There was once when I was caught in a dilemma when my Mathematics teacher had done something which seems unreasonable to me.
It all happened when I applied for leave on one day of the mid-term examinations to attend the funeral of my uncle’s wife. After that day, I went to my Mathematics teacher and asked her about the details for my make-up test. I was shocked when she told me that she would only give me 45 minutes to complete my paper when the duration of the paper was supposed to be 90 minutes!
She explained to me that it would be fairer to other students since I were to take a make-up test. I could not understand why she would do that to me as she had said nothing when I gave her the letter regarding my absence for the paper beforehand. When she saw that I was in a hesitation, not only did she not take any pity on me, but she kept pressing on to ask if I still would want to take the make-up test.
I knew I had no other choice except taking the challenge (though I could have approached the Head of Student for help) as I did not want to make things worse. Luckily I managed to complete all the questions within 45 minutes. When I got my marked paper back from my teacher, I felt like I had just slapped her on the face as I could still score 86 marks though she might not have expected that.
Do you think that it was appropriate for teachers to cut down the duration of paper for students who take the make-up test? What would you do if you are in my shoes? Would you have approached the Head of Student for help or just do what the teacher asked of?
