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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Afterschool Detention Wrongly given?

132 replies

cazbate · 05/03/2015 17:55

yesterday my son was supposed to give in a homework that had to be done on a computer. my printer has no ink and the library was closed and others were broke.hes doing his GCSEs had he didn't have time to run about trying to print it of. he did not have the teacher that day and he had to give it in in his own time. he went in the morning and she wasn't there. at the end of the day she sent a student to collect them. someone gave it in and he told the teacher his just needed to be printed. he was off on the day it was given so he had to Wednesday as it was supposed to b for Tuesday. if it wasn't in for Tuesday it was a lunch time detention. not in for the nextr day it was an afterschool. he even reminded her twice that his was for Wednesday. in the letter she sent it said the deadline was Tuesday. the others didn't give it on Tuesday so they wud get an after school but Wednesday was my deadline. today he got told I have an afterschool detention. but he had it. the teacher said where was his and showed her the USB stick and said he just needed to print it off. she wrote that down and the student left. why is he getting an afterschool detention. he could not get it printed of. what was he supposed to do. he does have other much more important subjects to deal with (the homework was for journalism and he missed a bit of maths and biology to deal with this.)

OP posts:
PatriciaHolm · 05/03/2015 18:44

Still not entirely sure what happened, but it sounds pretty much fine. He didn't have the homework printed out and given in on time. He needs to learn to be more organised, think of other ways of getting things done, rather than just saying well this didn't work so not my fault...

Ultimately even if circumstances conspired against him somewhat, he didn't deliver. Leave him to deal with the consequences.

Fugacity · 05/03/2015 18:46

He needs to suck it up.

Hakluyt · 05/03/2015 18:46

Attachments aren't working? Hmm

balletgirlmum · 05/03/2015 18:48

We don't have printing facilities at home.

Homework is handed in on a USB or emailed or handwritten. I would be livid if my child had a detention for not having access to a printer.

WaxOnWaxOff · 05/03/2015 18:48

He missed a deadline, and with all his faffing around he then also missed 2 other bits of homework, according to your OP.

A bit of a chat with him about his time management might be better than bemoaning the fact he got a detention.

pilates · 05/03/2015 18:49

YABU

PatriciaHolm · 05/03/2015 18:49

He could still have sent her an email explaining on weds.

What it comes down to, I expect, is his teacher feeling he hasn't made enough effort to sort things out. He could have emailed her, gone in early to print things out, not relied on what someone else told him about the printer, even used a local library possibly. If she felt he had really made a significant effort, maybe he would have been excused. He didn't, so detention it is. And he is way too old for you to be getting involved in this kind of minutae!

Original poster
cazbate · 05/03/2015 18:50

he attempted well over 7 times to fix this problem. he left class a couple time to get it printed. the teacher he had could have allowed him to print it. 2 days what not enough for him to get it finished and printed on time. could she not have took the USB and saved a copy onto her computer? He could not print it after several attempts.

OP posts:
Fugacity · 05/03/2015 18:50

He could always hand-write it.

PatriciaHolm · 05/03/2015 18:52

OP: AIBU?

MN; YES!!

OP: No I'm not I'm right and these are all the spurious reasons why!!!

bangs head against wall

Koalafications · 05/03/2015 18:52

OP: AIBU?

Everyone on the thread: Yes, YABU

OP: Noooooo I'm not!

Why bother?!

Koalafications · 05/03/2015 18:53

Grin x-post Patricia

Charlie97 · 05/03/2015 18:53

Do you have ink for your home computer now....might save a headache!

2fedup · 05/03/2015 18:54

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

FarFromAnyRoad · 05/03/2015 18:54

Well he's not been given the death sentence has he? Or life imprisonment. It's a detention. Why are you even involved in this - how old is he? How far are you going to take this because - well - you do know we can't actually do anything about it for you. You know that right?

BalloonSlayer · 05/03/2015 18:54

Good luck with the journalism !

fourcorneredcircle · 05/03/2015 18:55

YABU - the teacher would probably have accepted an email copy (Of course, only now are you saying attachments aren't working... does he say this? I suggest he tries explorer or firefox rather than google chrome - which doesn't always work very well behind school firewalls) and he looked for her twice... by 'looked' he probably means he went to her room, looked through the door and then wandered off again. Probably didn't go to reception, work room, staff room or wherever would be a sensible place to look - so many students do this, it's unreal. School is about learning for real life, as others have said this excuse won't wash in the work place.

ilovesooty · 05/03/2015 18:55

You only have his word for it that all these seemingly impossible situations happened.
"Attachments aren't working"? I don't believe it quite frankly.

meditrina · 05/03/2015 18:57

"he left class a couple time to get it printed"

There were no functioning printers anywhere in the school?

Original poster
cazbate · 05/03/2015 18:58

PatriciaHolm:

he did go in early to print it out. he has others classes to deal with than having to constantly leave class to sort out this homework. I think the work that he has done should trump the fact that he couldn't find a way to print it. he did try to speak with her and she wasn't there. I think he should be able to rely on a teacher. he isn't to old. this is to make the school better for the child as my son has had 2 other detentions in the same school. the 1st was because he got 8 out of 10 in a spelling test when in the last one he got 9. the other one was because the teacher had lost my son's homework book and gave my son a detention for 'not' completing it. what him and I don't understand is what is the detention for. his it because it wasn't printed or because he 'missed' a deadline. he could have printed it of there and then but the teacher didn't say anything.

OP posts:
Nomama · 05/03/2015 19:02

The point would be that despite numerous ways/times he could have handed it in, he did not and the teacher's patience ran out.

Yes, he tried. But if a degree student tried and gave up they would fail. If an A level or BTEC student tried without success, they would fail. GCSEs provide an education in How To Get On In Life, as well as the basic education.

Regardless of how unfair you think it is your DS has just learned that sometimes trying is simply not good enough. Sometimes you are required to do, not to try .

Yep, I know, sounds wrong. But if I tried to make sure all my exam entries were right I would be out of a job. My job is to ensure all exam entries are correct. A lesson many people/students need to learn!

Original poster
cazbate · 05/03/2015 19:03

for everyone making fun of me because of me being AIBU or YABU. I don't know how to work this and make a new topic I thought this is how you do it. I just didn't understand how to make a new topic. when I mean by attachments not working is they have a special email thing for emails within the school when he clicks the attach button nothing happens. they aren't allowed in the area were the staff room, reception is. i'm guessing there were more printers that worked in the school but he can't spend his entire day to print it.

OP posts:
Camolips · 05/03/2015 19:03

Hmm, are these verified facts? Seems like a lot of second-hand half-truths to me. But then I am a cynical mother of 3 'stretchers-of-facts'. Let it go. It's just a detention, not a life sentence. Possibly unfair, possibly not.

noblegiraffe · 05/03/2015 19:04

Why didn't he email her when he couldn't find her to speak with her?

Let me guess, email was broken too?

NinjaPanda34 · 05/03/2015 19:05

OFF. Printed it OFF. Sheesh!