"Bad Teacher" barks up the wrong tree!!!

[jrmasm]

Perhaps it doesn't have anything to do with the attitude of the class. Perhaps the reason that 50% of the class failed is that the teacher failed to teach the material? Or maybe its the way she grades? Or maybe she didn't give directions clearly enough?

If that many students in a class fail, then something needs to be retaught or redone.

That is possible of course. And it's also possible that this group of 5th graders aren't very good listeners. No one knows except the teacher.

 

[sunshinehighway]

That is possible of course. And it's also possible that this group of 5th graders aren't very good listeners. No one knows except the teacher.

After a little reading because of something said by another poster, it seems likely that at least certain students in that class are a handful.

 

[rgf207]

What really gets me is the OP seems to take take her DS's word for everything and not go to the teacher. Maybe, just Maybe the 5th grader might not be telling 100% of the truth. It's been known to happen

 

[jrmasm]

After a little reading because of something said by another poster, it seems likely that at least certain students in that class are a handful.

Oh my.

 

[mhsjax]

Make that "some" people.

True. My apologies to those that don't fit the description I gave.

 

[luvsJack]

That is possible of course. And it's also possible that this group of 5th graders aren't very good listeners. No one knows except the teacher.

You know, I worked as an aide in a classroom once that seemed filled with non-listeners. No where near 50%, mind you, that seems a bit much for a class. Anyway, the teacher did know that. But rather than humiliating the students or letting them fail; we worked on listening skills. When directions were given, she did different things to make sure they heard and understood. She also taught them to write the directions down so they could refer back to them and we made sure they continued to write things down.


There are other ways to make kids accountable and to teach them how to listen and follow directions. Letting them fail isn't the only way.

 

[Lorelei Lee]

Eh, I can't say. Not without knowing what's going on in the classroom. If half the class is having a problem following basic classroom behavior, seems to me that addressing the situation to a group of parents makes some sense.

But since neither of us knows what's going on, we can't say either way for sure.

The Open House nights I attended, there was no opportunity for the teacher to address the parents as a group. the work is on display for a couple of hours. Some parents show up at the beginning of the evening, some later in the evening. Some parents have more than one classroom to visit. And all of the parents bring their children.

I'm a single parent with two children. I'd have both of my children with me at these events. I'd walk through one child's classroom and then head over to the other child's room. I barely had time to speak with the teacher in either room.

No, it's not the appropriate format to address the parents about a bad situation in the classroom.

 

[smitch425]

If you have teachers that do this all the time, then I feel sorry for you. Around here teachers have more class than that. They put work in a folder during open house that the parents open. No teacher that had any class or decency or a brain in her head does this. Oh and I have 3 A/B honor roll kids in AP classes. So statement is VERY untrue. But on the off chance it is, bad teacher and bad school system.

No need to feel sorry for me. I don't think any of our teachers would put poor grades on display, just stating that it isn't out of the norm to have grades displayed for others to see. At our school, my son's 3rd grade class has clear pockets in the hallway that they could decorate any way they wanted (DS drew a bunch of Mario heads on the border of his). They can put the paper that they are most proud of in the pocket to be displayed to the whole school for the duration of the following week. DD had the same teacher when she was in 3rd grade, so I was familiar with the set up. I volunteer weekly for some of the teachers, and around the 6th week of school I finally asked DS why he never puts anything in his pocket. He said he never knew what it was for. He just thought his pictures of Mario looked good in the hallway. Apparently, he wasn't listening well the day the teacher told them what they were.

 

[soccerdad72]

Perhaps it doesn't have anything to do with the attitude of the class. Perhaps the reason that 50% of the class failed is that the teacher failed to teach the material? Or maybe its the way she grades? Or maybe she didn't give directions clearly enough?

If that many students in a class fail, then something needs to be retaught or redone.

Either scenario is possible. Either the teacher sucks at teaching or there's a number of crappy students in the class. We really have no way of knowing why 50% of the class failed. I do find it interesting that while the OP is ranting about her son's grade being displayed, she obviously took note of all the other kids' grades in the class at Open House.

 

[declansdad]

The Principle removed him from the class like I requested and said nothing more.........

The principal has no backbone.

 

[declansdad]

My son wasn't the only one with a bad grade....50% of the class had a failing grade. Need I say more........

Yes you do. Simply because half the class had a failing grade doesn't mean it was the teachers fault.

