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I got ZERO on my final math test :(

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I had a formula written in the back of my calculator and for the first time ever, the teacher watching the students checked all the calculators at the beginning of the test. Me and 4 others getting 0 for the 'semester'. I won't be able to get into the colleges I want next year.

It sucks because I really didn't need it but I was afraid I might forget it and they never ever used to check them before. I had completely forgotten about the fact that I had written a single, small formula there because I studied well and didn't need it at all in the end.

So much for my weekend of studying...and my future :/
 

AntoneM

Member
talk to the teacher, talk to the counselors, talk to the principal. Explain the situation offer to take a new test (even if it's harder) tell them what you just told us about not having a future and that you might as well give up. Just don't let this happen, they can't ignore you forever.
 

Poody

What program do you use to photoshop a picture?
Can't you just take it again? Sure it'll set you back one semester.
 

belgurdo

Banned
Dude, quit crying and just take the class again. Or explain yourself to the professor if you want to take that route
 

Ryck

Member
I hate to say it but right now Capt. Morgan is the only one capable of cheering you up .......


captain_morgan.jpg
 
Hey, the dean was the one that fild out a plagerism report, he told me I was getting zero, I told him I wouldn't be able to into college and asked him to give me a chance, he said he couldn't.

The 4 other people that got zero were all girls, and they cried buckets, that didn't sway his decision either so, I doubt there was anything I could do at that point.

My mom is a teacher at my school (a math teacher in fact) and she talked to the principal, he told her "i'm really sorry for your son but if my daughter had done that, I would accept it"
 
On top of that, we're all good students, and I know those girls have alot of pressure on them to get good grades, which is why they did what they did.

But I'm not crying or looking for pity, I just wanted to know what you thought of this in general.
 

Azih

Member
really you're just set back for a year. Take it as a lesson learned, in 60 years you might laughing about this with your grandkids or whatever.

and don't cheat again fool.
 

Pfucata

Member
Dude, you have almost no recourse here, but it sounds like from your post you've got remorse. You're blaming yourself and not simply the fact that the "teacher was mean." You have to be old enough and mature enough to recognize that this was your fault alone. On Monday, during lunch, ask to talk to the principal (and schedule an appt for later after school if he's not available).

You have to cop up to your cheating -- an excuse such as "I wasn't going to use it" doesn't count. Figure out why you did it deep down? Were you that scared of doing poorly? Were you worried that if every one else was cheating and you didn't, it'd make your scores lower than everyone elses? Or was it both? (you did study a long time). Tell the truth to the principal. Tell the principal that you want to apologize to your math teacher, but that you don't know how you say things or if the teacher would even believe you...

Let the principal direct the discussion from there.
 

Dan

No longer boycotting the Wolfenstein franchise
Date of Lies said:
On top of that, we're all good students, and I know those girls have alot of pressure on them to get good grades, which is why they did what they did.
So... being a so-called "good student" and having pressure to perform well somehow justifies cheating?
 
Pfucata said:
Dude, you have almost no recourse here, but it sounds like from your post you've got remorse. You're blaming yourself and not simply the fact that the "teacher was mean." You have to be old enough and mature enough to recognize that this was your fault alone. On Monday, during lunch, ask to talk to the principal (and schedule an appt for later after school if he's not available).

You have to cop up to your cheating -- an excuse such as "I wasn't going to use it" doesn't count. Figure out why you did it deep down? Were you that scared of doing poorly? Were you worried that if every one else was cheating and you didn't, it'd make your scores lower than everyone elses? Or was it both? (you did study a long time). Tell the truth to the principal. Tell the principal that you want to apologize to your math teacher, but that you don't know how you say things or if the teacher would even believe you...

Let the principal direct the discussion from there.


I am not blaming anyone but myself. I realize how the system works and I know the teachers and the dean were doing their jobs. I said that I didn't need the formula to show how inrehently more stupid it was to write it there and how for a small shit like that I'm going to have a set-back in my life.
 

Grizzlyjin

Supersonic, idiotic, disconnecting, not respecting, who would really ever wanna go and top that
How are you messed up for the year? Can't you just take the class by exam or in summer school?
 

lexi

Banned
Sorry to hear about your situation, I probably would have done the same thing. Don't get hung up over it though, get high and listen to some Floyd.
 

Azih

Member
yeah at WORST you're set back for a year, talk to your parents and talk to the dean about what you do now.

Really in two years you'll be at college and nobody will think about this incident ever again.
 
Dan said:
So... being a so-called "good student" and having pressure to perform well somehow justifies cheating?

Yes, cause that's exactly what I meant.

Again, I understand the reasoning, but I think the punishment exceeds the wrongdoing, but I'm going to deal with it.

I don't know which colleges are going to accept some guy that had a 0 in one of the semesters they're most going to look at, but it's not a college I wanted to go to, so I won't be able to go to the colleges I was aiming for.
 

Pochacco

asking dangerous questions
Take the class again. Preferably in summer school.
If you're as good a student as you say you are, then it should be a breeze.
 

