Mother of a student calls. I have been emailing counselors, support teams, the parents for months. Student has not been in class since February 6th. Yes, almost 3 months - mostly unexcused. Mom wanted me to pass the kid. Gave every excuse in the world and figured he could write a few papers and pass the class. She didn't care that he was not present for any learning at all this semester. School wouldn't tell her no. I finally told her that I couldn't ethically pass her kid. School was too cowardly to draw the line.

We have lost standards of excellence, lines of responsibility, and measures of accountability.