High school teacher rant

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We had this issue with an English teacher. She clearly had bias against male students who were more jock or macho. We ran all the work through chatghpt and even had my colleague who has an advance degree in English review my child's work and no one could understand why it was being failed. We switched out of the class after complaining to the principal and it was acknowledged that the teacher was a problem but since they had been here for years nothing could be done to get rid of them or tell them to grade more fairly. We also almost filed a foia to get all the class grades because from talking with other parents this particular teacher was failing a lot of students and there was no way the curve is distributed properly. Furthermore from talking to other fcps teacher there is a lot of pressure if giving an f to a student because the teacher will need to remediate and would be reprimanded for so many fs however this teacher has gotten away with it for years and there is something behind the scenes going on with the teacher and the administration, we suspect because the teacher is of some type of dei marginalized group as observed by pride flags and social media of their same sex partner. Since fcps is quite liberal and now fully teacher unionized we decided to just pursue switching classes and magically the grade went from fs to as because the problem was the teacher. We also didn't want to spend time in litigation and drag our child through all that so at the end of the day it would be better to switch out. There are websites like rate my teacher and word of mouth of which teachers to avoid however the schools don't reveal which teachers will be in which classes when you register the year before so you have to keep a close eye on it.

1. This never happened. No administrator on the planet would ever state this to a parent.
2. There is no curve in high school courses. The whole class could earn As or Fs or a mix of all letter grades and if there is data to back it up it will stand
3. You're insane.

Don't get me wrong, there are bad teachers, but no one is giving Fs to all kids because they are queer and no admin supports this behavior simply because the teacher is a minority.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We had this issue with an English teacher. She clearly had bias against male students who were more jock or macho. We ran all the work through chatghpt and even had my colleague who has an advance degree in English review my child's work and no one could understand why it was being failed. We switched out of the class after complaining to the principal and it was acknowledged that the teacher was a problem but since they had been here for years nothing could be done to get rid of them or tell them to grade more fairly. We also almost filed a foia to get all the class grades because from talking with other parents this particular teacher was failing a lot of students and there was no way the curve is distributed properly. Furthermore from talking to other fcps teacher there is a lot of pressure if giving an f to a student because the teacher will need to remediate and would be reprimanded for so many fs however this teacher has gotten away with it for years and there is something behind the scenes going on with the teacher and the administration, we suspect because the teacher is of some type of dei marginalized group as observed by pride flags and social media of their same sex partner. Since fcps is quite liberal and now fully teacher unionized we decided to just pursue switching classes and magically the grade went from fs to as because the problem was the teacher. We also didn't want to spend time in litigation and drag our child through all that so at the end of the day it would be better to switch out. There are websites like rate my teacher and word of mouth of which teachers to avoid however the schools don't reveal which teachers will be in which classes when you register the year before so you have to keep a close eye on it.

I think my son was also in this class. We also switched out to another class, but the cost was going from an honors to a general class where students read one book for the entire year. We will only be doing English through NOVA for the rest of our time at this school, because there is a chance of getting this teacher again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had this issue with an English teacher. She clearly had bias against male students who were more jock or macho. We ran all the work through chatghpt and even had my colleague who has an advance degree in English review my child's work and no one could understand why it was being failed. We switched out of the class after complaining to the principal and it was acknowledged that the teacher was a problem but since they had been here for years nothing could be done to get rid of them or tell them to grade more fairly. We also almost filed a foia to get all the class grades because from talking with other parents this particular teacher was failing a lot of students and there was no way the curve is distributed properly. Furthermore from talking to other fcps teacher there is a lot of pressure if giving an f to a student because the teacher will need to remediate and would be reprimanded for so many fs however this teacher has gotten away with it for years and there is something behind the scenes going on with the teacher and the administration, we suspect because the teacher is of some type of dei marginalized group as observed by pride flags and social media of their same sex partner. Since fcps is quite liberal and now fully teacher unionized we decided to just pursue switching classes and magically the grade went from fs to as because the problem was the teacher. We also didn't want to spend time in litigation and drag our child through all that so at the end of the day it would be better to switch out. There are websites like rate my teacher and word of mouth of which teachers to avoid however the schools don't reveal which teachers will be in which classes when you register the year before so you have to keep a close eye on it.

1. This never happened. No administrator on the planet would ever state this to a parent.
2. There is no curve in high school courses. The whole class could earn As or Fs or a mix of all letter grades and if there is data to back it up it will stand
3. You're insane.

Don't get me wrong, there are bad teachers, but no one is giving Fs to all kids because they are queer and no admin supports this behavior simply because the teacher is a minority.

Ok, my meeting’s postponed so here’s a quick response.

Yes, this did happen. We met with the principal a few times, tried working directly with the teacher, but nothing changed. Our child was getting Ds and Fs in just that class—while getting B+ and As in every other class, including AAP ones with heavy writing. So no, I’m not “insane” for being concerned.

