Petition Letter
Dear, Queen¿¿s Arts and Science,
My Name is Stephanie Keen and I have just completed my third year in Biology. I was excited to take FILM 260 this summer as I am extremely interested in the course material. However, life sometimes gets in the way of your plans. I found myself needing compassion and understanding from the instructor and was not given it.
The background to this story is that I absolutely love animals and work at a veterinary clinic. I absolutely love this job. However, I was hindered me of academic success not because of extra shifts but because of its emotional impact.
On the due date of the Flipbook assignment, I was touching up some finishing elements way before the time it was due. Unfortunately, a dog named Summer was hit by a car. With my proximity to the clinic I was called to see if I could arrive to provide any emergency care I was capable of until the others could arrive. I was faced with the decision of helping this loved dying dog or submitting the assignment on time. It was incredibly emotional and stressful. Summer had a whole family including little children who had witnessed the event. I kept picturing this poor dog on the street with a family in tears. I knew I couldn¿¿t say no. I would not have been able to live myself if I had selfishly chosen this assignment over life. It is against basic human morals and my own. In addition, I was no longer mentally or emotionally able to continue to work on the assignment. I quickly emailed the instructor of the situation and was not given a reply since it was a Saturday. I had hoped she would understand the situation. I mean what was I to do Happily continue my assignment and not care that someone needed my help The instructor however did not understand and refused to mark my assignment less than 24 hours later.
I learned my lesson that this instructor was not an understanding and to stay on top of my work in the future.
This however became more difficult than I had thought as I was faced with more issues including emotions and computer connectivity. In the second last week of the course my Aunt¿¿s cat became extremely sick. Rocky was a beloved family pet who was loved dearly by all of us. He was a significant member of the family. I would have been upset regardless but the situation became even more trying when I began to feel responsible for Rocky¿¿s condition. Since I worked at a veterinary clinic I was accountable for Rocky¿¿s health. My family looked to me to make sure he would be okay. They constantly called me asking how he was doing and it was hard to tell them ¿¿not well¿. I felt like Rocky and my whole family was counting on me. I was carefully balancing school and this emotional time. I knew from past experience the instructor was not forgiving for extenuating circumstances. It was INCREDIBLY difficult to complete the final two assessments that second last week. I don¿¿t know how I did it. I was so tired emotionally and mentally, the week was a blur. It took a lot out of me and was incredibly distracting from anything else. It did not occur to me to recheck moodle to make sure the assignments were submitted when I was already sure they were. Especially when I was suffering from the pressure and the sadness of watching Rocky suffer. If you have ever watched a family pet die I am sure you can relate. I tried so hard with the veterinarian to keep Rocky alive. I remember when I was handing in the last assignment I was so relieved that I had completed it so I could focus again on Rocky as he had started having seizures that morning. When I checked moodle the Monday or Tuesday after that week I found that NONE of the work I submitted had actually gone through. I think this was due to moodle connection issues with my computer I quickly emailed the instructor of the situation and she was unwilling to mark the work I had completed, regardless of the computer problems. I even offered to complete an additional assignment to make up for it that she may feel inclined to mark instead. No response.
In simple terms, the stress of the emotional time of Rocky¿¿s health diminishing distracted me from school and clouded my judgment to recheck the submission of my assignments that week. The recheck may have informed me of the computer issue sooner perhaps but would not have solved the computer issue itself.
I thought the computer issues were resolved when I completed a midterm for another course the Sunday of the beginning of the next week. I had confirmed that that had gone through and was happy some of my issues were handled. That week Rocky passed away and my family is still grieving our loss. I felt responsible for the loss and thought over and over about what more I could have done or what I could have done differently. When I signed in to write the online final exam for Film 260 I was faced with more issues and was not able to connect to the exam. I emailed the instructor of my computer issues and she replied ¿¿the final exam is over.¿ Even though I had attempted the exam within the completion time frame and emailed her the same day.
Unfortunately, there are things in life you cannot control and the last 2 weeks of the film 260 course are proof. I had hoped the instructor would be more reasonable and understanding of that.
This emotionally and mentally trying time affected the Flipbook assignment, self-assessment, discussion assignment, and final exam.
I hope to RESUBMIT my completed work and complete the final exam, SUBMIT an additional culminating assignment for the missed marks, OR drop the course.
