Is it just here, or is every school like this?

[shadowstriker86]

Ok, so last week i got food poisoning, and was out of commission for 5 days, 2 of those being school days (i go to pasadena city college at the moment, hoping to xfer over to azusa pacific) and on the 2nd day i had an assignment due for my political science class (which the assaginment literally stated if not turned in you will not pass the course) since the teacher only accepts it in paper and everyone i knew i couldn't get a hold of, so today i ask if i could make it up and she said "no, too bad, unless you can show me proof that you were sick." Well what the hell was i supposed to do? Dig up my septic tank? Anyway i go to the office to drop the class and they say its too late, i ask why, and they say that's just the way it is. So i call up several people including the dean to the school and they all say the same thing. Only thing i could find was a petition to have my grade changed from a d/f to a "w", which means withdrawn from the class and no grade and im praying the change is made. Has anyone else had to go through some jackassery like this or am i just having a really bad week?

 

[chefassassin2]

Yup. A couple years ago, I was taking my ServSafe and food health exam class. I was on my way to the final test, when I got in a car accident. I didn't go to the hospital right away, as I wanted to make sure that I was able to tell the teacher I was in an accident and would need to make up the test. So I went in and talked to her, bleeding from my face, head, chest, and arms, mind you. She basically said I was screwed, but gave me the class schedule for the next quarter. After much dicking around, the school finally let me take the exam and pass without having to take the whole damn class over again.

 

[Epifols]

Yup. A couple years ago, I was taking my ServSafe and food health exam class. I was on my way to the final test, when I got in a car accident. I didn't go to the hospital right away, as I wanted to make sure that I was able to tell the teacher I was in an accident and would need to make up the test. So I went in and talked to her, bleeding from my face, head, chest, and arms, mind you. She basically said I was screwed, but gave me the class schedule for the next quarter. After much dicking around, the school finally let me take the exam and pass without having to take the whole damn class over again.

My dad broke one of his professor's nose when they gave him some bs like that...

 

[Taniquel]

Yep, that is college. I had food poisoning and had to make a trip up to campus to take a final (the teacher said no make ups). I was actually running to the bathroom during the exam and still the teacher wouldn't let me come back on the make-up day a week later.

Teachers hear so many BS excuses from other students that they rarely believe the real ones. I guess they think that this prepares us for the jobs that we are supposed to be getting.

I think you should just take the W and retake the class later, hopefully with a different teacher. Next time, go and turn in the assignment with a puke-bowl in the other hand.

 

[Kellerb]

yeah, all schools are political law bastards. it really grates ones nerves.

 

[Odude]

Yep, it's like that everywhere. Last semester my electronic circuit theory teach actually let me take a make-up test because the day of the actual test I threw up in a trash can 10 sec after entering the class. He gave me lots of time to make it up too.

I've never been that lucky in any of my other classes though.

 

[pantsoffdanceoff]

That is why you need to barf into plastic bags and put them into a special fridge. For either A) as proof, or B) A super good prank. Win-Win.

 

[Bigeyez]

I'm sorry but your teacher is right. You knew the deadline ahead of time. You were sick for 5 days, thats plenty of time to get a hold of someone who could have turned in your paper for you. You could have at the very least contacted your teacher through email/phone/fax/whatever.

Seems harsh but at a real job you get fired for missing deadlines. Saying "oh I'm sick" won't get you much sympathy at most real jobs.

 

[chefassassin2]

My dad broke one of his professor's nose when they gave him some bs like that...

I was tempted to, but my punching-arm shoulder was hurting way too badly.

Seems harsh but at a real job you get fired for missing deadlines. Saying "oh I'm sick" won't get you much sympathy at most real jobs.

I agree, but if one of my crew is sick, I won't have any sympathy for them, but I will send them home and make sure when they're feeling better that they get put on potato duty for at least one day, 2 or more if I think it was BS. But I also work in hospitality, so gastro-intestinal stuff is treated with a little more caution than other jobs.

 

[AlexTheBucket2112]

Damn. I have to deal with this sh*t in about 2-3 years.

 

[Captain Pancake]

that sounds crap man. one just hopes they can experience how you felt, as punishment for their naivety and complete lack of intelligence that one thinks is a staple requirement of such a profession...

 

[shadowstriker86]

I'm sorry but your teacher is right. You knew the deadline ahead of time. You were sick for 5 days, thats plenty of time to get a hold of someone who could have turned in your paper for you. You could have at the very least contacted your teacher through email/phone/fax/whatever.

Seems harsh but at a real job you get fired for missing deadlines. Saying "oh I'm sick" won't get you much sympathy at most real jobs.

ive actually had several jobs and never got fired for being sick. even when i was in the military i didnt get into trouble, just sent to sick bay and got made fun of for 3 weeks for getting sick

 

[Kriptonite]

That is why you need to barf into plastic bags and put them into a special fridge. For either A) as proof, or B) A super good prank. Win-Win.

