switching teachers

[mamacatnv]

I feel for you and your frustration. I totally agree that kids need to learn how to handle different situations etc, but sometimes there is a conflict. Unfortunately you went into this class with a lot of preconceived knowledge and your children most likely overheard your concerns which can compound the issues. Can you go sit in on the class? Our district allows parents full access which I have learned here on the DIS is not common.

In all the years of having kids in school there has only been 1 situation that IMO warranted us asking to have our child moved. Our issue was class room management and lack of experience. The class was chaos and DD who was in 3rd grade was totally stressed out.

When on the 2nd day of school DD was in tears I knew we were in trouble. I went and observed her class for a week, every day for 1-3 hours per day and then I took the findings and observations to the Principal. It took us 12 weeks to finally get DD switched, we had to change tracks etc (year round school). I then continued to volunteer in the class for those 12 weeks until DD was finally moved. In the course of those 12 weeks we went from the Teacher to the V.P. to the Principal and then to the District where we worked our way up to the superintendant. That was DD's last year, she is now attending a Charter School and everyone is happy and learning.

Teacher was very defensive, cited to me her education etc. She was a new teacher but she was my age and the Mom of 5. She resented my questioning her ability BUT I think she resented me and from what I saw she did not take it out on DD, she was so busy trying to figure out what she was doing she didn't have time to take it out on DD and since DD is pretty compliant she had no real reason to single her out.

My one piece of advice is to get ahold of your schools/districts grievance policy and follow it to the letter.

 

[mchames]

So, how's it going? Any luck in requesting a switch?

 

[torinsmom]

At my former school, I had two sets of parents who had requested another classroom and got mine instead. Nothing I did was good enough for those two moms, who were friends. It was a preschool/kindergarten class, so I saw parents at drop-off and pick up. THere was never a kind word, never a smile. The kids were both doing fine, making friends, learning and loved me. When I heard there was a spot in that classroom they wanted, I asked the director to move the child of the worst parent. Later in the year, there was a spot for the second child as well. I don't WANT kids whose parents don't want to give me a fair chance.

OP, the teacher will probably find out if you ask for your child to be moved. If there is a problem, it is for the best for her to know anyway. I would never treat a child badly because of what the parent wanted. In my example, I worked even harder with the child, but the parents were just determined to hate me.

Marsha

 

[mumom95]

I would sit it on your daughter's class for a couple of days. See for yourself what this teacher is like. Sometimes kids (especially if they start school being told their teacher is mean) will then see everything the teacher does as mean, whether it is or not. I wasn't there, so I don't know, but when it came to asking questions, maybe the teacher was right in the middle of explaining something, a bunch of kids put up their hands or walked up to her, and she told them to put their hands down and sit down, until she was done. I've seen teachers do this plenty of times when I've helped out in class. A kid may have a question, but the student also needs to learn to wait until the teacher finishes what they are saying before asking (I'm not saying your daughter did this, I just know I've seen this in the elementary level before).

If after a couple of days of observing you still aren't happy with what you've seen, then go to the principal. And insist, and keep insisting that you do not want your child in an atmosphere like that. If you've observed it personally for a couple of days, you will have plenty of reasons to give the principal. If they say no, keep going in and insisting. Or keep sitting in on the class. At some point the school will get sick of you bugging them and they will give in.

But go in and observe the class on your own (all day, so you see what happens with all aspects) for a couple of days first. Don't judge whether the teacher is good or bad because of what the other moms or kids are saying, base it on what you have personally witnessed.

 

[zachnsamsmommy]

Thanks for the replies. I should mention that school has already started here. They post the lists a few days before school starts and all 4 4th grades were already 4 kids over so I knew getting them moved before school started was pretty much not going to happen.

I figured that I'd be told to give her a chance. Which is what I'm doing. This teacher is known as 'Mrs. Furious'. I have friends and neighbors who have kids in her class and *no one* has one good thing to say about her. Before bed last night (day 2 of school) I already have one daughter in tears because she feels she can't even ask this woman a question. (she was told yesterday to go sit down before she could ask a question, people with hands raised were told to put them down, etc.) I really don't know what to do. I hate to have her feel like this all year.

I just wanted to clarify that school has already started.

Let me say that I was in quite a similar situation last year. We can't request teachers, but we can 'non request' one teacher per year, before school starts. My son last year got the only teacher I had been told by everyone to non request (which, I didn't, btw b/c the school is big and I really didn't think he'd get her).

She was known as a 'yeller' and hard on the students. Her classes are always small b/c everyone non requests her. Well, I almost cried when I found out he got her.

And guess what? I gave her a chance...and my son had a great year, and learned a lot. Did he occassionally have problems with her? Yes, but that happened even the previous years. I wouldn't say she was my favorite teacher, but things worked out okay.

