Teacher Problem - What would you do?

[JayCT]

DS11 is having a problem with one of his teachers. He is in his first year of school where they change classes for each subject. The teacher has a reputation. He is the type of teacher that just works on the board and does not interact with the students. He is also very demanding and has not accepted any of DS homework because it is not exactly the way he wants it. The homework is done correctly but is not in the format that he wants. DS says that he does not explain what he wants, but I am not certain I believe him. I told DS that it is his responsibility to understand what is expected of him. I have suggested that DS go to the teacher during break time and be certain he understands what is required. He said that he went yesterday, so I am waiting to see if the homework was acceptable today. I am not holding out much hope though.

DS does not like this teacher and I am worried that it will effect what he learns from him. Up until now DS has done well and enjoyed this subject, but I can see that enjoyment waning and possibly just him turning off to it. On the other hand, this teacher may teach DS to be better organized and to listen carefully to instructions. A number of people who have children who have had this teacher have told me to get him out of this class because of the teachers reputation.

I should add that there is an Open House tomorrow night so I will meet the teacher and see what he is really like. What would you do?

 

[KirstenB]

I'd go to the Open House, and have the teacher explain the format to me. Then I'd ask what his other expectations are, and go with my gut feeling. You have a great opportunity to find out more information, and that is what I'd need before deciding my next move.

Here, they start having the kids move between 2 classrooms for the different subjects in 2nd grade. The whole "moving thing" is stressful for the kids to get used to, so that takes time too.

 

[Jennasis]

Wait until Open House and meet the guy. YOU ask him exactly what he expects from DS's homework. If it si a MATH class, I too had teachers who were demanding of how the work was formatted, and I was a better student for it.

 

[JunieJay]

My son has one like this too. All I heard about was how tough she is, and then I met her at Back to School night, and I agreed with him. She sure doesn't seem like the warm and fuzzy type, and for kids just coming out of elementary school, that can be a rude awakening.

I honestly think 6th grade is too young to be switching classes for most kids. Its been a huge transition for my son, who is not an organized child by nature. I think these teachers should cut these kids a little slack, they are hardly more than babies.

Fortunately, our school has the homework assignments listed on their website. The teacher in question wanted this notebook designed a certain way, so I went on there and got a look at what she wanted and helped my son with it. I have found middle school takes a lot more parental involvement in order to keep the kid afloat, at least these first few weeks of school. Perhaps they will get more in the groove of things as they get used to it.

Does your school post the homework assignments and syllabus? If not, can you email or call the teacher for direction? Or maybe you will find out more at Back to School night?

Good luck to your son!

 

[KelNottAt]

The open house may not be a setting to get specific about your son's case, but it be an opportunity to ask about the homework requirements/expectations in general.

Then, back at home, review your son's work to see if you can figure out what went wrong. Have your son apply this new understanding to the next few assignments.

If he continues to lose credit for his homework, then it's time for a one-one-one conference with the teacher. Make him sit down and specifically point out how your son should have done things differently to get credit.

Good luck

 

[ElizaB39]

Can you call some of the other parents? Ask what their experiences have been so far?

 

[Tinijocaro]

DS11 is having a problem with one of his teachers. He is in his first year of school where they change classes for each subject. The teacher has a reputation. He is the type of teacher that just works on the board and does not interact with the students. He is also very demanding and has not accepted any of DS homework because it is not exactly the way he wants it. The homework is done correctly but is not in the format that he wants. DS says that he does not explain what he wants, but I am not certain I believe him. I told DS that it is his responsibility to understand what is expected of him. I have suggested that DS go to the teacher during break time and be certain he understands what is required. He said that he went yesterday, so I am waiting to see if the homework was acceptable today. I am not holding out much hope though.

DS does not like this teacher and I am worried that it will effect what he learns from him. Up until now DS has done well and enjoyed this subject, but I can see that enjoyment waning and possibly just him turning off to it. On the other hand, this teacher may teach DS to be better organized and to listen carefully to instructions. A number of people who have children who have had this teacher have told me to get him out of this class because of the teachers reputation.

I should add that there is an Open House tomorrow night so I will meet the teacher and see what he is really like. What would you do?

Go to open house to check him out, but do NOT use open house as a time to discuss your son. This is not a conference time- it's open house. Call the teacher after school to get specifics of what you can do to help your son with his work and following instructions. Just don't do it at the open house. Big no-no with teachers.

 

[golfgal]

Wait to hear the teacher's side of the story before you do anything else. It would be perfectly acceptable at open house to say "we are having some confusion at home over what is expected with homework and the format in which it needs to be turned in" and get some clarification. If it is a math class, the teacher may be requiring the students to show their work, perfectly acceptable, and your son did not, for one example.

