What do you think (school related)

[Liberty Belle]

This is the email I sent to my son's principal (pretty self-explanatory):

Mr. Z,

My son is a student in Mr. X's Probabilities and Statistics class. I have some concerns about how Mr. X is conducting himself with the students.

My son tells me that Mr. X repeatedly walks down the rows of desks and hits the students in the backs of their heads while they are doing work. Apparently this is a common occurence. He also says Mr. X seems to enjoy startling the students while they're working and engages in childish backtalk and behavior.

He is very happy with the rest of his teachers and has never expressed to the need for a principal to be made aware of a teacher's behavior before, so I feel his concerns are valid. The hitting is especially troubling me.

I've assured my son that if you address this with Mr. X, my son's name will not be given. If you show him the email, could you please delete my name from below? My son has asked me if he could be removed from his class, but I told him I wanted to talk with you first and see if we could get it worked out this way.

Thank you.


*************
And here is the principal's response:

Ms. Y,

I am going to take a look at your son’s schedule tomorrow and see exactly what our options are before proceeding.

I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.


**************


So, basically, he's checking to see if my son can switch classes. First, I do not want him to have to switch classes unless it is necessary. Second, what about all the other students in the class? My son says the kids all express annoyance and frustration from Mr. X's behavior. I sent him a reply that said as much.

What would you do? Do you think Mr. X's behavior is ok? As far as the startling goes, my son said he'll do the hitting and also just blurt out loud weird noises throughout the class. Very strange.

Oh, my son is in highschool.

 

[N&B'smom]

This is the email I sent to my son's principal (pretty self-explanatory):

Mr. Z,

My son is a student in Mr. X's Probabilities and Statistics class. I have some concerns about how Mr. X is conducting himself with the students.

My son tells me that Mr. X repeatedly walks down the rows of desks and hits the students in the backs of their heads while they are doing work. Apparently this is a common occurence. He also says Mr. X seems to enjoy startling the students while they're working and engages in childish backtalk and behavior.

He is very happy with the rest of his teachers and has never expressed to the need for a principal to be made aware of a teacher's behavior before, so I feel his concerns are valid. The hitting is especially troubling me.

I've assured my son that if you address this with Mr. X, my son's name will not be given. If you show him the email, could you please delete my name from below? My son has asked me if he could be removed from his class, but I told him I wanted to talk with you first and see if we could get it worked out this way.

Thank you.


*************
And here is the principal's response:

Ms. Y,

I am going to take a look at your son’s schedule tomorrow and see exactly what our options are before proceeding.

I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.


**************


So, basically, he's checking to see if my son can switch classes. First, I do not want him to have to switch classes unless it is necessary. Second, what about all the other students in the class? My son says the kids all express annoyance and frustration from Mr. X's behavior. I sent him a reply that said as much.

What would you do? Do you think Mr. X's behavior is ok? As far as the startling goes, my son said he'll do the hitting and also just blurt out loud weird noises throughout the class. Very strange.

Oh, my son is in highschool.

Is it possible that Mr X has some sort of problem that you are not aware but the school is? It doesn't sound like his behavior is typical teacher behavior.

 

[KAMKIM]

I think he at least wanted to let you know right away that he is addressing your concern for your child first. He will probably deal with the teacher but might be contemplating on how to go about doing that.

Sounds to me like the teacher maybe playing around and just has a sense of humor that is not fit for the classroom...I dont know.

 

[Liberty Belle]

Is it possible that Mr X has some sort of problem that you are not aware but the school is? It doesn't sound like his behavior is typical teacher behavior.

It's possible. He acts almost like he has ADHD (I work with several students with ADHD and am currently having my youngest son evaluated, so I know a lot of the signs). Regardless, I don't think he should be teaching if he cannot control himself.

 

[Liberty Belle]

I think he at least wanted to let you know right away that he is addressing your concern for your child first. He will probably deal with the teacher but might be contemplating on how to go about doing that.

Sounds to me like the teacher maybe playing around and just has a sense of humor that is not fit for the classroom...I dont know.

I hope so.

Yeah, he may think he's being funny, I really have no idea, but from what my son says, students really hate it and they've even cursed at him when he's hit their heads. I asked my son what happened then and he said Mr. X curses back at them (including the [edited] ).

 

[mum4jenn]

Maybe he has Tourettes Syndrome

 

[Liberty Belle]

Maybe he has Tourettes Syndrome

He could, I suppose, though my son says it seems deliberate.

 

[RunningGirl]

Seems more like a teacher who wants to be "cool". I had some teachers like that in hs that drove me crazy!

I doubt this teacher would change his behavior too much even after hearing concerns.

 

[mjkacmom]

Personally, I would never email a principal about a teacher until I spoke with the teacher personally - chain of command. I don't know many principals who would do anything regarding a parent complaint if the parent never gave the teacher the chance to tell his side.

 

[kwelch10377]

Personally, I would never email a principal about a teacher until I spoke with the teacher personally - chain of command. I don't know many principals who would do anything regarding a parent complaint if the parent never gave the teacher the chance to tell his side.

Normally I would agree, but in this case I don't think that would help. Maybe if it just happened once or twice, but since he does it all the time he thinks it is ok to do and I don't think I parent talking to him would change that.

I'm sure the principal wants to handle the issue with your son first and he may need to do some more investigating before he proceeds with how to handle things with the teacher. He may also not be able to discuss how he handles things with the teacher.

 

[Liberty Belle]

Personally, I would never email a principal about a teacher until I spoke with the teacher personally - chain of command. I don't know many principals who would do anything regarding a parent complaint if the parent never gave the teacher the chance to tell his side.

