I go to a private Christian school. Still, do have translator services for a lot of other languages but my parents speak a not so common language in our area.
If you mean the pass§/fail(F) option It is too late to that now since the final exam had already been given and my grade is being finalized. If I withdraw-pass now I will not be able to take it second semester. I would have to replace it with an elective course.
So what should I do?
You are missing the whole point.
What you need to do is get your parents down to the administration office and have them park their non-English speaking butts in a chair and not move until the school gets someone in there that can bridge the communication gap. If the situation is as you say it is, there is no reason that the school should not be flexible in giving a make-up exam. However, this is not something that should fall upon your 17 y/o shoulders alone. The fact that it is a private school means that your parents or somebody is actually paying a boatload of money for your education, which makes this situation inexcusable.
Well of course this was a question that came up before I started high school during registration for 9th grade in which my parents came too. They said that if I was really sick I can just go the doctors and have him write a note, then a bring the note to the office and it will be marked as excused. However, all I had was the cold and going to the doctor wasn’t necessary. The funny part is that the times that I have been sick, the teachers usually let me make it up(probably because they didn’t have the time to check or didn’t care but I have this strict Spanish teacher that actually did check!) I explained everything to the Spanish teacher who hates me but she still said no and said that I am always late and never bring my materials to class so I don’t deserve it. My parents are probably not going to come anyways and even if they do, no English what will they do?
The deadline to drop a class is probably tomorrow(Weekday) since the guidance counselor might not be here on Thursday and there is no school on Friday. I have to make a decision now. I’ll check this thread during lunch which is the only time I can use my phone.
I know for a fact that a WP is better than a C-. The fact that I had to take a 3 year break from Spanish really makes it a touch decision since it might look like I had gotten a D instead and was too scared of failing second semester.
WP or keep the C-? Please I really need an answer.
Correct. Since you know that, and you’re unwilling to take the advice to get your parents involved, I’m not sure what you want anybody else to say.
My mom doesn’t have work today so I will try to have her come today after school. I’ll give it a shot I guess. In the event that they still say no and I am stuck with a C-, then should I drop?
So I got both my parents to come with me(my dad knows little English but better than my mom). I tried explaining everything(again) and they still said things I already have heard and knew. They said that they don’t have the power to force a teacher to give me a make-up because the teacher didn’t violate anything. Then I took my parents to the Spanish teacher and she still refused to give me a makeup. I’ve done everything I could but to no avail.
So now what do I do? Do I keep on fighting, hire a lawyer?
There is no doubt that I will get a C-, I have done everything I could. Grades are being finalized. Do I drop the class? I have never dropped a class before so I’m scared that colleges will think I must have barely passed and think that I would have done badly second semester.
So should I drop the class?
Still haven’t made my decision yet. I can still ask to drop the class tomorrow. I’m stuck with a C- and I have done everything I could(I even begged). Should I keep or drop the class and get a WP? If I drop I will have to replace it with an elective.
Here’s what my schedule would look like if I dropped.
Environmental Science
AP Physics
AP Lit
Calc 1 (taken at a local university for dual enrollment)
Basic Interview Skills (taken at a local university for dual enrollment)
Library Media
Peer Tutoring Or Sociology ---- Not sure which to take but Peer Tutoring is an easy A so…
I decided not to drop it even though I got a C-. I feel like it would be such a waste to drop it with all the hard work I had to done already. I know I will get either an A or B next semester(honestly I’ll likely get senoritis and end up with a B since colleges won’t really care if I get either an A or B). I definitely won’t be getting a C again now that I am more aware of all the rules.
I am still ambivalent about my decision though. It still isn’t too late to drop it as long as I tell my GC in the morning on Monday. Did I make the right decision?
You did made the right decision. Sometimes I go say to myself, “what if I didn’t drop General biology” I was doing so good. I didn’t do so well on the first exam, but my grade went up so high on the second exam. I ended up dropping and till this day I regret my decision of why I dropped it.