 

[waltsgirl]

Go to the Open house and get an impression of the teacher, however, open houses are not the place for discussions on how your child is performing. At least I have never found them to be, nor felt they were when I taught.

I would set up a meeting with this teacher where you, your son and the teacher sit down and discuss the expectations, the homework format, and the teaching methods used in class. Then when you get home you can discuss the meeting privately with your son and if either of you feels that this is not the class for him then I would request that he be moved to another class.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Set up a meeting and fast! I would have communicated when he did not take the homework the first time.

 

[crazee4mickey]

Do not use the Open House to discuss this with the teacher.
I would set up a meeting and ask questions which you want clarified as to what is expected with DS's homework.
The teacher may have a "reputation" but not all teachers are going to have the exact teaching style which is compatible with the learning style of your child. That is one of the "hurtles" of reaching the higher grades and having to move from class to class.

 

[barkley]

if a teacher is demanding and exacting about students submitting work in a specific format, and has explained that format to the students i can't fault the teacher. with any assignment in any subject (save a 'fill in the blanks' type of thing) the format can be as important as the subject matter. an english or history term paper may be on the mark content wise, but if it is not written in the correct manner with the appropriate citations and such it does not meet the goal/purpose of the assignment. a poem or creative writing peice can be beautiful and meaningful but if it is not written in the appropriate style or format it can scattered thoughts on paper. in mathmatics it is often the goal to teach the process of solving a problem so it is implicit that every step be diagramed out and documented.

if a teacher chooses to not have an interactive format in a classroom but students are still learning (and the op stated the son was doing the homework correctly so he is demonstrating that he is learning) i can't see how that would be wrong or bad. many college courses are strictly lecture or 'board' driven-i think it's valuable for students to start learning from different teaching styles at a young age (just talked to a friend tonight whose son started college a couple of weeks ago-he is floored that not all his classes are open discussion format as they were in highschool).

i would suggest the child talk to the teacher if they need clarification regarding the format of homework-and if the child is still unclear/work is being returned as unacceptable, the parent ask the teacher if they can have an explanation so they can assist the child in understanding.

i've never based my opinions of teachers on their 'reputations'. not everyone has the same learning style, and often teachers who operate outside/above the norm for instruction earn a 'bad rep' just because they are different from what the kids are used to.

 

[shortbun]

Take the homework with you so the teacher can show you what should change in the format.

 

[MariettaC]

Meet the teacher and form my own opinion - not one based on what others have to say.

 

[Brianne]

DS's math/science teacher is the same way. We set up a meeting with her a couple weeks after school started because there was a lot of confusion. We were able to give her some insight into things & at the same time, were able to see how & where she was going with the class. Things have gotten a lot better since then.

I agree with the others who say not to use the open house--the most I would suggest is to introduce yourself, then suggest that a meeting be scheduled.

Good luck!

 

[PiRSquared]

As a teacher myself, I highly recommend talking to the teacher outside of open house. This is the time in a student's life that they need to begin to follow what the teacher says. If it is a specific format, then they need to learn. My son's 5th grade teacher let him add mixed numbers in his head with no work shown. I was furious. Luckily, his 6th grade teacher made them show EVERY step. It drove him crazy, but it was the first step in getting ready for Algebra. When he got to Algebra, he was fine because he had done the step by step stuff earlier.

 

[Lizzy2]

This sounds like a hard transition for you all and your son. I personally would schedule a conference right away and straighten everything out. Strangely, enough sometimes the "hard" teachers were the ones I learned the most from because I had to stay on my toes and really pay attention. The only warning I would give is this: I don't believe teachers should be allowed to make rules for the sake of having rules. The format that this teacher should make sense in the context of your son's learning like the examples that others posters have cited about steps in a math problem or citing research correctly for an english paper. Rules in this context is something your son should learn to respect and they should be explained to him as such. This prepares him to be an adult and an adult learner. I used to teach training classes for my former job. We were always told that people learn better when they have the why behind the rules and what you expect them to remember. The teacher should be able to say to you for example " I prefer the students do their work in pencil so mistakes can be easily corrected" or "I prefer the students have a folder with pockets to hold the worksheets that I will hand out" it shouldn't be " The students need to have green folders because green is my favorite color" or some such. When we took my DD to K this year I apologized right off the bat for bringing a bigger box of crayons than requested because it was all I could find. I was really nervous because I grew up with alot of the "green folder" type teacher. This dear lady looked at me like I had three heads and said "Whatever, no big deal." I was so relieved!!!