My son was afraid of retaliation. I would normally agree with you, but when the teacher is cursing at the students and hitting them, I think it's a different matter.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

My son was afraid of retaliation. I would normally agree with you, but when the teacher is cursing at the students and hitting them, I think it's a different matter.

I concur.


As for why they are looking at moving your son--it could be that the teacher is in a union and perhaps they have a different way to proceed with accusations, I do not know.


If accurate--what the teacher is doing is highly inappropriate and if he has a disability...there is no disability in the world that would make any of that conduct justifiable.

 

[Green Tea]

. Second, what about all the other students in the class? My son says the kids all express annoyance and frustration from Mr. X's behavior. I sent him a reply that said as much.



Oh, my son is in highschool.

The other kids should be irrelevant to you.

Maybe the teacher has a disability and is not disclosed to the students. Maybe the principal knows he has a problem teacher and can't get rid of him b/c of tenure. Maybe he is just odd. The cursing should not be tolerated though. Has your son asked in class to not be hit again?

 

[Liberty Belle]

The other kids should be irrelevant to you.

Maybe the teacher has a disability and is not disclosed to the students. Maybe the principal knows he has a problem teacher and can't get rid of him b/c of tenure. Maybe he is just odd. The cursing should not be tolerated though. Has your son asked in class to not be hit again?

Hmm...they're not. I'm concerned about any child who is being hit by his teacher. My son says kids tell him to stop all the time. Honestly, the first time he hit my son my son blurted out, "What the hell?!" I mean, it really startled him. He said the teacher just laughed.

I just asked him if today was any different. He said no. In fact when Mr. X yelled something in class today, a student said "cut it out, man, that's stupid" and Mr. X replied, "Your face is stupid."

Besides, I would think a teacher would automatically assume students did not want to be hit in the head from behind. Maybe it's just me.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

The other students are relevant however. According to the OP they have expressed to the teacher their displeasure at being hit and yet it continues. No student should be physically touched by a teacher in an unwanted way unless you are talking about restraint of a student who is an imminent threat to self or others- which does not apply in this case.

The other issue I see here is that he most likely does not know the history of these students. Some of these students may have suffered abuse or neglect in the past. One of the things we talked about in my restraint training was how easily students who have suffered physical abuse can be retraumatized and we don't even realize we are doing it. Imagine a student who is currently or used to be in a physically abusive situation. How might that student feel if the teacher hits them on the head whenever he walks by or goes to great pains to startle them? Is that child going to feel safe in the classroom? Probably not. And if the child does not even feel safe, learning will not occur.

I don't care what kind of disability the teacher has, it is never okay to lay hands on a student in this manner, or to startle or curse at them.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Good Luck to your son! How frustrating!

The teacher could come to St. Louis and teach. The students would beat the crap out of him in the classroom.

 

[JerseyJanice]

Is this a new teacher? If so, I wonder why his classroom performance isn't being monitored by someone in charge like the principal or superintendent. If not, you'd think some other kid's parents would have complained by now.

I'm not saying you did the wrong thing by contacting the principal, but if this were happening in my 8th grade son's class, the last thing on earth he would want me to do is contact the principal. He'd so embarassed over his "mommy" talking to the principal about a mean teacher, KWIM?

Unless a teacher's actions were seriously affecting his ability to pass the class, I wouldn't complain for that reason. Also, I figure the school administration is paid good money to do their jobs--and that includes monitoring teachers' job performance and student interactions.

 

[Abbie]

I guess I just don't understand how some people seem willing to let this go. A teacher hitting a kid in school, even if it were in jest, is not an option as far as I'm concerned. I've sent two and a half kids through high school and there is not much that would cause me to address the principal but this is something I'd be willing to address.

I also would have been dismayed by the response you received. I agree he needs to check out the "other side of the story" first but just switching your child out of the class isn't the real answer. My guess is that these complaints are not something new to him and he's found just moving the child to be the easiest path. The rest of the kids just fend for themselves and if their parents aren't complaining then no harm, no foul. It's a shame that he appears to be ducking the real issue. And if the teacher does have some sort of hidden disability (as opposed to simply stupidity) it still is not license to hit.

 

[diznygirl]

Hmm...they're not. I'm concerned about any child who is being hit by his teacher. My son says kids tell him to stop all the time. Honestly, the first time he hit my son my son blurted out, "What the hell?!" I mean, it really startled him. He said the teacher just laughed.

I just asked him if today was any different. He said no. In fact when Mr. X yelled something in class today, a student said "cut it out, man, that's stupid" and Mr. X replied, "Your face is stupid."

Besides, I would think a teacher would automatically assume students did not want to be hit in the head from behind. Maybe it's just me.

The class should walk out and go to the principal's office all together the next time this yahoo does something. The principal has to address this ASAP!

Is this a new teacher? If so, I wonder why his classroom performance isn't being monitored by someone in charge like the principal or superintendent. If not, you'd think some other kid's parents would have complained by now.

I'm not saying you did the wrong thing by contacting the principal, but if this were happening in my 8th grade son's class, the last thing on earth he would want me to do is contact the principal. He'd so embarassed over his "mommy" talking to the principal about a mean teacher, KWIM?

Unless a teacher's actions were seriously affecting his ability to pass the class, I wouldn't complain for that reason. Also, I figure the school administration is paid good money to do their jobs--and that includes monitoring teachers' job performance and student interactions.

Seriously? You'd be okay with a teacher hitting your kid upside the head? Really?

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

The fact that the principal's first reaction was to move the boy out of the class makes me think that there is already an existing problem with this teacher and they can't touch him..either because of a disability (Tourettes was the first thing that popped into my head), union, or tenure. I don't know what I would do about the other students, but my kid would be out of that class, and I would want a full explanation as to what was being done about this teacher.

Is he a good teacher otherwise?