Sometimes, it can be perfectly clear where my students get their ideas:

“Hi, this is Mister K from School and I just wanted to let you know that your student currently has a 17% in my class. This is my third time trying to contact you, I left a few messages and a request for a conference but I never heard back from you. Anyway, you will see an “F” on his report card for this grading period because he has rarely done any work at all and has failed all of his tests.”

Parent: “Give him extra credit.”

“I don’t offer extra credit in place of missing assignments in my class. Either way, his current grade is far too low for an extra credit assignment to benefit him at this point.”

Parent: “You say he has a 17%, right? He knows that if he gets a 40 or higher, he gets to pick a video game from the store.”