Thank you for your understanding,
Stephanie Keen
My Name is Stephanie Keen and I have just completed my third year in Biology. I was excited to take FILM 260 this summer as I am extremely interested in the course material. However, life sometimes gets in the way of your plans. I found myself needing compassion and understanding from the instructor and was not given it.
The background to this story is that I absolutely love animals and work at a veterinary clinic. I absolutely love this job. However, I was hindered me of academic success not because of extra shifts but because of its emotional impact.
On the due date of the Flipbook assignment, I was touching up some finishing elements way before the time it was due. Unfortunately, a dog named Summer was hit by a car. With my proximity to the clinic I was called to see if I could arrive to provide any emergency care I was capable of until the others could arrive. I was faced with the decision of helping this loved dying dog or submitting the assignment on time. It was incredibly emotional and stressful. Summer had a whole family including little children who had witnessed the event. I kept picturing this poor dog on the street with a family in tears. I knew I couldn¿¿t say no. I would not have been able to live myself if I had selfishly chosen this assignment over life. It is against basic human morals and my own. In addition, I was no longer mentally or emotionally able to continue to work on the assignment. I quickly emailed the instructor of the situation and was not given a reply since it was a Saturday. I had hoped she would understand the situation. I mean what was I to do Happily continue my assignment and not care that someone needed my help The instructor however did not understand and refused to mark my assignment less than 24 hours later.
I learned my lesson that this instructor was not an understanding and to stay on top of my work in the future.
This however became more difficult than I had thought as I was faced with more issues including emotions and computer connectivity. In the second last week of the course my Aunt¿¿s cat became extremely sick. Rocky was a beloved family pet who was loved dearly by all of us. He was a significant member of the family. I would have been upset regardless but the situation became even more trying when I began to feel responsible for Rocky¿¿s condition. Since I worked at a veterinary clinic I was accountable for Rocky¿¿s health. My family looked to me to make sure he would be okay. They constantly called me asking how he was doing and it was hard to tell them ¿¿not well¿. I felt like Rocky and my whole family was counting on me. I was carefully balancing school and this emotional time. I knew from past experience the instructor was not forgiving for extenuating circumstances. It was INCREDIBLY difficult to complete the final two assessments that second last week. I don¿¿t know how I did it. I was so tired emotionally and mentally, the week was a blur. It took a lot out of me and was incredibly distracting from anything else. It did not occur to me to recheck moodle to make sure the assignments were submitted when I was already sure they were. Especially when I was suffering from the pressure and the sadness of watching Rocky suffer. If you have ever watched a family pet die I am sure you can relate. I tried so hard with the veterinarian to keep Rocky alive. I remember when I was handing in the last assignment I was so relieved that I had completed it so I could focus again on Rocky as he had started having seizures that morning. When I checked moodle the Monday or Tuesday after that week I found that NONE of the work I submitted had actually gone through. I think this was due to moodle connection issues with my computer I quickly emailed the instructor of the situation and she was unwilling to mark the work I had completed, regardless of the computer problems. I even offered to complete an additional assignment to make up for it that she may feel inclined to mark instead. No response.
In simple terms, the stress of the emotional time of Rocky¿¿s health diminishing distracted me from school and clouded my judgment to recheck the submission of my assignments that week. The recheck may have informed me of the computer issue sooner perhaps but would not have solved the computer issue itself.
I thought the computer issues were resolved when I completed a midterm for another course the Sunday of the beginning of the next week. I had confirmed that that had gone through and was happy some of my issues were handled. That week Rocky passed away and my family is still grieving our loss. I felt responsible for the loss and thought over and over about what more I could have done or what I could have done differently. When I signed in to write the online final exam for Film 260 I was faced with more issues and was not able to connect to the exam. I emailed the instructor of my computer issues and she replied ¿¿the final exam is over.¿ Even though I had attempted the exam within the completion time frame and emailed her the same day.
Unfortunately, there are things in life you cannot control and the last 2 weeks of the film 260 course are proof. I had hoped the instructor would be more reasonable and understanding of that.
This emotionally and mentally trying time affected the Flipbook assignment, self-assessment, discussion assignment, and final exam.
I hope to RESUBMIT my completed work and complete the final exam, SUBMIT an additional culminating assignment for the missed marks, OR drop the course.
Thank you for your understanding,
Stephanie Keen