Pure Win. Anyway, nothing here...yet. I still have plenty of years to deal with school's jack-assery.

 

[Bigeyez]

I'm sorry but your teacher is right. You knew the deadline ahead of time. You were sick for 5 days, thats plenty of time to get a hold of someone who could have turned in your paper for you. You could have at the very least contacted your teacher through email/phone/fax/whatever.

Seems harsh but at a real job you get fired for missing deadlines. Saying "oh I'm sick" won't get you much sympathy at most real jobs.

ive actually had several jobs and never got fired for being sick. even when i was in the military i didnt get into trouble, just sent to sick bay and got made fun of for 3 weeks for getting sick

It's not the fact that you got sick. Everyone does. From what you wrote in your post however you got sick for 5 days, didn't attempt at contacting your teacher, never tried to at least turn in your paper via another method, and couldn't (or didn't try hard enough) get someone to turn your paper in for you.

I've been in similar situations and most teachers are willing to work with you if you at least let them know whats happening. Same applies for any job.

 

[megapenguinx]

You might just be having a bad week. Most schools have a day which is the deadline to drop the class. It's just the way it is, and I guess the proof he/she was looking for would have been a doctor's note.

 

[Deleted]

In high school in Gym if you miss ten days you fail, bzzt like that.

Well I broke my leg and missed 9 days. The last day I come and I don't do anything (the activity was football), I wasn't changed either because I can't fit my cast through my shorts so the teacher considered it an absence and flunked me.

I got to take it the semester after, and had to take math online. If I find that teacher outside I swear I'm gonna.... say bad things to him.

 

[Julianking93]

Last year, I almost was held back because my fatass computer tech teacher lost my papers for the entire quarter, along with 4 other people's papers, then he tried to fail us all and say that we never turned them in.

This would have held me back because it was a class I decided to take as a major arts class, so in order to make it to Sophomore year, I had to pass it.

So, when my teacher told this to my mother, she demanded to speak with the principal. He wouldn't let her and said that it wouldn't do any good. Then, she did the coolest fucking thing ever.

She punched him in the face and broke his nose. After seeing the tapes (yes my old school had to have security cameras in each class) the principal sided with my mom, let me pass through to the next year, and fired the other teacher. Turned out it wasn't the first time.

 

[OnTheRocks]

I'm sorry but your teacher is right. You knew the deadline ahead of time. You were sick for 5 days, thats plenty of time to get a hold of someone who could have turned in your paper for you. You could have at the very least contacted your teacher through email/phone/fax/whatever.

Seems harsh but at a real job you get fired for missing deadlines. Saying "oh I'm sick" won't get you much sympathy at most real jobs.

ive actually had several jobs and never got fired for being sick. even when i was in the military i didnt get into trouble, just sent to sick bay and got made fun of for 3 weeks for getting sick

It's not the fact that you got sick. Everyone does. From what you wrote in your post however you got sick for 5 days, didn't attempt at contacting your teacher, never tried to at least turn in your paper via another method, and couldn't (or didn't try hard enough) get someone to turn your paper in for you.

I've been in similar situations and most teachers are willing to work with you if you at least let them know whats happening. Same applies for any job.

Totally true. Speaking as someone who's both taken many college classes and TAed for three years, you have no excuse. It's the age of communication, and email can work wonders. If you left the assignment until last minute and then got sick before you could do it, too bad, plan better next time. Besides, if you're far enough into the class that large make-or-break assignments are coming due, it's rightfully too late to drop the class. (It keeps people from slacking off all semester and getting an "out.")

Take the W and retake the class later. It won't look good on your transcript, though, especially if you're looking to transfer schools. Taking a W is pretty easy, I did it once in a karate class when I broke my foot and couldn't finish the course. Just know that the W will be a black spot that you'll have to explain if you ever want to get an advanced degree, etc.

Shit does happen in college though. I once slept through all but the last 5 minutes of a final because of a power outage at my dorm. Luckily the prof was nice and let me go home, shower, change and brush my teeth before coming back and taking the exam in her office. Even then, it was only doable because the professor knew me and was sure that I was honest because I'd never missed a day of class. Even more fun story: right after I graduated from high school my university rescinded my admission because some admin employee misread my transcript. Took 90 minutes of yelling over the phone before I got it straightened out.

 

[Good morning blues]

Sorry, OP, but you only have yourself to blame. You were explicitly told that the paper couldn't be late, and what did you do? You failed to get proof that you were indeed too sick to write it, and tried to skate by with an after-the-fact verbal assurance. It sucks, but it's hardly something that you couldn't anticipate.

EDIT: So to answer the question posed by the thread title, yes, every school that is even remotely reputable and which offers certifications and degrees that are worth the paper they're printed on is like this.