I think giving a teacher a chance is a good idea. Not everyone else's view on the teacher may be accurate for YOUR child, just b/c THEIR child had a problem.

GL

 

[hegsag]

I switched my dd's teacher last year. She was put with a teacher that didn't have the right personality for my dd. I went into the Principals office and had a long chat with everything about my dd and her quirks. I did get her switched to a more suited teacher. She had a fabulous year and really blossomed.

GL - I say, switch her asap. If she can't ask a question, how is she going to learn? I would atleast have a talk with the teacher regarding her policy regarding asking questions, etc. If you are still unsatisfied, then I'd see about getting her switched.

 

[englishteacha]

I teach middle school, and sometimes parents "demand" that their child be switched. Our former principal allowed this to happen a lot, and we had some horrible groups of kids (we try to mix up the students so that they're well balanced). As individuals, they were great, but certain kids just should not be in the same class! In once case, I had the younger sister of a previous student. I thought that the older sis and I got along just fine, but the younger sister was adamant that her older sister thought I was horrible, and didn't want to be in my class. So she asked for her homeroom to be switched...which landed her in my English classes. If she'd stayed put, she only would have had me for homeroom and study hall! Oops on their part. It was a tough year. I could do nothing right for this student or her mother. The girl had tons of friends in her class, though, and wouldn't even think of switching midyear. I say give it a chance, but if things don't work out well, ask about a switch. There may be nothing that can be done, though, if the numbers are high in all classes. Moving your child might mean that another child has to be moved to accomodate your request.

 

[grumpeeduck]

The very fact that these "teachers" remain employed never ceases to amaze me. I can think of no other profession where employees are allowed to treat others this way.

OP, I hope that you can get your child switched, and ASAP. I think that if every parent is as proactive as you are, some of this would stop. Teachers must behave this way because they feel they can get away with it or that the child will not tell. My children always tell me EVERYTHING about their days, and we deal with what we need to accordingly. My children know that they can come to us and that we will always believe them, and that together we can fix any problem that occurs.

Good luck to you. You are the advocate for your child!

 

[TwinsinCA]

I have not asked to have my girls moved. The second week of school was thankfully uneventful, so we decided to just stay put for now and hope for the best. On back-to-school night I signed up to volunteer in the classroom (which I have always done anyway) and I'm just waiting to find out when I can start going in. Then I will see for myself if she is just strict or if it goes beyond that. I plan to be in there every week so it is a good thing I kept my mouth shut. I really do not want to get off on the wrong foot with her. I've always gotten along really well with their teachers.


If things go downhill, I am still not sure what I can even do. The classes are all still over capacity. Like a PP said -- the only way to get my kids into another class is to move a couple others out. And I really don't think that is fair.

Thanks again for all the opinions on the subject!

 

[MM27]

The very fact that these "teachers" remain employed never ceases to amaze me. I can think of no other profession where employees are allowed to treat others this way.

OP, I hope that you can get your child switched, and ASAP. I think that if every parent is as proactive as you are, some of this would stop. Teachers must behave this way because they feel they can get away with it or that the child will not tell. My children always tell me EVERYTHING about their days, and we deal with what we need to accordingly. My children know that they can come to us and that we will always believe them, and that together we can fix any problem that occurs.

Good luck to you. You are the advocate for your child!

How do you know what really happened in the classroom? You don't know why the teacher didn't allow questions at that time. You're hearing one side of a story and are ready to say that the teacher is treating the kids in a horrible manner? I have 4th graders that will follow me around the classroom if I allowed them to, but in my classroom we don't do that. So I, especially in the beginning of the year, will tell a child to sit down. I would hope that instead of always believing what their child says a parent would listen to my side of the story as well.

 

[mchames]

I have not asked to have my girls moved. The second week of school was thankfully uneventful, so we decided to just stay put for now and hope for the best. On back-to-school night I signed up to volunteer in the classroom (which I have always done anyway) and I'm just waiting to find out when I can start going in. Then I will see for myself if she is just strict or if it goes beyond that. I plan to be in there every week so it is a good thing I kept my mouth shut. I really do not want to get off on the wrong foot with her. I've always gotten along really well with their teachers.


If things go downhill, I am still not sure what I can even do. The classes are all still over capacity. Like a PP said -- the only way to get my kids into another class is to move a couple others out. And I really don't think that is fair.

Thanks again for all the opinions on the subject!

Does your school district do "leveling"? Here, on the 40th day (usually around October), the district requires that all principals report their exact number of students. They use this to determine whether or not a school has too many or two few teachers assigned. If a grade level is over capacity in all of their classes, an additional teacher will be assigned and a new class formed. The teacher usually comes from a school whose enrollment is less than was projected when hiring for that school year began. This happens at my DD's school almost every year.

