SSSAS: Advice for dealing with a bad teacher

[Anonymous]

Head of US will send you to the math chair
start with the head of the math dept ..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son did well in math in SSSAS middle school and earned A's all three years. This year at the upper school we have a new math teacher and she does not seem to be good at all. She is difficult to understand and her teaching methods are questionable. She assigns homework that is not covered in class and the class as whole is not performing well. After reaching out to the teacher directly, who should I contact at the upper school to discuss the challenges my son is facing? The head of upper school? Math dept chair?

My parents showed this post to me wondering how I would react since I am currently taking the same class with the same teacher. I too never got below an A in middle school math and I couldn't disagree more with you. If you work hard on the homework and go to her for extra help when needed, you can easily get an A in the class. High school is a new environment and the teacher is figuring everything out just like your son. And no, not everyone in the class is failing. You should help your son work through his homework and encourage him to go to the teacher instead of insulting her teaching when she has been teacher for 30 years. Fun fact, did you know that algebra was invented in Arabia.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is power in numbers. Advisors in the US are not like they are in the MS. I would go directly to the US director, Mallet. Everyone.

Go Mallett. He will reply immediately and address the situation. He is great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:‘Whom should I contact’

wrong

[Anonymous]

My child got a terrible grade on her English summer reading “notes” when no rubric or guidance was supplied. This might be a one and out year at SSSAS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My child got a terrible grade on her English summer reading “notes” when no rubric or guidance was supplied. This might be a one and out year at SSSAS.

My DC is a new freshman at SSSAS and so far loves all the teachers. Does have a friend in another English class though who is doing very badly after being a star English student at their previous school, and says none of the kids in that English section are getting higher than 80 on assignments. Hmmm.

[Anonymous]

My child’s English teacher announced on back to school night that she will only allow writing to be done IN class bc she’s so afraid of cheating. I knew then she was going to be a subpar teacher. Creative writing is not edited and advanced in 45 minute increments of set time. A good teacher should know their students well enough to recognize their writing and voice. This is not something that should be micromanaged. We are already disappointed.

[Anonymous]

This is a really weird thread that seems like it affects a small group of you. Perhaps you should all call each other and discuss in person. Not sure what assistance can be given from parents at other schools.

[Anonymous]

This teacher is now gone as of yesterday. Mallet sat in the classes, assessed, and addressed the issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My child’s English teacher announced on back to school night that she will only allow writing to be done IN class bc she’s so afraid of cheating. I knew then she was going to be a subpar teacher. Creative writing is not edited and advanced in 45 minute increments of set time. A good teacher should know their students well enough to recognize their writing and voice. This is not something that should be micromanaged. We are already disappointed.

Not a SSSAS family, but this is bad take. I've come to understand how chatGPT is affecting writing and the teacher is probably right for now. This is an evolving topic. But more importantly, a teacher cannot be expected to recognize your child's writing and voice. I can't roll my eyes hard enough at that concept.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This teacher is now gone as of yesterday. Mallet sat in the classes, assessed, and addressed the issue.

Pretty sure that earlier reply on this thread is from the teacher, so she probably knew this was coming at least.

[Anonymous]

The geometry teacher is gone, not the 9th grade English teacher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The geometry teacher is gone, not the 9th grade English teacher.

The English teacher is just implementing current school-wide policy. I don’t like all of the writing being in class either, but it’s not the individual teacher’s call, as I understand it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My child’s English teacher announced on back to school night that she will only allow writing to be done IN class bc she’s so afraid of cheating. I knew then she was going to be a subpar teacher. Creative writing is not edited and advanced in 45 minute increments of set time. A good teacher should know their students well enough to recognize their writing and voice. This is not something that should be micromanaged. We are already disappointed.

Not a SSSAS family, but this is bad take. I've come to understand how chatGPT is affecting writing and the teacher is probably right for now. This is an evolving topic. But more importantly, a teacher cannot be expected to recognize your child's writing and voice. I can't roll my eyes hard enough at that concept.

I am the parent of a junior and every single teacher talked about cheating when I went to back to school night. I left feeling like they were taking it way too far and very anxious about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My child’s English teacher announced on back to school night that she will only allow writing to be done IN class bc she’s so afraid of cheating. I knew then she was going to be a subpar teacher. Creative writing is not edited and advanced in 45 minute increments of set time. A good teacher should know their students well enough to recognize their writing and voice. This is not something that should be micromanaged. We are already disappointed.

Not a SSSAS family, but this is bad take. I've come to understand how chatGPT is affecting writing and the teacher is probably right for now. This is an evolving topic. But more importantly, a teacher cannot be expected to recognize your child's writing and voice. I can't roll my eyes hard enough at that concept.

I am the parent of a junior and every single teacher talked about cheating when I went to back to school night. I left feeling like they were taking it way too far and very anxious about it.

You must live under a rock. Cheating on essays via ChatGPT and the like has become so commonplace that even colleges are reconsidering their essay writing requirements. Spit one of your child’s English prompts into ChatGPT and you will see what I mean.