Here is the situation. This is 6th grade. Part of their work in 6th grade English class is that they read a book and have to write a paragraph on that chapter in a notebook. This notebook is not allowed to leave the room, they put them in a basket. My son is an all A student, principal's list, Beta Club, etc.

Anyway his notebook is missing, so he has zeroes now and a C in the class. The teacher says tough crap, you lost it. I have a problem with that, if it was his notebook and he was responsible for it, I would 100% agree. You lost it, too bad. Welcome to being responsible. But he didn't own it.

I said ok, you rewrite the 13 paragraphs you have to write, but then I want you to bring it home with you and own it. The teacher says no, they aren't to leave the room. I say if that's your rule, then you own some ownership and responsibility for these notebooks. Who knows if some other kid didn't do shit and now steals someone elses? I'm willing to say my son needs to rewrite the work, but then I want him to have possession of the notebook.

Am I wrong or being unreasonable?

Penalizing your son for her negligence is not acceptable.

Just from what you have said, "Chain of custody" comes to mind. Unless it was in your son's possession 100% of the time, then he should not be penalized. Sounds like the teacher is a twit who knows they are backed into a corner and wrong but cannot back down now. I had a teacher like that growing up. Long story short, my mom and dad left footprints on her head on their way up the food chain.

I would ask the teacher if they will be investigating just who took the notebook from the classroom. I would also be telling them that I want a meeting with both them and the principal to discuss exactly why your child is being denied the ability to re-do work they clearly had done previously just because there is no security in the classroom.

If I were in your place, and I knew for sure that the notebook had been placed in the basket, I would escalate this.

You say that your son is a straight A student. I assume that this means that he has no history of failing to turn in assignments. If so, that record is ammunition for you.

Or penalizing him based upon the malficence of anothr kid is also unacceptable.

I agree with you. If the teacher won't budge it is time for you to escalate. Show your son that it is worth fighting for things that are right.

You may be right, but do not forget who will likely pay the consequences if the teacher becomes angry with you.

Things such as this happen in school as well as the workplace. As a parent with children it is important to pick your battles. You do not want to be known as a helicopter parent.
Remember it is 6th grade.

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You may be right, but do not forget who will likely pay the consequences if the teacher becomes angry with you.

Screw the teacher. If it becomes clear that there is retribution for trying to recover a grade the child already earned, it will be easy to prove. It may be late in the year, but kids can switch class when there is a clear bias against them. If they are at all a good teacher, the request to redo the missing work is reasonable. Clearly, the teacher is not being reasonable.

Speaking as a former teacher, she’s a retard.

I would not be surprised if another kid took the notebook.

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but do not forget who will likely pay the consequences if the teacher becomes angry with you.

Seems like he already is paying the price for her nonsense. A to C with zeroes on assignments is a pretty steep on if you ask me.

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I would not be surprised if another kid took the notebook.

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Yep. The kid needs to find out who did and settle the matter on his own. Although Junior High is known for this kind of stuff, it does happen in sixth grade.

Have your son take a picture of the notebook page with his phone or inexpensive digital camera each time he adds a paragraph.

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Originally posted by MagnumU:
Have your son take a picture of the notebook page with his phone or inexpensive digital camera each time he adds a paragraph.

Agreed.

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Originally posted by RHINOWSO:

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Originally posted by MagnumU:
Have your son take a picture of the notebook page with his phone or inexpensive digital camera each time he adds a paragraph.

Agreed.

Re do the paragraphs in a google doc and share them with the teacher. At the high school level where I work nearly all written assignments are done through google docs.

That teacher is making a mistake with their stand.

How can he lose something he was never accountable for? Since it's required for the students to keep them in the classroom, I would say the teacher is the one who failed to secure those notebooks. The teacher is also a moron for not recording the grades as the assignments are completed.

No way in hell I would let my child take a C for the incompetence of the teacher. I'd go to the principal and higher if necessary.

If the teacher had your son's notebook and it was blank, it would be your son's fault.

Since the teacher does not have the notebook, it's her fault. He can't be held responsible for what is in the teacher's possession.

Maybe Jr took the notebook himself, having never read the book....

Same happened to my son. He was made to rewrite amd we assumed he was at fault. Few weeks later she told him she found his journal. No apologies no grade adjustment. We are still addressing but schools have zero accountability

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Originally posted by Hamden106:
Maybe Jr took the notebook himself, having never read the book....

OP states that his son is a straight A student, so I believe that is not likely the case.