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You don't like the teacher and there's a year to go...
So by now the students are settling in, and you have heard from your kids about their teachers.
Sometimes you have what might be called "a bad fit." Your kid needs a pusher; you have a coddler. Or you may have a sensitive kid, and the teacher's a screamer. (Or so you perceive.)
What do you do? Suck it up? Take some kind of action?
What's the right thing to do?
Teachers, what's your experiences? Do you want to know if there's a 'bad fit?' (I have a decent pro-teacher background; my dad was an assistant principal for 35 years, but in another time, at another place.)
I'm writing up a story about that situation, and would appreciate some real-life anecdotes.
Email me at nsortal@sun-sentinel.com.
Thanks!
Gretchen Day-Bryant has a son in high school and a daughter in middle school. She’s lived to tell about the struggles of juggling little kids and work...
Joy Oglesby has an infant daughter and a sister 13 years her junior, whom she babies to the now-adult...
Cindy Kent Fort Lauderdale mother of three. Her kids span in ages from teenager to 20s...
Rafael Olmeda and his wife welcomed their first son in Feb. 2009, and he's helping raise two teenage stepdaughters...
Lois Solomon lives in Boca Raton with her husband and three daughters...
Anne Vasquez is the Online Editor in charge of overseeing SunSentinel.com. She is the mother of a 5-year-old boy and a newborn daughter.
Georgia East is the parent of a five-year-old girl, who came into the world weighing 1 pound, 13 ounces...
Brittany Wallman is the mother of Creed, 13, and Lily, 6, and is married...
Chris Tiedje is the Social Media Coordinator, and father of two boys and a girl all under the age of seven.
Comments
Re: "Bad Fit" I feel it depends on HOW BAD. I ususally tell my kids that in their future, there will be many people that they will not like and will not mesh with, yet will be forced to work with, so best to develope some coping skills for it now. However, I did have one situation when my daughter (now a high school senior) had a 3rd Grade teacher, "Mrs. X" whom I was so uncomfortable with, so much so that I hated to leave my daughter with her, I had such a bad gut feeling about her. The school principal refused to change my daughter to a different class, so, I changed my daughter to a different school in November. Two years later, several parents whose childen had Mrs. X for the entire 3rd grade year told me they considered it a "lost year" that their children had not advanced and had a miserable year. So, I felt I made the correct decision. Since then there have been several more teachers that we did not "mesh" with but I have told my kids they need to tough it out.
Posted by: nsortal@sun-sentinel.com | August 25, 2008 2:07 PM
It is important to always remember that everyone has different expectations. I have had two different parents question the same project. One on the side of it being too easy and one on the side of it being too difficult. Same project and two very different points of view. I always try to take parent concerns or suggestions into consideration, but honestly sometimes I do know better when it comes to the child's education. I wish before parents complain that they would actually do some research into what the curriculum is for their child's grade level and the best teaching strategies for children that age.
With that said I am also a parent and above all else you need to be comfortable that you're making the best decision possible for your child. If your child is miserable or you think a teacher is ineffective you should take action. A parent is their child's only advocate and if you don't stand up for them nobody will. But, keep in mind that if you have problems with all or most teachers maybe you should look more at yourself and see if your own expectations are realistic.
Posted by: beth | August 25, 2008 10:34 PM