Help in dealing with school please

[punkin]

My DD13 has 38 students in her French class. Her teacher is completely overwhelmed and asked the students to ask their parents to complain. DH called the assistant principal who said there was nothing he could do. This is not acceptable. It is impossible for any teacher to teach that many kids in a foreign language class. This is not a lecture type class. If the students do not receive individual attention, they will not learn. So, my question is, what is my next step? Do I call the board of ed? Do I write nasty letters, and to whom?

As another possibility, I am seriously considering having DD drop French (it is a waste of her time anyway at this point) and take it at a community college. I would however want her to get school credit for any class she takes. Has anyone ever done this?

Any and all suggestions would be welcome. I really have no idea what tp do.

 

[bekkiz]

Check with the academic advisors at the high school. I've known many kids who have done that exact thing (take required classes at cc and get credit for them.) The advisors/counselors should have the required forms or information for you.

I agree that getting her out of that class seems like the best thing to do. She will have a very tough time learning in that situation.

 

[SC Minnie]

Do you know any school board members? Especially that are up for re-election??? Also a letter and call to the superintendents office. If I still got nothing my next step would be the local paper or news outlet.

That many kids in a high school class with 1 teacher is totally unacceptable.

 

[wendy46001]

I'd have to say i guess it depends on the school and the size...i know around here (central florida) your lucky if your class size is under 40 kids...I know in high school frosh german, a bit older then your DD, i had 55 kids in my class (this was unheard of back then)...but teacher knew how to engage and control the class so we learned lots... if the teacher is saying she cant handle I’d take her honesty and get DD out...hopefully there are other languages or different teachers she can switch to

 

[Frantasmic]

Does you state have mandated class size limits? Find out what they are before complaining. If they are over the limit, start with the principal, then move to the superintendent, and up to the State Board of Education.

 

[tar heel]

Is this middle school and French 1? Given that the answers are "yes," while I wouldn't be thrilled with the situation, I wouldn't worry a lot about it either. Your DD still has plenty of time to catch up on French.

At our school, instead of loading up the class, they would have closed out a few kids.

 

[CEDmom]

Does you state have mandated class size limits? Find out what they are before complaining. If they are over the limit, start with the principal, then move to the superintendent, and up to the State Board of Education.

What Frantasmic said.

 

[NMAmy]

I'm curious--what would your solution be for the situation? Divide it into two classes? Drop some kids? In which case, how would the decision be made and what would those kids do? I'm not trying to be a smarty pants, I'm just curious if the teacher or parents have come up with some suggestions and if they're feasible for the school financially.

DD's German teacher quit 1 week before classes started this year. She was so disappointed. They were going to have her take the class at the community college but was told she wouldn't be able to because she's not an upperclassman. (She's a sophomore.) She's taking Spanish now but will switch back to German next year.

 

[holycow]

I took French in HS and it was definately NOT indivdualized learning. Maybe then need to look for a new French program that you can teach to a large group. I also took French in college and there were about 60 people in that class.


I guess I'm just not understanding what the problem is. It sounds like they need a new teacher to be honest.


Not trying to be rude but just not really understanding what the problem is. The teacher is the one who sets the rules and therefore sets the tone of the class IMO.

HC

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I would not have my dd drop the class and I would not pursue anything with the school.

My solution would be to hire a French tutor rather than mess up my dd's schedule of learning. I prefer to put my energy into my dd's learning, rather than letter writing for a teacher in which nothing is going to be done except disrupt things more than likely.

 

[punkin]

OK, to answer some questions. This is high school-9th grade French 2. They had another French teacher last year in addition to this one, but she was fired at the end of last year because they "did not think they would have so many kids in French 2 this year" according to the assistant principal. That's really stupid. Almost all these kids came from the two middle schools in the district. Didn't they know what they would be taking. Additionally, they were supposed to pick classes, and in fact I got a tentative schedule, last May. Didn't they notice something then?

The only languages offered are Latin (only if you are in a certain program or uppercalssman), Spanish and French (that's a separate rant).

I really do think that there should be another French class. There is a county limit of 35 students per class according to my understanding, but the AP claims that that's just a guideline, not a hard rule.