This can be annoying when you really like your child's teacher because there's a chance they can be moved to the new class. But, if you don't like your child's teacher or class for whatever reason you can volunteer to have your child be moved. Volunteers are kept confidential. Is this an option for you?

 

[mamacatnv]

Does your school district do "leveling"? Here, on the 40th day (usually around October), the district requires that all principals report their exact number of students. They use this to determine whether or not a school has too many or two few teachers assigned. If a grade level is over capacity in all of their classes, an additional teacher will be assigned and a new class formed. The teacher usually comes from a school whose enrollment is less than was projected when hiring for that school year began. This happens at my DD's school almost every year.

This can be annoying when you really like your child's teacher because there's a chance they can be moved to the new class. But, if you don't like your child's teacher or class for whatever reason you can volunteer to have your child be moved. Volunteers are kept confidential. Is this an option for you?

This is exactly what happened in our situation and it was the only reason we eventually got DD moved.

OP for what it is worth I think you are on the right track. We just got our class assignments and DD is disappointed that she didn't get the strictest "mean" teacher because my DD likes a nice quiet controlled class and knows that Mrs. M puts up with nothing. She will be fine she got 2nd strictest

 

[TwinsinCA]

They will have to address the overcrowding issue. The state imposes penalties if the class sizes are too big (In 4th grade I think the limit is 33. Since school started two more kids joined the class, bringing them up to 39). They usually have to get things evened out by the end of the first month of school. At that point they will either open a new class or bus students to other schools. This happens every fall. Since my kids started K at this school, they won't be moved unless I ask to have it done. The last ones enrolled are the first ones moved.

We CAN volunteer though. And I actually asked about that the first week of school when I saw that adding another class was likely. There are just two potential academic downsides to moving them. For one thing, the class may end up being a two grade combo class. I know in pioneer days one teacher taught several grades. But I really do not want them in a class where half the time is spent teaching another grade. And the bigger issue is that my daughters are in GATE. The students in the program are split between two classes -- the one they are in and the one I had hoped for. I don't know if they will allow my daughters to move to the new teacher and stay in that program. I asked about that specifically when I called about another class, and they said it was too early to know.

I hope it doesn't sound like I am making excuses here. I just need to know exactly what kind of situation I would moving them into. If it is inferior from an academic perspective, then it is probably better to just suck it up and keep them where they are.

 

[BCDisneyFanatic]

They will have to address the overcrowding issue. The state imposes penalties if the class sizes are too big (In 4th grade I think the limit is 33. Since school started two more kids joined the class, bringing them up to 39). They usually have to get things evened out by the end of the first month of school. At that point they will either open a new class or bus students to other schools. This happens every fall. Since my kids started K at this school, they won't be moved unless I ask to have it done. The last ones enrolled are the first ones moved.

We CAN volunteer though. And I actually asked about that the first week of school when I saw that adding another class was likely. There are just two potential academic downsides to moving them. For one thing, the class may end up being a two grade combo class. I know in pioneer days one teacher taught several grades. But I really do not want them in a class where half the time is spent teaching another grade. And the bigger issue is that my daughters are in GATE. The students in the program are split between two classes -- the one they are in and the one I had hoped for. I don't know if they will allow my daughters to move to the new teacher and stay in that program. I asked about that specifically when I called about another class, and they said it was too early to know.

I hope it doesn't sound like I am making excuses here. I just need to know exactly what kind of situation I would moving them into. If it is inferior from an academic perspective, then it is probably better to just suck it up and keep them where they are.

39 in an elementary classroom?! That is outrageous. Even 33 is pretty horrid. I would much rather have my child in a split class with 28 kids than in a single-grade class with 33 students. Those extra 5 students make a BIG difference in the amount of individual instruction time your kids will get. My kids have been in split classes several times, and they've always thrived. Most (effective) teachers differentiate instruction anyway for the kids in each grade.

 

[TwinsinCA]

39 in an elementary classroom?! That is outrageous. Even 33 is pretty horrid. I would much rather have my child in a split class with 28 kids than in a single-grade class with 33 students. Those extra 5 students make a BIG difference in the amount of individual instruction time your kids will get. My kids have been in split classes several times, and they've always thrived. Most (effective) teachers differentiate instruction anyway for the kids in each grade.

I am not happy about the class sizes either. I should note that in grades K-3 the limit in CA is 20 students. The big jump in class size happens in 4th grade.

I would love to hear more about your experience with the split classes because I fail to see how the kids are not shortchanged.

Teachers are already spread thin enough teaching kids of various levels in one grade. How do you extend that to the ability levels now spanning two grades and still be effective? Not only that, but the standards for each grade are different. Say in 4th grade social studies you are covering U.S. history and in 5th the focus is world history. How do you cover both areas thoroughly in one social studies class?