Was a line crossed by admin?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks all, appreciate the feedback (and understand that my feelings were not realistic). We are at that point where we feel like there is nothing productive that can come from DS being with this teacher for the remainder of the year; it's that serious. In any other subject we would just shrug and move on but the foundational nature of math makes it hard to take that approach. Tutoring 1-2x a week doesn't seem good enough. We didn't want the meeting with the AP, but it was suggested by the counselor.

If tutoring twice a week isn’t helping, this problem seems bigger than just a single teacher.

It's mainly been 1x a week, took awhile to find a good tutor with availability. The problem is the teacher literally is not teaching/providing zero instruction most days.

That is a very odd claim about a teacher and does not ring true at all.

OP here; I'd likely feel the same way if I read this but this is what has been reported by my DC (and others)...kids who in other subjects will clearly say we worked on xyz lab, teacher taught this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks all, appreciate the feedback (and understand that my feelings were not realistic). We are at that point where we feel like there is nothing productive that can come from DS being with this teacher for the remainder of the year; it's that serious. In any other subject we would just shrug and move on but the foundational nature of math makes it hard to take that approach. Tutoring 1-2x a week doesn't seem good enough. We didn't want the meeting with the AP, but it was suggested by the counselor.

If tutoring twice a week isn’t helping, this problem seems bigger than just a single teacher.

It's mainly been 1x a week, took awhile to find a good tutor with availability. The problem is the teacher literally is not teaching/providing zero instruction most days.

That is a very odd claim about a teacher and does not ring true at all.

OP here; I'd likely feel the same way if I read this but this is what has been reported by my DC (and others)...kids who in other subjects will clearly say we worked on xyz lab, teacher taught this.

.

The first step is still to talk to the teacher, before going over her head.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks all, appreciate the feedback (and understand that my feelings were not realistic). We are at that point where we feel like there is nothing productive that can come from DS being with this teacher for the remainder of the year; it's that serious. In any other subject we would just shrug and move on but the foundational nature of math makes it hard to take that approach. Tutoring 1-2x a week doesn't seem good enough. We didn't want the meeting with the AP, but it was suggested by the counselor.

If tutoring twice a week isn’t helping, this problem seems bigger than just a single teacher.

It's mainly been 1x a week, took awhile to find a good tutor with availability. The problem is the teacher literally is not teaching/providing zero instruction most days.

That is a very odd claim about a teacher and does not ring true at all.

OP here; I'd likely feel the same way if I read this but this is what has been reported by my DC (and others)...kids who in other subjects will clearly say we worked on xyz lab, teacher taught this.

I believe you. Quick question. Is this teacher a follower of the Modern Classroom approach? My DS had a teacher that sounds very similar to this one for Pre-Calc. She literally never got up in front of the class and taught anything. She used pre-recorded videos, sometimes of her, sometimes not, doing a few examples. Then she would record herself filling out a notes packet while remaining seated the entire time. They would do knowledge checks on the computer and could move on to the next set of videos in the Unit when they passed the Knowledge Check. If you hadn't made it through them by the test, oh well. He never scored above a C- on any of the tests. It was such BS. To retake the test, you had to complete the original test perfectly, do a remediation packet perfectly, then retake the test. It was such an insane amount of work that if you did it, you were forever behind in a cycle of failure and remediation packets. So most kids just took the Cs. Complete BS.

[Anonymous]

You can’t expect them to entertain a meeting with hearsay claims about a teacher without the teacher being there. Grow up. You have to put your big girl pants on and say out loud what concerns you about this teacher, to her face. “larlo reports that he received no instruction on variables in the last unit. He reports that they are just assigned work in Schoology to do in their own and there is no whole group lesson from iou on any day. We are concerned because he needs explicit, sequential instruction on these concepts.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks all, appreciate the feedback (and understand that my feelings were not realistic). We are at that point where we feel like there is nothing productive that can come from DS being with this teacher for the remainder of the year; it's that serious. In any other subject we would just shrug and move on but the foundational nature of math makes it hard to take that approach. Tutoring 1-2x a week doesn't seem good enough. We didn't want the meeting with the AP, but it was suggested by the counselor.

