Just for an example of one of those parents (and why job security is so important)


My wife had a student last year produce a report denying the holocaust.  It provided no evidence, it debunked nothing, and basically the entire paper was parroting other holocaust deniers (with deniers as the only sources).  It didn't meet the requirements she had, and produced little more than the words of others, so she gave the student a failing grade.   The father of the kid came in demanding to know why his kid got an F, and said that it was because of his political leanings.  Eventually he took it all the way to the Principal.  The principal of course took the father's side, and my wife was flabbergasted.  She explained that the student didn't meet her requirements and failed to produce evidence toward his conclusion, and therefore got an F on the paper.  Now, thankfully she has tenure.  She said if it had been her first, second, or third year there she'd have probably given in and given the student whatever grade she could get away with.  The head of her department (who was also her mentor, and my 9th grade teacher back in high school) also stood up for her, and said she'd have given the paper an F too.  Thanks to that, the Principal said that the F stood. Imagine if neither of them felt comfortable standing up to the administration, and just cowed to parents anytime they wanted a better grade for their child.   Parents shouldn't determine the grades.  Teachers should.

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