Yeah-- but-- understand how an online format works. This work is NOT "late." THERE IS NO WARNING, and no due date that has been ignored.
There is no "policy" about late work-- nor do most teachers state one up front (including this one).
If there were such a policy, that's fine. But this is arbitrary and occurs randomly.
That's really the problem.
We also had a teacher two years ago that randomly assigned temporary zeros for TERM projects (even those not-yet-due)-- as a "reminder" to students that they needed to work on them. He did one of those literally just MINUTES before leaving for Christmas break-- gave my DD a zero for a project due in late January which was 30% of her course grade. Nice.
Unfortunately, that turns the course grade to an F/D/C and doesn't let conscientious students really see what their work is going to earn them in terms of the course grade.
Maybe I do just need to let it go, but honestly, from a post-secondary professional standpoint, my students would have been down to the dean's office in a heartbeat if I'd done something like this. I don't think that it's wrong to insist that this not be "at random," and that the policy be clear-- as it stands, this is the teacher's lazy (IMO) way of communicating to students without having to go to the trouble. The teachers don't see these kids or talk to them at all-- so unless parents TELL the school that there is something going on (or, in the earlier example, even when I did) it is basically like using a 2 X 4 to get their attention rather than saying "I have some concerns; can we talk?"