If tutoring twice a week isn’t helping, this problem seems bigger than just a single teacher.

It's mainly been 1x a week, took awhile to find a good tutor with availability. The problem is the teacher literally is not teaching/providing zero instruction most days.

That is a very odd claim about a teacher and does not ring true at all.

OP here; I'd likely feel the same way if I read this but this is what has been reported by my DC (and others)...kids who in other subjects will clearly say we worked on xyz lab, teacher taught this.

.

The first step is still to talk to the teacher, before going over her head.

OP —agree. Do 8+ attempts at contact / questions (over the semester) count as going to the teacher first ?

[Anonymous]

Is thr school going to hold a formal 504 meeting? They should for this kind of meeting and the teacher therefore needs to be invited.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks all, appreciate the feedback (and understand that my feelings were not realistic). We are at that point where we feel like there is nothing productive that can come from DS being with this teacher for the remainder of the year; it's that serious. In any other subject we would just shrug and move on but the foundational nature of math makes it hard to take that approach. Tutoring 1-2x a week doesn't seem good enough. We didn't want the meeting with the AP, but it was suggested by the counselor.

If tutoring twice a week isn’t helping, this problem seems bigger than just a single teacher.

It's mainly been 1x a week, took awhile to find a good tutor with availability. The problem is the teacher literally is not teaching/providing zero instruction most days.

That is a very odd claim about a teacher and does not ring true at all.

OP here; I'd likely feel the same way if I read this but this is what has been reported by my DC (and others)...kids who in other subjects will clearly say we worked on xyz lab, teacher taught this.

.

The first step is still to talk to the teacher, before going over her head.

OP —agree. Do 8+ attempts at contact / questions (over the semester) count as going to the teacher first ?

DP. And now you’ll get the opportunity to talk with the teacher. So this is a good progression, correct?

I’m grateful that I work with an administrative team that always includes the teacher when situations occur. There are no double-secret meetings about teachers, nor should there be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the admin would be wrong to have this discussion without the teacher.

+1. The AP acted as a professional. It would be inappropriate and unproductive to meet to discuss the class without the teacher.

[Anonymous]

Are your concerns related to the 504 plan? E.g., accommodations not being implemented? A 504 has nothing to do with instruction (that would be an IEP), so it seems like your concerns about the teacher's instructional methods aren't related to the 504 plan or your child's disability. That doesn't mean you shouldn't follow up, but approaching it through the 504 unless there are problems with the accommodations may not be the right way.

[Anonymous]

Are you saying the teacher has never responded to you? Did you request to meet with the teacher?

It seems you are basing a lot on your child's interpretation of events and that the teacher doesn't even teach according to them. Pretty much every parent would be complaining to the school if there was a class where the teacher didn't teach and so all the kids just sat there with nothing to do all period.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks all, appreciate the feedback (and understand that my feelings were not realistic). We are at that point where we feel like there is nothing productive that can come from DS being with this teacher for the remainder of the year; it's that serious. In any other subject we would just shrug and move on but the foundational nature of math makes it hard to take that approach. Tutoring 1-2x a week doesn't seem good enough. We didn't want the meeting with the AP, but it was suggested by the counselor.

If tutoring twice a week isn’t helping, this problem seems bigger than just a single teacher.

It's mainly been 1x a week, took awhile to find a good tutor with availability. The problem is the teacher literally is not teaching/providing zero instruction most days.

That is a very odd claim about a teacher and does not ring true at all.

OP here; I'd likely feel the same way if I read this but this is what has been reported by my DC (and others)...kids who in other subjects will clearly say we worked on xyz lab, teacher taught this.

