework, NOT because of poor test scores, NOT because of misconduct... But because of something that, in my opinion, holds no real academic merit at the end of the day... I don't want to feel like I didn't deserve to fail this class. I first question (and please forgive my tone, I don't wish to disrespect you, or tell you how to teach, but I am a little distraught right now, so I may sound a little blunt or harsh) I question the policy itself. I mean, I'll remind you that this may be the only class that has you turn in all of your old quizzes and tests. I'm having trouble seeing the purpose or benefits of this. In my perspective, if you wanted the tests and quizzes so much, you would not have handed them back to us. I don't know what it's supposed to teach us. I guess it's a tacit display of how organized we are (or unorganized, in my case), but then I'd have to question if being a little unorganized (Reminder, 18/22 is 81.81%) is worth FAILING a full, required course. I have a lot more questions as well, but I think I'll ask those after you physically fail me. This... REALLY sucks. Oh, and sorry for making this so long... I'm a writer, I get a little carried away at times, but it's not like this isn't extremely important.[/quote] To my surprise, she responded within less than ten minutes. [quote]Jacob - I appreciate your candidness. I have yet to ever fail a student over missing tests/quizzes. I draw a hard line over them to make sure I get them back. I want them back so they are not in circulation year after year. I don't always use the exact same test because I tend to change my mind a lot. However, if, due to time constraints, I needed to use the exact same test I would like to do so without thinking that students had a copy of it in their possession. I give them back to the students because they are meant to be a study tool. I have blast from the past on every test, and if students caught on (or listened when I pleaded with them to do so), then they would go back and review those old tests so they could do well on the current one. To put your mind at ease, you are fine with what you are missing. A lot of students didn't pay much mind to the 2nd semester government material and threw it away when we started Econ, and I more than likely have your chapter 12 test. As for the quizzes, it's quite possible you were not there that day. I actually have all of your tests/quizzes that you were going to turn in - Mrs. Palkki found them under a desk in her room and gave them to me. So no worries, while you may be slightly unorganized, I don't believe you are maliciously withholding anything to pass on to future students of mine. Your grade stands as is and please show up to take the final :)[/quote]You could imagine how good I felt. So, have YOU dodged a bullet today?