Would you get a tutor in this situation (bad MS/HS English teachers)?

[Anonymous]

we sre in public--im my opinion public plus good tutors( every average parent can assess if tutor is good) is much better than private

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here - thanks for all these great ideas, especially the homeschool course and summer program ideas. DD is smart and motivated so I think those options could potentially work.

OP, it sounds like you got the advice you needed. You and your DD are wise to recognize that students in classes with frequently absent teachers often don't get the instruction they deserve. It's an ugly secret of public education, documented in studies showing lower performance for students of teachers with poor attendance. I wish I had understood this when my kids were younger and had teachers who were experiencing issues that prevented them from being in the classroom regularly. I'm not judging the absences, but those years set my kids back and I should have done more to fill in the blanks.

OP here. Yeah, its been a huge issue. My DD's current teacher is already only a 1/2 time teacher, meaning she works "B" days but doesn't work "A" days. On top of this, she has already been absent at least 10 "B" days so far this year, which is far higher than her leave accrual so I'm not sure if she is using a bank of leave (unlikely because she's fairly young and has a preschooler) or is using FMLA? I know its "none of my business" but its not like she's teaching much on the days she is there or leaving anything of substance for the subs. Its really really frustrating and we had an incredibly similar situation last year. As a working mom myself, I think it is these types of employees who give all working moms a bad name. Her work is clearly suffering and no one is picking up the slack. I'm sure I will get flamed...

[Anonymous]

CTY writing classes were very good for my kids. You can stuff them in at the end of summer. It’s expensive but financial aid is offered.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:CTY writing classes were very good for my kids. You can stuff them in at the end of summer. It’s expensive but financial aid is offered.

OP here. Is it sleepaway at Hopkins or day student? It would be too far for day student unfortunately.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:CTY writing classes were very good for my kids. You can stuff them in at the end of summer. It’s expensive but financial aid is offered.

OP here. Is it sleepaway at Hopkins or day student? It would be too far for day student unfortunately.

Op just be aware that your child would need to qualify to enroll in these courses via test scores, so check details out ASAP to make sure she qualifies or can qualify.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:CTY writing classes were very good for my kids. You can stuff them in at the end of summer. It’s expensive but financial aid is offered.

OP here. Is it sleepaway at Hopkins or day student? It would be too far for day student unfortunately.

It was an online program I had my kids do in August before school started. Very high quality teachers and the IT setup was great. It really helped get their writing in good shape. There is a qualifying score needed to get into CTY.

[Anonymous]

May I suggest a group class? Search Ms. Vanessa Roach on Outschool.com. It's affordable and easy to try out just one session.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:9th grade DD, who is a smart honors student, has had two terrible English teachers in a row (9th and 8th grade - both with frequent absences, almost weekly, and phone it in the rest of the time), end of 6th grade and all of 7th was Covid even though the teachers were fine. The terrible teachers are easy graders and DD gets A's, probably to disguise their lack of teaching.

For a variety of reasons we don't want to leave the school (plus no guarantees of a good teacher if we leave.)

So would you get a private English tutor in this case? DD is very worried that she is not being properly prepared for college and beyond by these do-nothing teachers. DD is a strong reader and reads regularly for fun, but does not feel like she is getting proper writing instruction. We don't even really know what else she should be learning that she is not.

WWYD?

Of course I would. Why wouldn't I? We're in public school and I've routinely gotten tutors (or taught the areas I'm familiar with in detail), even if it's just a session or two to fill hte gaps.

[Anonymous]

My DD did 2 classes at Writopia. https://www.writopialab.org/regions/greater-washington-dc and loved it. It filled the gaps she had from her school instruction.

[Anonymous]

Where do you all find good tutors?
-NP