Teachers are NOT the enemy!

[Anonymous]

The dumbest guy I've ever met graduated from MIT.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:https://silverchips.mbhs.edu/story/12121

http://parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com/2013/04/majority-of-mcps-high-school-students.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/thousands-flunk-math-finals-in-montgomery/2013/05/04/88f807d4-b37e-11e2-9a98-4be1688d7d84_story.html

http://www.rockvillerampage.com/opinion/increase-in-failing-exam-grades-creates-skepticism-and-raises-eyebrows/

I clicked on all of these, also on the link in the post right above this.

There is NOTHING HERE that says that "80-90% of MCPS high school kids get As." Every single link above is about the high rate of failure in county math exams, and each one mentions in passing that fewer kids actually fail their math classes. There is absolutely nothing about the rate at which As are awarded.

WE ARE DEBATING A MADE UP STATISTIC. Unless the hater cares to provide us with some actual statistics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

MCPS should design its grading policies around the needs of the Harvard admissions committee. Got it.

Or, alternatively, let's assume that the Harvard admissions committee can find a way to solve that problem for itself. They're Harvard, after all! That means they must be smart!

No. I think the poster is saying MCPS should provide more pathways for all their brilliant and excelling students with As to get more challenging work. It's simply too easy according to MCPS to master the subject material. If MCPS can't provide pathways for students to get challenge I'll settle for a curriculum of academic challenge Harvard would be proud of.

This sounds like you're saying that kids should have even more homework. My kid, and lots of other kids we know, worked 4-5 hours a night, and sometimes stayed up until 2-3 in the morning, to get nearly straight As. IMO, lots of MCPS kids get As because they are very ambitious and work very hard (my own DC just started at an Ivy).

There's so much supposition and outright BS here (I'm the poster who clicked on the links that were supposed to prove the 90% rate of As, but proved nothing of the sort.) For an MIT grad, you're pretty unreliable. However, you can redeem your miserable BS on the "90% of grades are As" nonsense by sorting fact from fiction on the reasons for many (not 90%) As. We all know your pet theory is that grading is too easy -- so prove that many As are because of easy grading as opposed to competing theories, such as many MCPS kids who work hard because they aspire to Ivies.

Signed, a Wharton grad

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Nonsense. The grade inflation existed before Curriculum 2.0 and during Curriculum 2.0 implemtation. And it contiunes after Curriculum 2.0 implementation. And for the last decade and this decade. It is absolutely assinine that a student population (normal distribution) will have 80% make the honor roll and 30 % with stright As. This is stupid. What then is the puropse of grades? Why not get rid of all grades if you make a mockery of the process.

Source, please?

Please try again. And this time, more of us will be clicking on your supposed links.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Nonsense. The grade inflation existed before Curriculum 2.0 and during Curriculum 2.0 implemtation. And it contiunes after Curriculum 2.0 implementation. And for the last decade and this decade. It is absolutely assinine that a student population (normal distribution) will have 80% make the honor roll and 30 % with stright As. This is stupid. What then is the puropse of grades? Why not get rid of all grades if you make a mockery of the process.

Source, please?

Please try again. And this time, more of us will be clicking on your supposed links.

The haters almost never do have any actual data. Then they blame this on MCPS's "lack of transparency".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If I had a dime for every parent who treated me like cr#^, I'd have retired by now...
So tired of the micro-managing, the second-guessing, the nit-picking, etc. What is the point of it?

I know the dcurbanmomers are likely going to tear me to shred with their snarky remarks on this, but let me just say:

I am a teacher at a close-in public school. I work hard and produce good results. My students enjoy coming to school. I communicate regularly with parents (positive and negative when necessary). I give freely of my time before and after school.
I am in my mid-thirties with over 10 years of teaching experience behind me, but not too old to be burnt out (despite the title of my thread)...yet I have found (being new the area) that the parents here cause me great stress.
-I have no problem with parents who are strong advocates for their child.
-I have no problem with parents who question a strategy, method, etc.
-I don't even mind your questioning a grade.

What I have a problem with is:

-Skewed expectations of your child's abilities (want them in a higher group than they are capable)
-The expectation of special treatment without valid reason
-Constantly wanting to alter the way I do things and sending in things you find on teacherspayteachers that I should try!!!!!
-Constant criticism
-Down-talking me to colleagues

What is it that makes parents so crazy? Do they really think they are helping their child with this behavior? I don't have kids of my own. Help me understand?????