Wendy46001, that's just crazy. How can anyone learn in an environment like that?

 

[Linda/MA]

Well, if the limit is 35 and there are 38 students in the class, why doesn't the teacher complain to the union. I know that's what would happen in my town!

When my daughter was in Kindergarten, the class was just at the limit. Many parents went before the School Committee and complained and they hired another teacher. That was quite awhile ago, and with so many budget restrictions today, I'm not sure that would happen again. But, like I said above, if it were even 1 child above the limit, the union wouldn't allow it.

 

[diznygirl]

The way the class limits work in Florida, they have until a certain year (like 2010) to actually reach those limits. So until then it's not a hard and fast rule.

You said you spoke to the VP - next step would be principal - especially to complain that the current teacher has admitted she's not capable of handling that many students. And then the next step would be school board. I would stay away from the media - they just report what is happening, but they can't hire a new teacher, and you don't want to alienate the principal or superintendent.

Good luck.

 

[FreshTressa]

I took my foreign language at the community college. It was a much better format for me than the high school was and it counted just fine for university.

 

[lowie]

i'd be real surprised if the school doesn't find a reason to fire that teacher.. why would she complain about her job to a bunch of 13 year olds? she should have the nerve to go to her higher ups and fight for what she wants.

i have found that if you complain about everything then you get labeled by the system as being a pain in the backside. Hold all your complaints and letter writing for when YOUR daughter needs something for herself, not for someone else's battle. JMO

 

[momrek06]

OP: My DS wanted to take additional ART classes in high school. In order to do that he would be bumped from a REQUIRED TO GRADUATE computer class. He reallllllly wanted the art classes (his major now in college). We inquired to computer classes at Brown U in RI. WHAT A GREAT PLAN THIS WAS. DS applied to Brown, got accepted, it is called "Summer at Brown"! He lived in the dorms (mind you he was a Junior in hs) but LOVED it. He got the course all approved by his h.s. as a computer course. He received an A for the course. And to this day still stays in touch with all his friends from Brown U. And DS is at the University of Glasgow(Scotland) studying ART. Just what he wanted to do from the beginning.

I would def go the CC route. Try it, look into it.

 

[Hannathy]

Why can't the teacher teach? High school Language classes are not hands on like kindergarten, they most certainly are mostly lecture. It sounds like she or he just can't control the class. I took 4 yrs of Spanish and usually had 32 -36 kids in the class and leared enough to test out of college Spanish. If there is a behavior problem then the school should deal with it otherwise tell her to quit complaining about grading a few extra tests. What specific problem does your daughter have? that is what I would ask if I was the principal, not just the number. In early grades it definetly matters about class size but as kids get older and get into lecture type classes it doesn't matter as much, look at college classes with a hundred or more.

 

[wendy46001]

Wendy46001, that's just crazy. How can anyone learn in an environment like that?

Actually it wasn’t all bad you learn to adapt, the teachers learn to step it up and everyone wins...but in a high school with 5k kids you have to be in German 4 before your class size hits the 20's...Honestly it helped a lot with college...I always feel for those kids who walk into University and sit in their first frosh English class with 300+ kids and panic....

 

[AllyandJack]

If the teacher doesn't think they can teach the class, she should be the one to speak up. Why is she sticking parents with the burden? Why can't she go in and say she doesn't think she's capable of teaching those kids the way she feels they should be taught with such a high number?

I always had a big class. In private school (elementary), there were 35 of us with 1 teacher. In high school, we had 35-40 kids per class. Most of us learned and turned out fine.

But, none of that means anything if the teacher doesn't feel it's in the best interest of the children. She should be the judge of that and she should be the one to remedy it. When I have an issue at my job, I don't call the law firm's clients and tell them to call the partners and complain about such and such. I handle it myself.

 

[Mickey1122]

Do you have the Allez Viens textbook? Here, French 1 and 2 are combined, as it is only 20 people here. (That's if you start French in HS; if you start in middle school you end up in French 3 as a 9th grader.) Anyway, consider switching into French 3. I did this because I realized that I would be held back in French 2, and I did very well in French 3.