Rules are meant to be broken

By hospitalflunky - 28/03/2009 06:35 - United States

Today, I got an email from a professor saying he was going to fail me for missing the allotted absences, which is school policy. I pointed out I was in the hospital for two weeks with a life threatening illness and that he even came to visit me. He told me, "Rules are rules." FML
I agree, your life sucks 155 241
You deserved it 7 385

Same thing different taste

Top comments

I've had similar issues (I miss a lot of class due to illness as well). Go to the dean of students or if your school has a Student Disability Center or something. Rules may be rules but you cannot penalize a student for something that's beyond their control, it's illegal.

Have you tried talking to the dean of students? If anything, you could try to get the class marked as incomplete or dropped (or stricken from the record entirely).

Comments

Anonymus101 4

The bad professors keep multiplying over the past few weeks. It's like a broken record.

12 - Nah, it's not fake. even in high school, an excused absence is still an absence. you can get f's if you miss 10 days a semester, regardless of whether it's an illness, lots of appointments, etc. Which, frankly, i think is ridiculous. yay 33! =) it's just like, you CAN fail someone, but really? a life-threatening disease? a) you're not required to, and b) it's just a dick move. your life is f'ed.

theoldGP 0

#33 i like you. that seems really fair! that's how it is at my high school though.. especially with minor courses. OP, take the advice that others have given you and try it.

cbeaith 0

...why is your professor visiting you in the hospital?

#10 and 14 are complete douchebags. I hope you can get an appeal for this and the dean puts your professor in his place. You cant help being in the hospital. More prof's should be like #33

Go over his head. Talk to the dean! And **** #10, acting like you were slacking off by being hospitalized.

laurisshnazzy 0

#33, be my professor, please? Seriously, this is ridiculous. I hate the power trips that some teachers and professors are on. There are just some things that are out of a student's control, and just because a professor hates kids or doesn't like the individual or whatever, that gives him or her no right to be an asshole.

Rules are there for a reason. Im sure thing can be resolved if you put some efford into it, you cant expect others to do that for you, seeing as its YOUR future and not theirs. Not a FML, just a Oh look at me being all sad eventhou the thing can be resolved easely, but world, oh pretty please cry for me kthx.

KidneyQueen 0

#43 (that is, if you're not a troll), I agree with #116. I'm 22, on dialysis, and not eligible for transplant. I've never done drugs, never drank. Still don't. I found out I was sick at 16, and my doctors found out 6 years after onset. I had a professor at my community college that told me that if I had cancer, she wouldn't exempt me from the "absence" rule. I told the college nurse, and my professor was fired.. Mostly because that's discrimination against a disabled person. I couldn't have forced myself to drive 30 minutes to my college, puking my brains out, tired, sore, and sit through an hour-long class then drive 30 minutes home in the same state of illness; even if I'd have really wanted to be there. My high school was the same way, regardless of how many times my doctors and the school nurse vouched for me. I'm supposed to make it another 5-7 years, and 10-12 if I'm lucky because of heart complications as a result of the dialysis. Shows you how little sympathy people have.

rttr 18
bioclock 0

I'm so lucky that my professors have all been pretty kind and understanding. My school has a policy where you can appeal docked grades with a doctor's note or other proof of physical or mental illness/distress, so that this exact situation can't happen. That's incredibly uncalled for. I can't believe someone would actually fail you for missing class due to a life threatening illness, especially if he actually visited you in the hospital. All the professors I've had have been really understanding and accomodating. There is a point where rules are rules, but there comes another point where you have to remember that students are human beings, and that bad shit is going to happen once in a while that is simply outside of their control. #10 and #43 are probably trolling, so just ignore them. If not, then I sincerely hope none of you ever have a career in education or any other position of power.