Where in all these posts is the idea of learning (and specifically, learning) Spanish? Sometimes I wonder if the majority of students don’t “get” what education is all about. I will admit this is frustrating to me. And sadly, the same mentality has infiltrated the college community too. Some colleges are now just grades 13-16.
I am not naive. I get it. I can visualize the string of posts reminding me that students are under pressure and that taking a pragmatic approach to education is a necessity blah blah blah. But where the heck is the idea that school involves education and learning. It has been lost.
But I am not willing to give up yet. So let’s revisit what education is all about.
First, the mentality usually expressed. Students select courses with an eye towards which courses they can get the grades they want in, in order to qualify for professional schools. Their selection of classes is based on which courses have tests they can ace (or whatever). They choose courses in high school with the same thing in mind. They study the material they think will be on the tests. The closer they can get to studying only the exact material that will be on the test, the better off they think they are. This attitude is now ubiquitous. Teachers now give students information about exactly what is on the test-even when the test will exclude important information. And students are now instructed about how to nail the tests (instead of learn material).
The mentality is -ss backwards. Education is about learning so that the next generation is prepared to run the world and contribute to the evolution of civilization. The material to be learned is divided up into “courses” because it is easiest to ensure that necessary material is taught by instructors who are experts in each topic if the topics are separated into classes. Instructors prepare material to be learned with the expectation that learning the necessary material can be most efficiently accomplished if experts guide students. But the idea is that students are the learners. They are responsible for mastery with the help of teachers. The expectation is that the student will be motivated to master the material at the highest level possible because they will need the information and material to function at the highest level as possible (both in general terms and pertaining to vocational choices). But how can we be sure that students have mastered material. Well, we can use assessments designed to measure the extent to which each student has mastered the necessary material. That is the original purpose of assessment-not to order students and not to serve as gate keepers. The idea is that students master the material. That is the focus. The assessment is usually simply a small sampling of the to-be-learned material. The results of assessment would provide information to the instructor about whether the instructor can assume the students know the material or not. Knowing material is the goal.
Colleges set minimal requirements because they believe that students should be knowledgeable about those topics. That is the order. A minimal amount of knowledge in certain topics sets the stage for acquiring knowledge at a higher level when students get to the college. Number of years serves as proxy for level of knowledge but the point is that colleges want students to already have mastered certain topics at a certain level.
So the reasoning goes in this direction- 1st…NUMBER 1: certain material is deemed important to be learned. That material forms the foundation for the program of study. To ensure students have mastered that material, tests or other strategies are used to quantify the level of mastery of the to-be learned material. Students should aim at mastering the material at the highest level possible since the material will contribute to the student’s (and to the entire cohort’s) ability to run the world i(or be a decent doctor or build a bridge or help make peace with other countries) in the future. If students have mastered the material, it should not matter what form of assessment is used. Mastery will lead to an outcome on tests that reflect mastery. Get the order? Education has been so corrupted students no longer even think about the topics they are learning about. It is sad! Did you learn any Spanish?
Why the rant? Because so many CC posts are about gaming education to create appearances that colleges will find appealing. I think it is a deadly turn and a total corruption of what education is all about. Do you want to learn Spanish? Will learning Spanish be valuable to you in your life? If so, take it.
@lostaccount
I do agree on what you are saying and I wish it was that way. However, getting accepted to a good college is really important and doing whatever it takes to have your app be most appealing is necessary unfortunately. I honestly only took Spanish 3 since I knew that if I had gotten at least a B it would look good to colleges. I don’t really care or want to learn Spanish and in my area no one speaks Spanish. I don’t think I will ever use Spanish again after I am done with high school and will eventually forget everything. I am going to take Chinese in college.
That is why I am still ambivalent about my choice to keep it. I am scared if I drop Spanish 3 then my second semester won’t look as rigorous and also most colleges want to see 3 years of a FL(as long as you don’t get anything lower than a B…)
On the other hand, my GPA will drop a little and there will be the C- on my transcript.
