Entitled high school student misses presentation deadline, gives 'invoice' to teacher petitioning for passing grade: 'Emotional labor during class: 2 hours'

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Ally Perry • Writer and Editor
Jan 6, 2026 9:00 AM EST

Some students learn nothing but audacity when they go to school. 

Try as they might, many teachers have no hope of getting through to some of the kids that are signed up for their classes. Once they have made up their minds that doing the work that is asked of them is optional, it can be very difficult to change it. 

Dealing with slackers is a part of the job when it comes to teaching, but it does not make it any less frustrating. Even those who have good reason for missing deadlines or falling behind are risking the quality of their education, and sometimes letting down their classmates if there is a group project involved. 

Those students who tend to avoid doing their work are often renowned for coming up with all kinds of excuses to justify it. In theory, this should not stop them from receiving consequences when it becomes a trend, but in practice, some will do just about anything to avoid that. The older they get, the more convoluted the schemes become. They are the kind to engineer scenarios that shock even those teachers who think they have seen it all before. If only that effort could be redirected.

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  • the corner of a piece of paper titled 'invoice' on a black background
    via Benham Norouzi

  • In this story, a high school teacher grew impatient with the way that one of his students was always avoiding deadlines. He constantly tried to negotiate them and get extensions, something which the teacher resisted if he had no good reason to be asking for this.

    The time had come for everyone in the class to work on a big project, which culminated in a presentation. On presenting day, the student asked if he could present next period, something the teacher refused. 

    After complaining about being held back by his grade in the class, the teacher said that he could pull it up by completing his work. His reaction to that was something that left him flabbergasted. 

  • Entitled student tried to "invoice" me for his own missing work

    I'm a high school teacher and I know teens can be dramatic, but this one still makes my eye twitch when I think about it. I had a student this semester, I'll call him D, who treated deadlines like a cute suggestion. Nice enough kid when he wanted to be, but every assignment was a negotiation. "Can I turn it in next week?" "Can I just do half?" "Can you
    via QuietJediChords
  • reopen it, I was busy." The thing is, I do offer extensions when theres an actual reason, I dont enjoy failing anyone. D just didnt do the work, then acted shocked that the gradebook reflected reality. We had a big project with a rubric, checkpoints, the whole handholding package. I reminded them in class, posted it
    via QuietJediChords
  • online, emailed the class. D skipped the checkpoint day, then showed up the final day empty handed and asked if he could "present next period" because he "needed to get in the right headspace." I said no, because everyone else had presented and I was moving on. He sighed super loud like I was being
    via QuietJediChords
  • three female students and one male student sitting at desks and working, with the male student in the back raising his hand
    via Giulia Squillace (Unsplash+)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • unreasonable and goes, "So you're gonna tank my grade over one assignment." I told him its not one assignment, it's a pattern, and he can still pass if he does the remaining work. He nods like he gets it, then the next morning he walks in and drops a folded piece of paper on my desk like he's serving court papers. It's an actual printed invoice template. At the top it says "Consulting Services" with his name and a
    via QuietJediChords
  • fake business logo (it was a dragon in sunglasses). Under that, line items like: "Emotional labor during class: 2 hours" "Time spent thinking about project: 5 hours" "Transportation to school: 1 trip" and then at the bottom, total due: "Grade changed from 62 to 85." I thought it was a joke at first and I did that awkward teacher laugh, but he goes, dead serious, "Since you wasted my time by
    via QuietJediChords
  • not letting me present, you owe me a passing grade. My mom said teachers get paid to work with us, so do your job." I just stared at him because what do you even say to that without losing your license. I told him I wasnt changing anything and he can throw the paper away. He refused, said it was "documentation," and tried to take a picture of it on my desk for "proof." I moved it into my drawer and he got mad and
    via QuietJediChords
  • said I was "destroying evidence." Later he emailed asking when I'd "process the invoice." I replied with the rubric attached and a sentence that probably sounded colder than I meant, but my patience was on life support. He ended the semester with the exact grade he earned, and I still have his little dragon logo burned into my brain.
    via QuietJediChords
  • three girls sit at a desk looking at a laptop, with a boy standing above them
    via Giulia Squillace (Unsplash+)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • ossodog XD the mental gymnastics these days
    via ossodog
  • Ruby Red8787 I love his creativity. It's a shame he didn't put that to work on his presentation.
    via RubyRed8787
  • Sad-Engineer-4744 no work no reward
    via Sad-Engineer-4744
  • Remote_Clue_4272 This will work for him in the future. What every boss loves in an employee. Oh... I forgot... maybe if he claims some sort of religious discrimination thing is going on here he can skate by while you lose your job. This world has turned crazy.
    via Remote_Clue_4272
  • Ximinipot Use paragraphs man. For fucks sake.
    via Ximinipot
  • daydreamer19861986 I'd tell him that he needs to research employment and laws around that, you are not employed by him neither is he employed by you therefore you don't owe him any money. The kid is trying to be smart whist showcasing how little he actually understands about life. Also I seriously think this warrants talking to his parents and head of school at this point. This little dude is trying to bully and intimidate a teacher, being very disrespectful.
    via daydreamer19861986
  • kay_gen_99 Based on his comment about his mother, I am surprised she did not get involved?
    via kay_gen_99
  • greyhounds4life1969 'D' is going to find it very different in the real world where people are allowed to tell him to shut the fuck up and get on with it or just fuck off.
    via greyhounds4life1969
  • Imaginary_Fox_6846 Wow. It's too bad that his parents didn't see that's it's him not you. Hang in there
    via Imaginary_Fox_6846

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students teacher high school entitled people class school presentation teenagers invoice
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