I believe you. Quick question. Is this teacher a follower of the Modern Classroom approach? My DS had a teacher that sounds very similar to this one for Pre-Calc. She literally never got up in front of the class and taught anything. She used pre-recorded videos, sometimes of her, sometimes not, doing a few examples. Then she would record herself filling out a notes packet while remaining seated the entire time. They would do knowledge checks on the computer and could move on to the next set of videos in the Unit when they passed the Knowledge Check. If you hadn't made it through them by the test, oh well. He never scored above a C- on any of the tests. It was such BS. To retake the test, you had to complete the original test perfectly, do a remediation packet perfectly, then retake the test. It was such an insane amount of work that if you did it, you were forever behind in a cycle of failure and remediation packets. So most kids just took the Cs. Complete BS.

DP yes we are dealing with this in algebra right now. It is AWFUL and yes it takes the parents a minute to understand that the teachers are literally not teaching and sometimes not even ensuring that kids understand what they need to be doing to get through the syllabus.

OP is not wrong to want to address this separately with the administration but will probably have to also deal directly with the teacher too. Also OP should get together with other parents - this affects all kids not just SN kids. a lot of parents at our school are freaking about it and have made some headway in improving it a little but you need to get together.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you saying the teacher has never responded to you? Did you request to meet with the teacher?

It seems you are basing a lot on your child's interpretation of events and that the teacher doesn't even teach according to them. Pretty much every parent would be complaining to the school if there was a class where the teacher didn't teach and so all the kids just sat there with nothing to do all period.

The teacher probably didn’t respond because they are being bombarded by parents freaking out as they figure out that the plan is to literally not teach math.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks all, appreciate the feedback (and understand that my feelings were not realistic). We are at that point where we feel like there is nothing productive that can come from DS being with this teacher for the remainder of the year; it's that serious. In any other subject we would just shrug and move on but the foundational nature of math makes it hard to take that approach. Tutoring 1-2x a week doesn't seem good enough. We didn't want the meeting with the AP, but it was suggested by the counselor.

If tutoring twice a week isn’t helping, this problem seems bigger than just a single teacher.

It's mainly been 1x a week, took awhile to find a good tutor with availability. The problem is the teacher literally is not teaching/providing zero instruction most days.

That is a very odd claim about a teacher and does not ring true at all.

OP here; I'd likely feel the same way if I read this but this is what has been reported by my DC (and others)...kids who in other subjects will clearly say we worked on xyz lab, teacher taught this.

I believe you. Quick question. Is this teacher a follower of the Modern Classroom approach? My DS had a teacher that sounds very similar to this one for Pre-Calc. She literally never got up in front of the class and taught anything. She used pre-recorded videos, sometimes of her, sometimes not, doing a few examples. Then she would record herself filling out a notes packet while remaining seated the entire time. They would do knowledge checks on the computer and could move on to the next set of videos in the Unit when they passed the Knowledge Check. If you hadn't made it through them by the test, oh well. He never scored above a C- on any of the tests. It was such BS. To retake the test, you had to complete the original test perfectly, do a remediation packet perfectly, then retake the test. It was such an insane amount of work that if you did it, you were forever behind in a cycle of failure and remediation packets. So most kids just took the Cs. Complete BS.

DP yes we are dealing with this in algebra right now. It is AWFUL and yes it takes the parents a minute to understand that the teachers are literally not teaching and sometimes not even ensuring that kids understand what they need to be doing to get through the syllabus.

OP is not wrong to want to address this separately with the administration but will probably have to also deal directly with the teacher too. Also OP should get together with other parents - this affects all kids not just SN kids. a lot of parents at our school are freaking about it and have made some headway in improving it a little but you need to get together.

Also … we have exactly the same issue with the pacing or “self pacing” that means that kids seem to not be getting through the material. I can’t wrap my head around it - it is as if the school doesn’t have any concept of a fixed syllabus with concepts that have to be learned for a class. Just whatever the kid manages to struggle through on their own. Another issue is that they don’t want to give homework so the amount of study time is probably too short to get through what should be in an algebra curriculum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks all, appreciate the feedback (and understand that my feelings were not realistic). We are at that point where we feel like there is nothing productive that can come from DS being with this teacher for the remainder of the year; it's that serious. In any other subject we would just shrug and move on but the foundational nature of math makes it hard to take that approach. Tutoring 1-2x a week doesn't seem good enough. We didn't want the meeting with the AP, but it was suggested by the counselor.