SantaC

Member
It sucks to be you. I think it's stupid that you have to wait an entire year just to take 1 test over again. Some teachers are really mean.
 

Suranga3

Member
Man, in high school I used to be a cheating machine, except for on major tests, since teachers are a lot more vigilant and won't let things slide as easily. I used to tape little notes with formulas and definitions to the insole of my shoe and switch tests with my friend during a test when the teacher wasn't looking. I would also get old exams from the previous years and more often than not it would be reused by the same teacher. Ahhh, those used to be the days.
 

pestul

Member
The only time I cheated was when our Chem teacher was dumb enough to leave us alone in the room for 2/3 of a final (maybe it was some sort of recorded ethics experiment unbeknownst to us??). Everyone was cheating though, so I guess it doesn't really count. :p
 

LakeEarth

Member
pestul said:
The only time I cheated was when our Chem teacher was dumb enough to leave us alone in the room for 2/3 of a final (maybe it was some sort of recorded ethics experiment unbeknownst to us??). Everyone was cheating though, so I guess it doesn't really count. :p

Same thing happened with my chem teacher. People were passing around each other's exams!
 

pestul

Member
Oh, I was wrong about only cheating once. Everyone in my particular group also cheated on thier emergency first aid exam. Then again, the test is pretty informal to begin with. Having said that, when placed in a life or death scenario, you don't want to be asking yourself "Holy shit! What the hell was that answer on the bleeding jugular section!?".
 

Jim Bowie

Member
pestul said:
The only time I cheated was when our Chem teacher was dumb enough to leave us alone in the room for 2/3 of a final (maybe it was some sort of recorded ethics experiment unbeknownst to us??). Everyone was cheating though, so I guess it doesn't really count. :p

How bizarre. The only time I've ever cheated was on my Chemistry final. Perhaps this is a chemistry teaching thing.
 

Wario64

works for Gamestop (lol)
That's why you type the formulas in the calculator (assuming you use a TI calculator or something). In high school, some chick who was doing well in my Trig class got caught cheating for planting a notecard with formulas on the back of the calculator. My teacher was doing something and needed to make a calculation, so he took a random calculator and it happened to be that chick. Sucker
 
thats why you write the formula's in pencil really faintly on the FRONT of the calculator. That way, they will only be visible at a certain angle under the class lights.
 

nitewulf

Member
Date of Lies said:
On top of that, we're all good students, and I know those girls have alot of pressure on them to get good grades, which is why they did what they did.

But I'm not crying or looking for pity, I just wanted to know what you thought of this in general.
to tell you the truth, you reap what you sow. most professors/teachers are pretty strict about cheating. theres nothing to be done about it, they made the rules. and you were potentially going to be cheating. you're guilty.
during my E&M final, the professor just threw two people out of the exam. no discussions, he just pointed, "you, and you, get out. i dont want to hear any excuses, just get out." so basically it's always harsh, at least you didnt get expelled.
 

Desperado

Member
Date of Lies said:
I had a formula written in the back of my calculator and for the first time ever, the teacher watching the students checked all the calculators at the beginning of the test. Me and 4 others getting 0 for the 'semester'. I won't be able to get into the colleges I want next year.

It sucks because I really didn't need it but I was afraid I might forget it and they never ever used to check them before. I had completely forgotten about the fact that I had written a single, small formula there because I studied well and didn't need it at all in the end.

So much for my weekend of studying...and my future :/

Wait, what? You wrote it? or did you type it into the calculator?
 

suaveric

Member
You got exactly what you deserved. In high school, I saw so much cheating it made me sick. Worst of all, 90% of it was done in the high level, AP and Honors courses. If you can't hack it at your current level yu need to study harder or drop to an easier course. When I'm a teacher, I'll throw every book I can at any cheater that I come across.
 

Falch

Member
ha, I cheated a lot in highschool, especially at chemistry tests. I was extremely demotivated for that course, because of an asshole of a teacher. Anyway, he always made up half of the tests by using questions that he got from the textbook we used for chemistry (he wanted to ensure we made our homework). I couldn't be bothered making that homework, so what I did was pick out the questions he'd most likely use (wasn't very hard to predict) and write them down on actual (stolen) school paper the day before the test. So when the test started, I'd slip in the home-written notes, check what questions he'd actually used and copy them. Did it twice, and on both got 70% or more on those tests. I even on purposs did not bother to chance the actual wording of my answer to have it look like I really knew the answer. Just pure copy & paste.

Do I feel guilty about it? Not a bit. The guy was incapable of explaining anything, and acted like a complete shithead (he later got fired). I even had my parents permission to cheat. :)

I also remember cheating quite a bit in the first few years of my latin classes. The beauty of that that the teacher was such a softie that even if he did find your note, he'd take it away, and let you finish your test without further punishment. :D
 

belgurdo

Banned
suaveric said:
You got exactly what you deserved. In high school, I saw so much cheating it made me sick. Worst of all, 90% of it was done in the high level, AP and Honors courses. If you can't hack it at your current level yu need to study harder or drop to an easier course. When I'm a teacher, I'll throw every book I can at any cheater that I come across.


