My daughter got a D on her homework - the teacher said she made it up

"She was just trying to do the assignment without humiliating herself in front of the class."

A mum has expressed fury that her daughter was given a D on her homework because the teacher thought she'd made it up.

The mum writes, "My daughter Ines is in year 8. I am a single parent who is barely getting by. We can't afford activities like trips overseas, dances, etc. I told Ines this, and she understands we can't afford it.

"I got called in to talk to her English teacher over a paper she wrote last month. The prompt was, 'What did I do on the holidays?'"

The daughter couldn't travel anywhere exotic like her classmates; she spent the holidays going to work with her mum. So, instead of writing about that, she used her imagination.

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"She got a D"

The mum continues, "She wrote a short fiction story instead of the paper her teacher wanted. She got a D.

"I told her that she can’t submit short stories instead of homework, so she deserves that poor grade. But Ines said that she had nothing to work with."

After some back-and-forth, she was awarded a C, but her mother still grounded her until she could raise her grades. 

"Ines is upset and won’t speak to me. I had another meeting with a school counsellor who suggested I'm being too harsh on her and should encourage her to write more., not punish her."

The mum ends her post by saying: "My problem is that Ines doesn't listen to me or her teachers and acts like she's living in that dimension in her stories. That's not how the real world works."

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You are the a**hole

She asked Reddit, "AITA"? With almost three thousand comments, the internet said YES! 

"Coming from someone who has worked in education for 15 years: I would schedule a meeting with the teacher to better understand your daughter's grade and ask about this assignment, specifically," the top commenter writes."

"If your daughter is PERFORMING at grade level and not missing assignments, then the teacher is a bit over the top. I don't understand how a D is possible if she is a good writer. I think this is an opportunity for you to advocate for your child in a positive way and show her you care."

Another wrote: "You should advocate for your daughter. She needs you in a world full of criticism, and rather than be there for her, you've added to her burden. At least if you attempt to talk to the teacher, she knows you're on her side." 

Image: iStock

A third wondered if the teacher would prefer this version, "Honestly, would the teacher have given her an A if she had written 'I spent this Spring Break at home and joining my mum at work?' No, right? This is a stupid theme because some people don't have enough going on in their lives to write a whole essay on what they did during the break."

While this person agreed with the teacher, but not the mother: "Yeah, Ines didn't do the assignment correctly. Maybe her D was warranted. But what I think is making you an AH is Ines is expressing some creativity here, and you’re completely ignoring it. You have an opportunity to support her, and you’re doing nothing.

" I get not calling the teacher. I don't get grounding her. She wrote the short story because she was embarrassed about the truth; her break was uneventful compared to her peers.

"That's no one's fault, to be clear-- you're doing your best, and no one can blame you for that-- but it is kind of part and parcel of being in Year 8, particularly when your classmates are of significantly higher socioeconomic status than yourself."

Originally published as My daughter got a D on her homework - the teacher said she made it up