“She’s your daughter, do something!”

Context:

Bethany, the daughter of Claire and Vladimir, has been expelled from her British public school for
copying from someone else’s examination paper. Claire, who is from a British family and who has
graduated from Oxford, is extremely upset; unduly so, according to Vladimir, who is from Moscow and
graduated from university there.


Critical incident:

Vladimir argues that until now Bethany has pulled good marks and so what if she has used a bit of
‘creative energy’ to keep up her marks.  After all, the competition is tough out there and she will
need high marks to get into university. Isn’t that what Claire wants for her daughter?


Instruction:

Explain the crux of this misunderstanding. Make use of the theories you have studied in the course.