We’re fortunate to have the means to consult a lawyer and have colleagues who could review the work. That all happened quietly behind the scenes—we never made threats or took action against the school. We just explored our options.

We did mention to the principal that we were aware other students—especially male ones—were also struggling and that we were curious about grade distribution. I think that signaled we were paying attention.

The school acknowledged there were issues and supported the class switch. After that, grades jumped to As. That speaks volumes.

We never made it about DEI, but from our perspective, it felt like the school’s hands were tied, especially with a union decision pending at the time. That’s just our honest read.

In the end, we stayed respectful, got the outcome we needed, and moved on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had this issue with an English teacher. She clearly had bias against male students who were more jock or macho. We ran all the work through chatghpt and even had my colleague who has an advance degree in English review my child's work and no one could understand why it was being failed. We switched out of the class after complaining to the principal and it was acknowledged that the teacher was a problem but since they had been here for years nothing could be done to get rid of them or tell them to grade more fairly. We also almost filed a foia to get all the class grades because from talking with other parents this particular teacher was failing a lot of students and there was no way the curve is distributed properly. Furthermore from talking to other fcps teacher there is a lot of pressure if giving an f to a student because the teacher will need to remediate and would be reprimanded for so many fs however this teacher has gotten away with it for years and there is something behind the scenes going on with the teacher and the administration, we suspect because the teacher is of some type of dei marginalized group as observed by pride flags and social media of their same sex partner. Since fcps is quite liberal and now fully teacher unionized we decided to just pursue switching classes and magically the grade went from fs to as because the problem was the teacher. We also didn't want to spend time in litigation and drag our child through all that so at the end of the day it would be better to switch out. There are websites like rate my teacher and word of mouth of which teachers to avoid however the schools don't reveal which teachers will be in which classes when you register the year before so you have to keep a close eye on it.

1. This never happened. No administrator on the planet would ever state this to a parent.
2. There is no curve in high school courses. The whole class could earn As or Fs or a mix of all letter grades and if there is data to back it up it will stand
3. You're insane.

Don't get me wrong, there are bad teachers, but no one is giving Fs to all kids because they are queer and no admin supports this behavior simply because the teacher is a minority.

I'm the PP with a kid that I think was in the same class. So many people have switched their kids out of this teacher's class and had a terrible experience, and this leads parents to speculate on the reasons why this teacher is still at this school, what this teacher's motivations are, and why this person is teaching at all. I switched my kid because the grades did not make sense at all, neither did the feedback, and I was concerned from what my kids told me, that the situation may be damaging to a kid. Some of the stuff I was hearing sounded demeaning - I wanted my kid out. So that leads people to wondering why someone asks the way they do. My conclusion: I have no idea why this teacher is like this, no idea why administration allows it to conitnue, but I will protect my kid. It's natural for people to wonder though, because the whole situation is strange.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. The teacher has not even graded DC and others kids assignments yet. By external sources I meant an English teacher, AI was after checking with couple of teachers. I wasn’t checking DC’s homework until now as I wanted to do my homework first to take the next step. I didn’t find any major concerns and DC got a D grade. DC was super frustrated. Is it normal to have a conference with the teacher to talk about how to do better in th class?

There are nine basic grammar mistakes or typos in this paragraph.

The second sentence makes no sense, given the rest of the paragraph.

There is no lead or topic sentence. There is no persuasive support. This is a collection of seven sentences that read like a succession of thoughts.

Yeah I agree. There are numerous mistakes in my writing. Because English is not my first language. However that doesn’t imply on my child. DC is good in writing if not excellent. DC’s previous essays has been liked by different teachers in the past. I still doubt my child’s language skill and tell her that check the rubrics and everything. Apparently, seems like we will be used to seeinf more Fs in the next quarter.
I will definitely go with an open mind if I arrange a conference. I don’t want my child in trouble.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had this issue with an English teacher. She clearly had bias against male students who were more jock or macho. We ran all the work through chatghpt and even had my colleague who has an advance degree in English review my child's work and no one could understand why it was being failed. We switched out of the class after complaining to the principal and it was acknowledged that the teacher was a problem but since they had been here for years nothing could be done to get rid of them or tell them to grade more fairly. We also almost filed a foia to get all the class grades because from talking with other parents this particular teacher was failing a lot of students and there was no way the curve is distributed properly. Furthermore from talking to other fcps teacher there is a lot of pressure if giving an f to a student because the teacher will need to remediate and would be reprimanded for so many fs however this teacher has gotten away with it for years and there is something behind the scenes going on with the teacher and the administration, we suspect because the teacher is of some type of dei marginalized group as observed by pride flags and social media of their same sex partner. Since fcps is quite liberal and now fully teacher unionized we decided to just pursue switching classes and magically the grade went from fs to as because the problem was the teacher. We also didn't want to spend time in litigation and drag our child through all that so at the end of the day it would be better to switch out. There are websites like rate my teacher and word of mouth of which teachers to avoid however the schools don't reveal which teachers will be in which classes when you register the year before so you have to keep a close eye on it.