 

[declansdad]

Then don't feel bad. And tell him not to feel bad either. It is one thing to be sad over your bad grade, but, if HALF the kids failed then that's not on the kids, that's on the teacher. You must be doing something wrong if half your class fails!
What I would do: Tell him not to worry about it, he's not the only one who did badly and it doesn't matter, and then tell him to make sure he asks questions if he doesn't understand the assignment, etc

I would agree with you if it wasn't just on one project.

 

[sunshinehighway]

Either scenario is possible. Either the teacher sucks at teaching or there's a number of crappy students in the class. We really have no way of knowing why 50% of the class failed. I do find it interesting that while the OP is ranting about her son's grade being displayed, she obviously took note of all the other kids' grades in the class at Open House.

"How dare the teacher put my son's grade out for everyone to see. Grades are private!"

"I made sure to look at all the grades while I was briefly in the classroom"

 

[marlynnp]

I may be wrong here but shouldn't grades be kept confidential?

So would YOU like to explain why you were rifling through the papers on desks other than your son's?

 

[jrmasm]

You know, I worked as an aide in a classroom once that seemed filled with non-listeners. No where near 50%, mind you, that seems a bit much for a class. Anyway, the teacher did know that. But rather than humiliating the students or letting them fail; we worked on listening skills. When directions were given, she did different things to make sure they heard and understood. She also taught them to write the directions down so they could refer back to them and we made sure they continued to write things down.


There are other ways to make kids accountable and to teach them how to listen and follow directions. Letting them fail isn't the only way.

We're not aware of what is going on this particular classroom are we? And that's all I'm saying. There is a lot of the whole story that we're not being told and I think it's important to keep in mind.

The Open House nights I attended, there was no opportunity for the teacher to address the parents as a group. the work is on display for a couple of hours. Some parents show up at the beginning of the evening, some later in the evening. Some parents have more than one classroom to visit. And all of the parents bring their children.

I'm a single parent with two children. I'd have both of my children with me at these events. I'd walk through one child's classroom and then head over to the other child's room. I barely had time to speak with the teacher in either room.

No, it's not the appropriate format to address the parents about a bad situation in the classroom.

Not all schools handle these nights in the same manner.

 

[Lorelei Lee]

You know, I worked as an aide in a classroom once that seemed filled with non-listeners. No where near 50%, mind you, that seems a bit much for a class. Anyway, the teacher did know that. But rather than humiliating the students or letting them fail; we worked on listening skills. When directions were given, she did different things to make sure they heard and understood. She also taught them to write the directions down so they could refer back to them and we made sure they continued to write things down.


There are other ways to make kids accountable and to teach them how to listen and follow directions. Letting them fail isn't the only way.

Exactly.

 

[Flight]

Folks, this has nothing to do about laws indicating privacy issues or following a chain of command pursuing complaints.

This is about a lack of common sense and a lack of great teaching values.

The open house is never the place to show the parents and all guests entering a classroom how poorly a student did on a school project. The open house is a place where parents can see the classroom environment their child is in throughout the year and to briefly meet the teacher. Where does my child sit. What are the objects in the room the student has available to enhance learning. Where do they spend other parts of the day...

Issues with academics, conflicts, or behavior - the teacher has other avenues to address these issue. But not at the open house.

 

[OceanAnnie]

What a witch!

MTE.

OP.

 

[Lorelei Lee]

Folks, this has nothing to do about laws indicating privacy issues or following a chain of command pursuing complaints.

This is about a lack of common sense and a lack of great teaching values.

The open house is never the place to show the parents and all guests entering a classroom how poorly a student did on a school project. The open house is a place where parents can see the classroom environment their child is in throughout the year and to briefly meet the teacher. Where does my child sit. What are the objects in the room the student has available to enhance learning. Where to they spend other parts of the day...

Issues with academics, conflicts, or behavior - the teacher has other avenues to address these issue. But not at the open house.

Exactly.

The teacher showed very poor judgment here. The grades should not have been displayed. A note home to the parent, a phone call, a face to face conference, those are the formats the teacher should use to address poor performance in class.

 

[Poohbug]

OP, I hope your son has a better experience in his new class. Every parent just has to do what they think it right for their child.

I also have a fifth grader with low self esteem that comes from previous years of classroom bullying. He teacher this year is not so great. There are bad teachers out there. Sometimes they are just bad, sometimes the teacher and child just don't mesh well. I figure you are going to get at least one teacher you just don't like. This is his year. We are trying to make the best of it and get through the rest of the year. I try and use this experience as a life lesson and teach him that we are going to have to work with/for people we don't get along with.