Moral question

[JBotAlan]

I have a hot issue in my AP class right now, and I want your opinion.

Since we are drawing near to the end of the year, our AP English teacher is shutting down for the year. He let us do whatever for a few days, then passed out an assignment sheet to the class. He emphasized that this was not going to be graded. It was a sample college application that we were to fill out; when we were done we would form the class into groups. Each group would get a few essays, and the group would discuss and decide who would be accepted, turned down, or wait-listed. This whole process was, as the teacher emphasized, for our benefit; we would be able to use these essays a year down the line when we are all applying for colleges. I did the assignment, and had it with me, on time, just as he asked.

However, approximately 11 students did not turn in the paper, for one reason or another. Instead of doing the paper, they elected to start the AP summer work that is due next fall. They worked just as hard, if not harder, than the rest of the class.

When the teacher counted the essays, he found how many were missing, and came up with what he calls a betrayal essay. To make a long story short, it is a massively long essay that no student could possibly satisfactorily complete by the due date, Monday--not to mention we have final exams next week, which each student needs to be able to study for this weekend. This punishment assignment is weighted so heavily that, if not completed, it will dip any student's grade one letter grade lower.

The more I think about it, the more agitated I get about it. I cannot figure out how to describe what I am feeling right now--it seems like there's something wrong morally here, but I can't put my finger on it. I can't discuss with the teacher until I know what I'm going to say, and there's no chance of making things right after the due date. That means I have 2 days to figure it out.

Do any of you see anything wrong here, or do you think that the teacher's actions were justified?

BTW. I did the assignment, so I am not biased in that respect.

Thanks for your input,
JBot

EDIT: The teacher says that he never said it was optional--it is still a required assignment, but it isn't going in the gradebook.

EDIT 2: Here is the assignment he gave those students.
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DIRECTIONS:
Write an argumentative essay on the subject of betrayal. Specifically, answer the question, “What happens to a community (e.g., a classroom, a school, a town, a state, a country) when a significant portion of its members choose not to participate in an activity or event whose full benefits are dependent on the participation of the entire (or virtually the entire) community?”

PROJECT REQUIREMENTS:
1. Minimum four (4) pages in length
2. Minimum four (4) works cited (fiction or non-fiction sources), with corresponding citations
3. Effective argumentative essay techniques (e.g., claim, data, warrant, concession, refutation, ethos appeals, logos appeals, pathos appeals)
4. One (1) or more elaborated historical anecdotes (e.g., Dillard’s discussion of the French-Indian War)
5. One (1) or more elaborated references to a current event
6. Two (2) visual representations (e.g., photo, cartoon, advertisement, table, chart) that add meaning to your essay (insert a Text Box in Word, then insert your visual representation in the Text Box)
7. One (1) or more elaborated excerpts (e.g., a short poem, a paragraph) from a work of literature that helped inform your purpose (place this in the body of your essay, or in a Text Box, as appropriate)
8. Fifteen (15) or more different rhetorical devices – put a parenthetical reference in the body of your essay, naming the rhetorical device
9. Proper MLA formatting (1” margins, double-spaced, 12-point font, heading, header)
10. Signatures of two community members who can attest to the literary worthiness of your essay
11. NO SATIRES WILL BE ACCEPTED

GRADING:
This assignment is worth 300 points toward your 4th marking period grade.

The assignment will be graded on completeness, accuracy, and evidence of a robust, detailed, methodical, comprehensive, diligent, mature approach that honors the spirit of this assignment.

Failure to incorporate any one of the project requirements listed above will earn an automatic zero.
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EDIT 3: And please don't worry about sounding like a jerk or whatever. I want it raw.