Teacher issue
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Anonymous
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DD has an 8th grade teacher who just can’t seem to get it together - she posts assignments with wrong due dates, designs exams that kids can’t complete during the assigned time and then makes them take it through lunch or after school, makes very confusing mistakes in handouts etc. In a recent test, she figured out the class average was too low so she removed questions from the graded test and plans to retest on those sections. DD who is all-A student is falling behind. We waited it out the entire quarter but things don’t seem to be improving. She teaches the Honors Geometry class so it is not easy to request another teacher. DD is understandably frustrated.
How should we handle this? Is it just an issue of managing expectations? Or, should I take it to the principal? Should we just get a tutor and consider it done? |
Anonymous
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Really sorry your DD is going through this. feel for ya..
At the same time, be careful about assuming the teacher is the root cause. DD is taking geometry for the first time, but the teacher is not teaching geometry for the first time. In that same class, there are kids with straight As, the teacher is working out perfectly fine for them; consider that as well. In honors classes like this geometry, there are kids who quietly thrive even when the structure feels off to others, so it’s hard to know what’s really going on behind the scenes. But the worst thing to do, a natural inclination, is to blame the teacher. What you can do is focus on giving DD the support she needs without immediately jumping to a confrontation. A little extra practice on Khan Academy or similar sites can help her feel steadier, and a tutor, assuming you can afford one even for just a few sessions, can give her the clarity and confidence she’s missing right now. And honestly, this could be one of those life moments where she learns how to handle a less-than-perfect situation and still succeed, which is a skill she’ll use forever. If things truly don’t improve and it starts frustrating her (keep your personal feelings aside), talking to the counselor is totally reasonable. But starting with support and patience gives you room to see whether this is a temporary rough patch or something bigger. Stop being paranoid about grades. Most of all, let DD know this isn’t about her ability. She sounds like a strong kid who’s just stuck in a not-so-desirable situation, and with a little help, she’ll get through it. Keep your personal feelings and preferences out of this, let DD thrive through the ups and downs of public school education! |
Anonymous
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Teachers have been posting on this board about kids who struggle with math on the accelerated path, from their description things are great until they are not.
You are describing a less then ideal teacher, which makes it hard to know how much of it is your child’s grasp of the material or the teachers struggles or a combination of the two. I would reach out to the teacher first and see what she says about your daughter’s understanding. You might want to look at a tutor to help her understand the material, if it is mainly the teacher you cannot expect much of that to change. |
Anonymous
| The above posts ignore that the teacher can't get due dates correct. At a minimum the teacher needs to get that right. I would politely reach out to her about it if it has already happened twice. After that if it happens again I would contact the assistant principal. Don't assume she walks on water and your daughter can't hang. Enough with the teacher worship posted by the people above. Some of the teachers are a mess and they need to get it together. This is a job and they need to meet basic expectations. |
Anonymous
This. Address the due date concerns with the teacher directly and then depending on the responsiveness, get the AP involved. It is possible the issue is with the entire Geometry team if this teacher is just doing what everyone is doing. |
Anonymous
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OP here: Thanks for the advice. I’ll focus on DD and chalk this up to a less optimal condition. I am torn because DD will be out of middle school in just a few more months.
The teacher definitely has an organization issue. For instance, she went all of September and October without any summative tests. And then had a summative assessment the first week of second quarter, another one will be the Tuesday before Thanksgiving followed by one on the Monday after thanksgiving break. She gives all the kids 100/100 on homeworks but the class averages a B in the summative, so she eliminates questions to get the class averages to a B+. |
Anonymous
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The way you are describing the teacher and the lack of options gives me the impression that you are at a school that only has one or two Geometry classes. If that is not the case, can you see about your child moving to a different class, just say that your daughter is struggling with the teachers style and give the examples that you have. You don't seem to think that there is another option, which might be the case.
Maybe get in the habit of going through the schoology on Sunday with your daughter and see if you can help her with organizing things. She might need to make visits to the teacher during the advisory period so she can ask questions about the areas that she is struggling with. It could be that this is the teachers first time teaching Geometry and the teacher is struggling with a new class. Have your DD ask for help, track the issues with dates and mistakes on assignments, and talk to the Counselor is you think that it might be helpful for your DD to move to a different section. |
Anonymous
| Get her a tutor if can’t teach her yourself. |
Anonymous
| DS had an awful teacher last year and we figured out what was going on about this time in the year and hired a tutor. You aren’t going to fix the teacher issues in the time your DD needs to get the grades up. Certainly complain to the school as well but get the tutor so DD isn’t digging out of a bigger hole later. |
Anonymous
You are spot on. It is one of two Geometry classes. Moving to the other teacher means changing up the entire schedule. I didn’t use to monitor Schoology because DD does a good job. I only started tracking when DD raised these issues and then I started noticing these patterns. For instance the pre and post Thanksgiving tests were announced yesterday. The running over time happened for the Summative for quarter 1. Long story short, we’ll just get DD some help. Thanks for helping me think through this. |
Anonymous
Thanks for the advice, this is what we’ll do. |
Anonymous
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I think you've gotten good advice, and I will add that over our middle and high school experiences we've had a range of teacher quality for our kids. I have made it REALLY clear to my kids that they complain to me if they need to, but that ultimately what they learn is up to them (not the teacher). Bad teachers happen and kids have to figure out a way to learn the material anyway.
I think it's fine to follow up on the date confusion next time it happens, and it's definitely ok for your child to ask the teacher how she can do better on the tests, but neither of those may get her anywhere. I will also add that our middle school is very pushy about not dealing with parents, except once things have gotten really out of hand. So having your daughter ask for help as much as she can first will probably work better. |
Anonymous
| Some of the teachers are really poor at time management. Others seem like they are very scrambled in their approach to convey material. She will have to get used to poor teaching abilities and teach herself. |
Anonymous
| So sick of crappy teachers. If only they raised the pay to attract better candidates. |
Anonymous
That's not how it works though, as they don't hire teachers based on intelligence or ability. |