So today, I sort of lost my temper when my Spanish teacher gave me my final report card and I saw that C-. I actually ended up with an A- in Environmental Science so I had all A’s in EVERY class but Spanish so I was pretty mad that I was so close to perfect…
After a pretty heated argument, my guidance counselor deemed it be best(due to the really hostile atmosphere between me and my Spanish teacher) if I get a different Spanish 3 teacher since there are like 4 teachers that teach Spanish 3.
That is great and all but I still will have that C- on my transcript. The good news is that I get to take Spanish 3 next semester with a way nicer and less strict teacher so I will actually have fun taking Spanish 3.
Still, I am still ambivalent on my decision on not to dropping Spanish 3 due to the fact that getting a WP is better than having a C- wreck my GPA.
Also, I might be paranoid about this but on my midyear report, the school sends out my full year schedule(which lists all of my teachers names) to colleges. What will colleges think when they see a different Spanish 3 teacher second semester than first semester?
Sorry for being obnoxious and continuing on with this topic, but I am having sleepless nights because of this and I am just way too paranoid because I still don’t know if I made the right decision because of the very fact that a WP is better than C-. Am I still making the right decision by not dropping? I have until the end of the week to drop the class though I won’t be able to pick what class to replace it with.
Colleges don’t have time to check teachers’ names and why there’s one then another name.
That C- in one semester won’t matter for some colleges and will not be horrible at others.
What colleges are you applying to/did you apply to finally?
Did you run the Net Price Calculators?
(If not: what’s your EFC? Do you need 100% need met or do you need merit aid?)
Now, you handled this poorly. It’s not entirely your fault, because you’re only 17, but if ever this happens - and it WILL - when you’re in college.
1° you or a parent email the instructor at their school email address to explain you’re ill and won’t be coming in.
2° even if it’s just a cold with a fever you go to the doctor’s/health center and get a note
3° when you return to class, you immediately bring your note (waiting for the instructor, being in the classroom before they arrive) and say you’d be gratefu
You also mention being late/losing material and it seems you’ve been disorganized or “all over the place”: have you been diagnosed for ADD or Executive Functioning? It may be unrelated, but maybe not. Please do that while in HS (it should be free) because if you wait it’ll cost a LOT of money.
I haven’t applied to any colleges yet, almost done with my application and I am going to submit them by January 15.
So considering the fact that the semester ended, the C- will be on my transcript that I send with my application. So it will affect my GPA unless I WP. That is why I am still not sure if I made the right decision on keeping the class. I will be mentioning on the additional info on why I got the C- so maybe colleges will forgive me? I also had that 3 year gap so they can’t really expect that I would have gotten an A.
Yes I ran the Net price calculators and other money related stuff. No I don’t have ADD or any disability/disorder.
Don’t do that; it is highly unlikely that your explanation will come off as anything but whiny. If you feel that it is really important to be a part of your application, your GC should include it on his/her report.
Okay I won’t. Should I still mention why I had to quit Chinese after taking Chinese 1 sophomore year since the school district budget cuts were something I had no control over? I don’t want colleges to think I am a quitter and procrastinator (ie. taking a 3 year gap from Spanish).
Again, let the GC handle that. The additional info section should be used to highlight/expand upon any particularly noteworthy accomplishments, not to make excuses.
@skieurope
What If my GC won’t mention it? I asked her and she said that I should be fine and there is no need for her to mention it in her report or LOR. Is she right?
But won’t colleges wonder why I stopped after Chinese 1(though I got an A both semesters) and why I took a 3 year gap from Spanish? I guess colleges will understand that I was probably going to not do well in Spanish 3 anyways so maybe colleges will just infer and guess?
If your GC won’t do it, then your additional information should state:
Due to budget cuts, the language program, including all Chinese classes, was cut from our school. Therefore, I couldn’t take Chinese at all after taking Chinese1.
Some colleges don’t even look at 12th grade results, only what classes you took (curriculum rigor) and that you’re not getting a D or F (you’re not).