If tutoring twice a week isn’t helping, this problem seems bigger than just a single teacher.

It's mainly been 1x a week, took awhile to find a good tutor with availability. The problem is the teacher literally is not teaching/providing zero instruction most days.

That is a very odd claim about a teacher and does not ring true at all.

OP here; I'd likely feel the same way if I read this but this is what has been reported by my DC (and others)...kids who in other subjects will clearly say we worked on xyz lab, teacher taught this.

I believe you. Quick question. Is this teacher a follower of the Modern Classroom approach? My DS had a teacher that sounds very similar to this one for Pre-Calc. She literally never got up in front of the class and taught anything. She used pre-recorded videos, sometimes of her, sometimes not, doing a few examples. Then she would record herself filling out a notes packet while remaining seated the entire time. They would do knowledge checks on the computer and could move on to the next set of videos in the Unit when they passed the Knowledge Check. If you hadn't made it through them by the test, oh well. He never scored above a C- on any of the tests. It was such BS. To retake the test, you had to complete the original test perfectly, do a remediation packet perfectly, then retake the test. It was such an insane amount of work that if you did it, you were forever behind in a cycle of failure and remediation packets. So most kids just took the Cs. Complete BS.

Teacher here with 25 years of experience. I regularly attend professional development opportunities and I take continuing ed courses at night. I also mentor new teachers.

I have no clue what the “Modern Classroom” approach to teaching is and your description above simply sounds like a teacher who is checked out.

Are you suggesting this is some big educational movement?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks all, appreciate the feedback (and understand that my feelings were not realistic). We are at that point where we feel like there is nothing productive that can come from DS being with this teacher for the remainder of the year; it's that serious. In any other subject we would just shrug and move on but the foundational nature of math makes it hard to take that approach. Tutoring 1-2x a week doesn't seem good enough. We didn't want the meeting with the AP, but it was suggested by the counselor.

If tutoring twice a week isn’t helping, this problem seems bigger than just a single teacher.

It's mainly been 1x a week, took awhile to find a good tutor with availability. The problem is the teacher literally is not teaching/providing zero instruction most days.

That is a very odd claim about a teacher and does not ring true at all.

OP here; I'd likely feel the same way if I read this but this is what has been reported by my DC (and others)...kids who in other subjects will clearly say we worked on xyz lab, teacher taught this.

I believe you. Quick question. Is this teacher a follower of the Modern Classroom approach? My DS had a teacher that sounds very similar to this one for Pre-Calc. She literally never got up in front of the class and taught anything. She used pre-recorded videos, sometimes of her, sometimes not, doing a few examples. Then she would record herself filling out a notes packet while remaining seated the entire time. They would do knowledge checks on the computer and could move on to the next set of videos in the Unit when they passed the Knowledge Check. If you hadn't made it through them by the test, oh well. He never scored above a C- on any of the tests. It was such BS. To retake the test, you had to complete the original test perfectly, do a remediation packet perfectly, then retake the test. It was such an insane amount of work that if you did it, you were forever behind in a cycle of failure and remediation packets. So most kids just took the Cs. Complete BS.

Teacher here with 25 years of experience. I regularly attend professional development opportunities and I take continuing ed courses at night. I also mentor new teachers.

I have no clue what the “Modern Classroom” approach to teaching is and your description above simply sounds like a teacher who is checked out.

Are you suggesting this is some big educational movement?

I am sorry to say it is an educational movement and not a checked out teacher … as far as I can tell it is being adopted by schools with a naive belief in ed tech and who feel like it allows kids to “move at their own pace” in a classroom with mixed abilities. It also connects to an unwillingness to track kids at all, even in MS/HS math.

An example: https://www.coolcatteacher.com/mastery-based-self-paced-modern-classrooms/

It is purportedly “mastery based” and “self-paced”. It does not work at all.