Please note this is all a rumor at this point. I emailed the principal of the school to get clarrification, but if this were true what would you do?
My daughter is running for home room rep in the fifth grade. It appears that she is the only person in her class who completed the required form by the deadline. One of the other girls in her class went to the coordinator of the election and got permission to run, despite the fact that she didn't meet the deadline. The elections for the entire school were yesterday, but they didn't happen in my daughters class to accomodate this other little girl. The fifth grade elections are now scheduled for friday.
Here is where it get interesting. The sixth grade class only had one person running. Several students in the class complained and wanted an extention. The homeroom teacher said no. She told them if they wanted to run they should have met the deadline. The rules are the rules for a reason.
Which teacher was right? What do you think the school should do now?
PLEASE NOTE -- There was never an offer to extend the deadline in 5th grade. It appears (however this is a rumor) that an exception was made for one specific girl. There were other children in the class who wanted to run, but didn't make the deadline. They didn't cry to the teacher, so no exception was considered for them, nor did the adults make a genera offer to extend the deadline for everyone. I did said to my daughter that is was possible that there was a "good reason" for the paper work being late , such as an illness or a parent traveling. The problem with the exception, was if you are going to extend for one you should extend for all -- or provide some explanation.
First, this is a catholic school. Not sure if that matters to anyone.
Second, I heard back from the the principal and was simply told that my daughter is running single slated, which I think means unopposed. So I guess they aren't making an exception. I think they may have had a revolt on their hands in the 6th grade if they had made an exception. The 6th grade was by far the bigger issue.
If there is a deadline it should be met.
I agree with the 6th grade home room teacher.
They have to learn about deadlines and consequences now, because when you are applying to colleges, the rules are the rules... if you don't submit the application on time, you aren't going to be accepted.
LBC
I think each teacher has the authority to decide what to do on the matter. The 2 teachers made different decisions, that's just the way it goes. I can understand the reasoning behind each decision. Your daughter has to respect and abide by what her own teacher has decided. I don't think the school should do anything. I would tell my daughter that. It's unfortunate for her, but personally, I don't think making arguing against her teacher's decision is going to be to her advantage. A little competition for room rep isn't such a bad thing, I would go with the flow, hope for the best. If she loses the election, that's just the way it goes sometimes (but I hope she wins). Good luck!
I would first go to the principal, without accusation, and ask for a clarification of the situation.
If your information is correct, I would ask him/her if it seems like a fair situation to him/her.
I personally think there should not be an extension at all, for anyone. Deadlines are deadlines for a reason, and this sends a poor message to the kids - kids are too coddled these days to begin with, and extended the deadline just because some did not meet it is just playing into a bad work ethic.
Best of luck to your daughter and you. Just be careful not to make too big a deal out of it, that she becomes a victim of the situation. She did the right thing.
vote on whether or not to have an extension. 1 week only. whole school vote.
I think Rules are rules....and there should not have been an extension.....but my guess is that the principal will state that it is up to each teacher. So, I doubt that you will win this one......
Let's just hope the other girl loses and it teaches her that there are rules to live by and you don't always get what you want.....
I would talk to the teacher and ask her why she made this exception, if this is true......
Good Luck and take care. Also, use this as a lesson for you child.....sometimes people do things that are not correct, thus hurting the other people that they may not think is affected....so when you set a deadline, hold to it.....and you can also teach her that some people take care of the people they like....not saying the teacher prefers the other child, but that she did this for a reason.........
the problem here is the classic tension between parents and schools. parents want what's 'fair' for their child regardless, the school has the larger picture to deal with.
i also think that teachers are like states, they should have some degree of autonomy to make decisions as they see fit. we're not privy to the behind-the-scenes stories here. for the most part i do think rules should be stuck to, but not with zero wiggle room. it may well be that the 5th grade teacher felt that bending the rules was okay in order to have a real election. it's nice for the child running unopposed to have an easy win, but certainly better for the community at large to have a choice. the 6th grade teacher had a different focus, demonstrating the importance of deadlines, also an important community issue. neither teacher is 'right' or 'wrong', they're both approaching the same problem from different perspectives and handling it well.
but parents naturally see things solely from their child's perspective and cry foul whenever the greater good doesn't benefit their own children.
i think the school should back the teachers and let each one run their classroom as they see fit. they're the generals with boots on the ground.
khairete
S.
They may of had a reason to allow her to run past the deadline like maybe she was out sick on the day of the deadline? I think rules are rules but with most things, there are case by case exceptions.
I think it's fine to ask why she was allowed to run past the deadline but try not to make a huge deal about it. You don't want it to get out and your daughter lose over it.
They should stick to the rules. They are there for a reason, it's not a huge deal becasue it's a elem school class election but this is a process they are trying to teach the kids so I say stick with the rules.
I think the 6th grade teacher was correct. After all, are schools always stressing the rules and the need to follow them? However, I don't know why they would extend your daughter's class election if she is running unopposed...unless they originally intended to make that exception. Good call on their part.
"The rules are the rules for a reason" this is true-it is often difficult to learn to be deadline oriented-but I think elementary school is a good place to start- if not sooner. The children, your daughter and the sixth grade girl ran unopposed-period.
I'm a stickler for the rules and this would not sit well with me either. My question to the teacher if this was true would be, "How does this teach the kids that they need to follow the rules? How does this help her later on in her academic career or in life that it's okay to miss a deadline?"
I understand it is most likely the teacher's choice to bend the rules, but I think it is wrong. It teaches the other kids in class that some people get special treatment while others have to follow the rules.
I'm not even a stickler for rules all the time, but people need to be taught to meet deadlines. That's a problem in our society and at work these days. They should have had their forms in unless they have a doctor's excuse. Do it on time, or too bad!
Rules are rules but now because of the exception that was made for 5th grade they must make an amendment to the rules. Maybe let the person who is joining the race late make a speech to the class pleading his/her reasons for the late decision to run.
They need to try harder to make sure each teacher understands the reason for the rules and maybe next year no late entries.