So, here's the thing. You lose credibility when you say that you can't stand when parents want advancement when the kids aren't capable. I am sure that happens, but it also happens that teachers have no idea what the kids are capable of because of the chaotic environment, unclear instructions, and very limited time with each kid. You shouldn't assume your estimation of a kid's capability is accurate.
What makes parents crazy is that we've been taught from experience that the system doesn't have our kids best interests at heart. Some individual teachers do, yes. But that trust is hard to establish in the current climate.

np. On the contrary, pp, I think the teacher is probably in the best position to provide a professional and accurate assessment of your child's abilities. You only know your children -- the teacher has dealt with hundreds through the years and has a much better idea of where your child's capabilities fall on the continuum.

If you constantly find conflict (reflected in the comment about how you have been "taught be experience that the system doesn't have our kids [sic] best interests at heart") then I'd suggest the common denominator there is you. Your kids probably really aren't as advanced as you think they are or wish them to be.
Start raising the children you have instead of the children you want.

I love the assumptions, which happen to be totally wrong. My kid's teacher says she's a little above grade level. She is well-behaved, causes no problems, does what she's told, so she's completely ignored. But at home, my kid reads and weites WAY above grade level. Not because she's coached at home either. Teacher acted like we are making this up. Not a major problem except my kid Hates school except recess with her own friends because she says it's boring and also says during class time she is sick of some kids misbehaving and being annoying. I have volunteered in the classrom, and totally see what she means. Lots of tough talk, minor violence, etc. Teacher means well, but can't control the classroom. Teacher's evaluation of my kid in that setting is worthless. Fine if you admit you don't really know ,y kid because the job is impossible. But don't assume you know best. It's laughable.

I get it. You think your precious little snowflake is special. And she is. To you, but really only to you. For what it's worth, a truly advanced or gifted child is never bored in school as they will always find something to do.

I have a GT/LD kid with ADHD. He can be bored and a discipline problem. In the right MCPS setting with the right teachers, he can also be amazing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

The haters almost never do have any actual data. Then they blame this on MCPS's "lack of transparency".

I wonder if this is the same poster who was ranting about Blair Principal Johnson's Twitter feed, and how supposedly all Johnson's Tweets were selfies at Broadway shows. I'm the one that went through Johnson's Twitter feed and showed that claim for the crock it was. The problem is that it's so easy for the hater to make up BS about Twitter or 90% getting As, but it takes a while for anybody to dig up the truth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If I had a dime for every parent who treated me like cr#^, I'd have retired by now...
So tired of the micro-managing, the second-guessing, the nit-picking, etc. What is the point of it?

I know the dcurbanmomers are likely going to tear me to shred with their snarky remarks on this, but let me just say:

I am a teacher at a close-in public school. I work hard and produce good results. My students enjoy coming to school. I communicate regularly with parents (positive and negative when necessary). I give freely of my time before and after school.
I am in my mid-thirties with over 10 years of teaching experience behind me, but not too old to be burnt out (despite the title of my thread)...yet I have found (being new the area) that the parents here cause me great stress.
-I have no problem with parents who are strong advocates for their child.
-I have no problem with parents who question a strategy, method, etc.
-I don't even mind your questioning a grade.

What I have a problem with is:
-Skewed expectations of your child's abilities (want them in a higher group than they are capable)
-The expectation of special treatment without valid reason
-Constantly wanting to alter the way I do things and sending in things you find on teacherspayteachers that I should try!!!!!
-Constant criticism
-Down-talking me to colleagues

What is it that makes parents so crazy? Do they really think they are helping their child with this behavior? I don't have kids of my own. Help me understand?????

My child is a student at a close in school. You sound like some of the teachers I encounter. You hurt and not help.

**I push for my child to be in advanced sections because the basic curriculum as presented is so easy that when provided a workbook from the store that is her same grade level, the workbook has harder problems. These are your generic workbooks one can find at the Barnes and Noble and are slated as "practice". I would rather my child be presented with advanced work and do ok than easy work and sail through. Life can't always be easy and teaching kids to work up to a better grade shouldn't be seen as wrong.

**I push for my child to be in advanced sections because as the classroom teacher you are abysmal at controlling classroom behavior and the advanced sections have students that are more academic focused, are in a smaller group, provide more true instruction and behavior issues are minimized as the teacher has less behavior issues to deal with overall.

**TPT is actually a very good site for finding materials that present subject matter in different ways that can appeal to different students. It also highlights teachers work from around the country. why are you opposed to peer learning? I am professional and I take advantage of opportunities to learn from peers in other orgs about different methods, programs that work, etc.