There's no shame or "dishonor" in cheating, especially since it's a good way to get through classes dealing with subjects you'll never utilize once you leave high school (I somehow doubt being able to calculate the velocity of a stopping car will land me a job at the city newspaper office or local Gamestop. And if you're cheating in classes that pertain to your career-well, that's what job training's for :lol) And students don't care about self righteous teachers that "throw the book" at cheaters, since they'll either just do it again, not care and take the class over, or get even.
 

bionic77

Member
Granted my high school probably wasn't the most difficult of institutions, but cheating in high school? Why on Earth would you need to cheat in high school? I seem to remember high school being a joke, never studying, and always getting good grades. I didn't have to start studying until I went to college.

And you can still get into a good college dude. A friend of mine got caught cheating in his "typewriting" class. He came in 2nd instead of 1st just because of that one class and he still got into Cornell. Just kickass on the SATs and you will probably be fine.
 
bionic77 said:
Granted my high school probably wasn't the most difficult of institutions, but cheating in high school? Why on Earth would you need to cheat in high school? I seem to remember high school being a joke, never studying, and always getting good grades. I didn't have to start studying until I went to college.

And you can still get into a good college dude. A friend of mine got caught cheating in his "typewriting" class. He came in 2nd instead of 1st just because of that one class and he still got into Cornell. Just kickass on the SATs and you will probably be fine.

It's an international highschool, sometimes ranked as the best in my city, 500 kids take the entry test, 70 get in. The load of work is staggeringly high, easily college level really.

There's no such thing as SATs in canada. Colleges, rather CEGEPS, look at the grades you got in 10th grade and the first half of 11th grade, where I got teh zero.

I think there might be a slight difference in the importance of typewriting class and Math.
 

teiresias

Member
I actually found college easier than high school, at least in terms of the math and science stuff.

I've decided its because most math and science high school teachers are bitter morons (except for my high school physics teacher - who was AWESOME) who get off on making you have to memorize formulas, whereas college professors (you know, the ones with REAL degrees) realize there's no reason for you to memorize a million formulas you'll never have to actually have memorized in real life, so they let you bring sheets full of formulas - just no sheets full of homework problems that are solved or stuff like that.
 

bionic77

Member
Date of Lies said:
It's an international highschool, sometimes ranked as the best in my city, 1000 kids take the entry test, 120 get in. The load of work is staggeringly high, easily college level really.

There's no such thing as SATs in canada. Colleges, rather CEGEPS, look at the grades you got in 10th grade and the first half of 11th grade, where I got teh zero.

I think there might be a slight difference in the importance of typewriting class and Math.

Ahh, didn't know it was in Canada. Still, I am sure there must be some way of rectifying the situation. As some people suggested, maybe you can take the class again over the summer. And even if there isn't, you really won't give a damn about which college you went to 5 years after the fact. That probably isn't what you want to hear, but I found it to be true. I did well in high school, I did well in college(Oberline), I did well in my Masters program(NYU), but I am now an average student in law school. I always liked doing well for the moment I was getting a good grade, but you really could care less about it a few years later. Just work your ass off for now and hope for the best, if you do that things will work themsevles out later.
 

KingV

Member
Honestly, you got what you deserved. I don't feel sorry for you at all. Hopefully you've learned your lesson. You're just a junior in HS, you can take the class in the summer or next year.
 
The situation is far from helpless, I might not even need that math course to get into visual arts, but lets just say I have less priority than the next guy who doesn't have a 0 in math in his report card.

The fact is, the 0 will be in my report card, and the colleges I was aiming for won't like it, but I can still get into colleges that will let me retake some tests and so on, the "special" cegeps.
 

Zaptruder

Banned
That sounds 'devastating'

But then I've wasted 5 years chasing a degree I've always called a 'paper' degree and finally realised I don't want (I'll be putting it on hold, rather than trashing it).

That's alot of time by anyone's standards... but the fortunes of people rise and fall; you sound like you're talented enough (although unlucky in this instance) to do well in the world.

Just accept it (even tho in an 'ideal' world, such a punishment would be unjust), and try to find posititve things to do with your time while you take this class again.
 

cvxfreak

Member
You get numbers and not letter grades? Interesting.

Anyway, I cheat on every test at least once. In AP US History, my teacher would frequently leave to take care of some business. Being the nice AP people we were, he left and we all exchanged answers.

Some tests are just ridiculously hard, like a 96 point Spanish 3-4 test where there were criterias for food, and airline flights and what we did days before. >_<
 

MetatronM

Unconfirmed Member
Even if the 0 keeps you out of your first choices, you can always start at a lesser college and transfer up. It's a hell of a lot easier to transfer into colleges than it is to be accepted outright (mainly because you will have already proven you can achieve on a college level).

Anyway, it's not the end of the world. I failed out of college in freshman year and got accepted into an equally good school with less than a month before the start of the semester. Been cruising ever since.

It's just a bump in the road, and if you can prove it was anomalous, then no one will ever even pay it any mind
 
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