I am curious, if a child is going to get a zero - regardless of the situation, for a late assignment - what is the motivation for turning in the assignment at all after the due date. Although I do not condone disregarding due dates - the consequence seems to serve no purpose. A zero is a zero, can't go lower than that.

well after reading all your comments it seems the issue of taking points off for not handing in assignments on time is an issue resulting in many schools,, my daughter was diagnosed with ADD in 3rd grade and our biggest issue was organization,, i have to honestly say she has progressed very well with being more organized and she is now in 6th grade,,, however her middle school grades on 3 levels completing assignments and handing them in on time,,, tests and class participation,,, and even though i am not happy that they take points off for not handing in assignments on time,, which this year has affected my daughters grades i so understand this is there way of making our children responsible,,, however i think the grading system is a bit unfair to take so many points away that is effects the overall grade,, if a child is passing tests and participating in class then i feel it is not correct to take 5 to 10 points off for not handing in an assignment on time as in this year this is greatly affecting my childs math grade,, and other subjects as well

I don't know what it is with this age group, there seems to be a miss step with many aspects of communication between parent, teacher, and child in Jr. high. I have seen and heard such frustration all too often. This is why I like the programs in which you can gain access to grades and curriculum online so you can check what homework your child has each day and help keep a child on track.
One issue is some parents don't help their children stay on track or teach them the important role of responsibility to get things done. Kids at this age don't just wake up one day with the knowledge to be responsible or proactive, it has to be taught. Heck, most adults don't do what they are supposed to do, are forgetful, procrastinate, or maybe something is too difficult put it off or ignore it all together. There seems to be less of an effort from some teachers to contact parents when homework is not turned in and grades are declining and the first you hear of it is when report cards come home and comments say "needs to turn work in on time". followed by a failing or near failing grade.
Even if you sit with your child every night and do homework that does not mean it will be turned in the next day. I feel it is the teachers job to contact parents in these matters. How do I know what is going on between the hours they have my kids unless I was physically there? If kids are misbehaving you get a phone call or note but when things are not completed or a child is in fear of failing that is just as important, so where is that note or phone call? I usually get the same ole' "I don't have the time" response. It only takes a minute to send mom and dad an email, text, phone call, or note saying Jr's work is missing please contact me. It's part of the job.

I think you need to contact your child's teacher to get the details. It sounds like there might be some missing information here. Let us know what you find out!
Good luck!
Trooper

I agree, children absolutely need to learn responsibility and if parents know beyond a shadow of a doubt that laziness is the cause for late work then parent, teacher, and child should agree to these types of remedies... if they believe that this is what will help. However, my concern is that it's not just laziness that prevents kids from turning in assignments. It can be serious time management issues, they are slow to work through difficult lessons, or they have one or many underlying issues that causes the late work. These types of one size fits all classroom rules don't help the children who really need it; in fact the research shows it only causes a vicious cycle of more late work, frustration, low self-worth, and ridicule/shame from peers who are witness to teachers discussing these issues out loud in class. I don't doubt that these types of rules are made with good intentions of "training" a child to discover a better and more responsible road, but we have to do better than this if we ever want to get all children to that place in their lives where they not only understand they have certain responsibilities but most important they have the means to achieve those responsibilities.

When my daughter doesn't finish her homework on time, she can still take her homework but the teacher only takes some points of her paper but she doesn't get a 0, this sounds more fair than the teacher of your child.

Bravo Teacher/Parent! It is truly teachers like yourself, who aspire to develop the whole child without threats and coercion, that will transform today's children into tomorrow's tolerant and responsible adult.

Could you imagine if this "rule" applied to everyday life? Those who were late paying their electric bill would of course be disconnected, still required to pay the bill, but still wouldn't get their electricity turned back on!

The children that this rule will hurt are the ones who have real problems with time management, slow learners, and those special needs that have prevented them from succeeding in the classroom to begin with. It is these students that will work themselves into complete frustration never receiving anything but zeros! What will these teachers say to them, "Hurry up if you don't want the zero." Or will they actually look for real solutions to help engage these children in learning time management? Are they really trying to help children learn responsibility or merely throwing out threats that scare children into maybe becoming responsible while giving parents another thing to worry endlessly about?

I'm all for teaching responsibility to our children but not in such a way that it creates unnecessary anxiety for a few.

well said TeacherParent

When my son forgot assignments in elementary or junior high, I employed this strategy at home. He still had to do the assignment and turn it in. I told the teachers I didn't mind if they didn't grade it, but he had to be responsible for his assignments. Thankfully, by high school, he finally got it--he couldn't get away with laziness. He could forget, but he still had to be responsible for his work. That's how I raised him.

If this is a policy that parents don't agree with in your school, then I do think you should approach school officials and discuss the policy. Schools should be responsible to their customers--in this case the parents. If it's a problem for you and other families, they should be willing to let you help draft a better policy.

I think it's not only extreme but counterproductive as well. Such a policy is frustrating to children and as you clearly understand, it's frustrating to parents as well.Policies that frustrate and upset students and parents alike aren't good for the school community. I've long hoped to see schools that would include parents in their decision making on the front end rather than just informing parents of the decision on the back end.
I'd also say that if a student is forced to do work - and they are- that such a stance doesn't 'teach responsibility'. It teaches unquestioning obedience and unthinking compliance - not something I wanted my own children to learn - but it doesn't teach responsibility. The very concept that is responsibility involves choice - we are being responsible when of our own free will we choose to do the right thing. When we see someone in need and we choose to stop to help - that's responsible behavior. When no one is looking and we still drive at the speed limit, that's responsible.
When we choose to eat healthy foods and exercise, we're being responsible. No one is forcing us, we have a choice and we make the responsible choice.

Choice is the operative word. Schools purport to 'teach responsibility' but as students have no real choice but to do the homework - it's not teaching of fostering responsibility. It's fostering compliance to authority.

That sits well with some parents but not with me as a parent or as a teacher - I prefer my children and my students to be encouraged to think critically and to make truly responsible choices rather than be encouraged to blindly follow instructions and comply to rules and regulations in which they had no voice.

Your school and others may say this policy is in the students' best interest but the real motivation that lies behind such an extreme policy is frustration and anger. Teaching is not an easy job and teachers are met with ever increasing resistance to the authority they believe they should have. When they have an opportunity to make a new policy these days, they can go overboard with it carried away by that frustration and anger. They will tell you as well that 'this is the way the real world works' but the real work world beyond schools has consistently moved away from unquestioning complaince and puts emphasis on creative and cooperative thought. It helps to remember that few teachers have ever worked outside of school and often have little idea of what the real work world is like.

So what happens if they don't turn it in at all, detention, suspension? Could it lead to being expelled?

Who came up with the policy (teachers, the principal, or is it a district policy)?

Do the teachers, the principal, or adminisitrators get their pue docketed if they don't grade and report grades online (in lieu of posting them all just before report cards come out, which is what some of my kids teachers do) within a specified time limit? I say if they want to do something like that (which is absurd for that age group) then distribute punishment evenly for everyone (adults and children alike).

Too often I find schools willing to punish kids for the slightest infraction but the adults working at the school or within the district get away with murder.