#1 - And you know my classroom management because you are in the classroom with me each day? Set up cameras? Because your precious snowflake told you?
#2 - Because you aren't a "peer". Do you also tell your OB/GYN how to do your pap? Just because you have a vagina, doesn't mean you are an expert when it comes to one. Just because you went to school, doesn't mean you know how to teach.

You're gross. When you kid doesn't cut the mustard and ends up in community college (because he/she never learned to do anything on his/her own) you can use the money from the 529 for his/her therapy.

[Anonymous]

(You know what would be really nice? If people didn't use "community college" as a synonym for "failure".)

[Anonymous]

15:23 you are gross! The PP you were responding to sounds like a great mom. I'd be friends with her in a second.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I teach several "advanced" classes. I have to dumb them down because I have so many kids parent placed into them against their prior teacher's recommendations.

When I teach the way I want to/should be able to for an advanced course, I find half the kids are failing, and in an advanced class that means parents are calling admin or scheduling conferences to discuss what I'm doing wrong.

Really, my "regular" and my "advanced" classes for the same subject are 90% the same, and I'll throw one or two challenge questions at the kids because that's all half of them can handle.

It's a shame, but I tried doing things the "right" way and holding standards high, and I got into too much hot water. Everyone is happier with me dumbing stuff down so that kids who aren't necessarily talented at a subject but are willing to work hard can be successful.

This.

I'm a teacher. I can't have high standards anymore.

I oversee a program where I collect an assignment at the end of every week. I had a student turn in the ENTIRE QUARTER'S assignments a day after grades were finalized. I told her I wasn't accepting them. Mom sent me a nasty email. Admin changed the grade after I said I wouldn't.

Congrats overbearing moms! You win! Every. Single. Time. But you already knew that, which is why you keep being such pains in the asses.

If you all are so unhappy, just put your kid in private. It is that simple. Or think of it this way, education starts in the home, so if you can't afford private and feel that your kid isn't being "challenged" enough, challenge your kid at home. It isn't hard (especially since you all know what websites to go to for materials, Khan Academy, etc.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:(You know what would be really nice? If people didn't use "community college" as a synonym for "failure".)

PP here. I'm a HUGE advocate of community college! I think it is a wonderful option and makes the most sense, but I think you would be hard pressed to find a DCUMer who would rather send their kid to CC instead of a four year school. That is why I wrote that, not because I think it is a sign of failure, but most DCUMers would die before telling their MoCo friends that little snowflake was going t Montgomery College for a year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:15:23 you are gross! The PP you were responding to sounds like a great mom. I'd be friends with her in a second.

Thanks, you still didn't answer either of the questions I addressed.

Glad you like to daydream about making friends with anonymous posters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:15:23 you are gross! The PP you were responding to sounds like a great mom. I'd be friends with her in a second.

Thanks, you still didn't answer either of the questions I addressed.

Glad you like to daydream about making friends with anonymous posters.

I agree with PP, 15:23 you are the reason moms see teachers as the enemy. Moms have more than the right, they have the responsibilitiy to advocate for their kid. You rolling your eyes about that DOES make you the enemy. Fortunately there are many teachers that are not like you.

[Anonymous]

Yes, absolutely, parents share the blame. I'm a parent, not a teacher. I've seen overbearing parents push their kids into the top levels again and again. One mom complained to me that her kid wasn't in the advanced reading group, she said she was going to call the teacher and, lo and behold, a week later the kid had been moved up to the advanced group with mine. Another story: in our MCPS language immersion program one mom complained that the quarterly math assessments were too difficult for her snowflake, so the school started handing the questions out before the assessment test to all the kids.

Why does parental behavior share the blame? Several reasons, some understandable, some not so much:
(1) They know, because it's the truth, that if their kid doesn't get on the advanced math and reading tracks in elementary school, the kid will have a much lower shot at the magnets. I doubt many of these parents are gunning for Harvard in 10 years. It's just they understand that by settling for "regular" in elementary school they will limit their kids' future options and opportunities.
(2) Who doesn't want more challenge for their kids? The PPs arguing that it's about families wanting dumbed-down curricula have got the wrong end of the stick. Parents want their kids to be challenged even if they're overestimating their snowflake's abilities.
(3) Some parents don't want their snowflakes in the "regular" classes with the bad discipline cases.

I can also argue the other side. I blame parents and teachers about equally. Because teachers are forced to be gatekeepers against this onslaught of loving parents, they do sometimes keep out qualified kids. We had to argue for our kid, who was in the 98th percentile on the Terra Nova math elements, to get into advanced math. I doubt we were wrong to do so, because DC subsequently got into the math magnet.