Today, I sent an email to my teacher asking if a source was a primary source, he replied yes. I got my grade back for my essay and it was worse than I expected. My teacher said it was because I didn't use a primary source. I showed him the email, to which he replied, "Well, I was wrong in the email." FML
Collection
Halloween
A failed costume, stolen candy and a very real scare: Halloween, the one night when fear is allowed.
Today, I had my teacher look over my essay before turning it in. He said it was extremely well-written, so I handed it in. When I got it back, the feedback he left said it was one of the worst essays he'd ever read. FML
Today, I lost a grade on an essay, because according to my teacher, I put much more detail into my analytical essay than I should have. FML
Today, my teacher marked a test question wrong, even though I was sure I got it right, so I went online to check. I found a government-approved website showing proof that my answer was correct. My teacher still counted it wrong, because, "We follow the book." That book's older than I am. FML
Today, I got back the essay I wrote about how my country's education system is fucked. At one point, I made a spelling mistake. My teacher wrote a note about it, basically calling me illiterate, and telling me to pay attention in school instead of whining about it. She misspelled "school". FML
Today, I met my teacher after school to talk about a paper on which he gave me a low grade. I told him that I felt it was wrongly graded and he agreed. He lowered my score. FML
Today, I turned in an essay after staying up late to work on it. I was away when the teacher assigned it, so I'd asked my friend what the subject was. It transpires that she'd given me the wrong one, all because she was mad at me for not returning her pencil. FML
Today, I received a terrible grade for an essay I worked really hard on. I had two friends, one being an English major, check it over. However, apparently I "clearly didn't use spellcheck" on this essay just like the last one I submitted to her. FML
Today, after finishing a huge French essay, I realized my printer wasn't working. So, I emailed it to a guy in my class to print and then give to me. When I get to French, he said he had already turned his in early and never got my email. It turned out he used mine. I got an F on the essay. FML
Today, I asked my professor what happened to the assignment I gave him several weeks ago. Turns out he lost it, and graded me zero as a result. Now if I want a mark, he says I'll have to hand-write it all over again, but that I "probably shouldn't bother," because it was "a bit shit, really." FML
Today, my English professor bragged to my entire class about how good my essay was. He kept on saying great things about it for the duration of class. To my surprise, he'd given me a C-. When I asked why, his only response was: "I'm a hard grader." FML
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Top comments
ilovesoccer1610 31
You should talk to the principal
Peacelove0404 26
He shouldn't be taking points off of your grade for his own mistake. That doesn't seem fair
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Comments (80)
StaticCode 12
Didn't he say the source was primary? And you didn't use a primary source? I'm confused about this.
Levvy 22
The student showed the teacher a source. The teacher mistakenly said it was a primary one, then took points off for not using a primary source when the student trusted that to be true and used it. Hopefully that helps.
videogames4life 10
you should talk to someone higher in charge like the principal or someone in higher position than your teacher. also, make sure you don't take your teacher's word once next time
amb27 7
I've had this before, it's really shitty. For my essay we had to have a certain amount of sources to reference and I asked my teacher if I had enough, and she said that I did. When I got the essay back I got a shit mark and she told me that I hadn't used enough sources. Such a joke. At least you have the email proving her wrong, I'd definitely go to your principal or whoever and complain.
vegantreegirl 26
If you're in high school or younger have your parent call in and speak to the principal. They will take parents more seriously than students. If you're in college then speak with the department head. Show the email as proof.
MadJessTic 29
Never believe what your teachers tell you!
Whovian42_fml 14
Wow, some really shocking examples of bad teachers in these comments. Your teacher's mistake should not reflect on your grade as he steered you wrong, definitely go further up the chain with your evidence. Hopefully the teacher doesn't take it out on you for calling out his mistake though.
JessicaGrewal 22
I hope you said something back. You do not deserve to lose points when the teacher is at fault.
Rose0Madder 14
I'm not sure if anyone else has told you this, but a primary source is written by somebody who lived through whatever event you're reading about. Let's say you're writing about the Holocaust. The diary of Anne Frank would be a primary source. News articles from that time would be a primary source. Speeches would be a primary source. A secondary source is written about that time period, by someone who didn't live through it.
KayleeFrye 39
Definitely unfair. I'm a teacher, and I've made mistakes, too. But I would never hold it against my student's grade, especially if they had my mistake in writing. Making the original mistake in his email does not make him a bad teacher. Teachers are human and screw up, too. But penalizing you was beyond unfair! He should have changed your grade, since you did what he told you to in the email. If you were my student, I would change your grade if it was my mistake, not yours.