1. This never happened. No administrator on the planet would ever state this to a parent.
2. There is no curve in high school courses. The whole class could earn As or Fs or a mix of all letter grades and if there is data to back it up it will stand
3. You're insane.

Don't get me wrong, there are bad teachers, but no one is giving Fs to all kids because they are queer and no admin supports this behavior simply because the teacher is a minority.

I'm the PP with a kid that I think was in the same class. So many people have switched their kids out of this teacher's class and had a terrible experience, and this leads parents to speculate on the reasons why this teacher is still at this school, what this teacher's motivations are, and why this person is teaching at all. I switched my kid because the grades did not make sense at all, neither did the feedback, and I was concerned from what my kids told me, that the situation may be damaging to a kid. Some of the stuff I was hearing sounded demeaning - I wanted my kid out. So that leads people to wondering why someone asks the way they do. My conclusion: I have no idea why this teacher is like this, no idea why administration allows it to conitnue, but I will protect my kid. It's natural for people to wonder though, because the whole situation is strange.

Yes at first I thought my kid was being lazy or trying to make excuses but after digging into it some more I caught on something else is going on.

[Anonymous]

DS had this issue with his IB teacher. Schedule a meeting. Talk it through.

[Anonymous]

My daughter said that most English teachers will grade on how well they like the kid, after reading this she might be right.

[Anonymous]

What school OP?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My daughter said that most English teachers will grade on how well they like the kid, after reading this she might be right.

No. Sigh. This isn’t true.

Why would I grade in a manner that is going to put MORE work on my plate?

I use a rubric to clearly outline my expectations and I leave plenty of comments to illustrate why the student received the grade. This already takes most of my nights and weekends. Grading in a manner that’s going to bring complaints would take even more time.

And I’m actually rather offended by your daughter’s comment. I’m an adult and a professional. I don’t play silly games.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter said that most English teachers will grade on how well they like the kid, after reading this she might be right.

No. Sigh. This isn’t true.

Why would I grade in a manner that is going to put MORE work on my plate?

I use a rubric to clearly outline my expectations and I leave plenty of comments to illustrate why the student received the grade. This already takes most of my nights and weekends. Grading in a manner that’s going to bring complaints would take even more time.

And I’m actually rather offended by your daughter’s comment. I’m an adult and a professional. I don’t play silly games.

Triggered

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter said that most English teachers will grade on how well they like the kid, after reading this she might be right.

No. Sigh. This isn’t true.

Why would I grade in a manner that is going to put MORE work on my plate?

I use a rubric to clearly outline my expectations and I leave plenty of comments to illustrate why the student received the grade. This already takes most of my nights and weekends. Grading in a manner that’s going to bring complaints would take even more time.

And I’m actually rather offended by your daughter’s comment. I’m an adult and a professional. I don’t play silly games.

Triggered

I work extremely hard for my students and I do my job well. It’s completely reasonable for me to defend my profession.

Good teachers are quitting at an alarming rate right now. I’m curious: who benefits from driving more of us out?

You may think it’s just a harmless comment on an anonymous site. To a teacher, it’s just more negativity on top of the negativity we’ve already dealt with today.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter said that most English teachers will grade on how well they like the kid, after reading this she might be right.

No. Sigh. This isn’t true.

Why would I grade in a manner that is going to put MORE work on my plate?

I use a rubric to clearly outline my expectations and I leave plenty of comments to illustrate why the student received the grade. This already takes most of my nights and weekends. Grading in a manner that’s going to bring complaints would take even more time.

And I’m actually rather offended by your daughter’s comment. I’m an adult and a professional. I don’t play silly games.

Triggered

I work extremely hard for my students and I do my job well. It’s completely reasonable for me to defend my profession.

Good teachers are quitting at an alarming rate right now. I’m curious: who benefits from driving more of us out?

You may think it’s just a harmless comment on an anonymous site. To a teacher, it’s just more negativity on top of the negativity we’ve already dealt with today.

I am a teacher too, and I don’t think it does us any good when we deny that there are others who are lazy, spiteful or just plain bad at their job. Every school I’ve ever worked in has at least one or two.

[Anonymous]

There are definitely some horrible teachers out there, but in this case there are some parent red flags. First, how is it that the student doesn't know why he got a D? My B student who hates English can't even get a D. And if he gets a C, he goes and asks the teacher what he did wrong, and he's not a very outgoing kid. So if my kid knows why he got a low grade, then why doesn't OP's kid know? A D is very low, and isn't usually given for work that is turned in on time. So something is fishy here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. The teacher has not even graded DC and others kids assignments yet. By external sources I meant an English teacher, AI was after checking with couple of teachers. I wasn’t checking DC’s homework until now as I wanted to do my homework first to take the next step. I didn’t find any major concerns and DC got a D grade. DC was super frustrated. Is it normal to have a conference with the teacher to talk about how to do better in th class?

I’m confused. You said your child got a D on the assignment, but in the paragraph above you said the teacher has not graded assignments yet.