Overly harsh teacher ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am not the PP, but I would also immediately escalate a situation where my kid was getting zeros instead of their documented accommodations. Calling an IEP meeting gets the attention of everyone who needs to be on board. I would not describe that reaction as hostile.

It absolutely is when you write “watch what happens” and call for the teacher to be removed from the job, as the PP stated.

When 1/3rd of a class has accommodations, as many classes do these days, it’s natural that a teacher may make a mistake. Reasonable people will kindly email the teacher. Unreasonable people will act like the PP.

I have a child with an IEP. We’ve had to remind teachers about accommodations. A kind email gets a “I will fix it and thank you.” That’s usually all it takes.

Or you can declare war. From my view, that makes little sense. Teachers are mere humans and we are demanding far too much of them right now. Giving them grief and more work isn’t going to fix the problem. Giving them grace and a kind reminder will.

[Anonymous]

So your kid’s grade won’t be impacted and they’ll have the extra time they need to complete the assignment? The teacher’s email was unnecessarily snarky, but I’m not sure this situation is worth escalating.

[Anonymous]

For all we know it was a 5 min assignment that the teacher allocated 15 min for. Maybe your kid was horsing around. Since he can still finish the work, I would not get bent out of shape over a slightly snarky email. Being overprotective is not helpful to your child in the long run. Even if your child was being perfect and the teacher was off base, you have to pick your battles and model that for your child. I imagine teachers are completely burnt out by this time of year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teacher just sent them an email that I was copied on. questioning why something was not done in the allotted 15 minutes…also seemed as if they were viewing typing as some sort of special gift.

OP at my kids' school, with most teachers there wouldn't be an email. Just a zero on the grade book - and they would move on without a second thought. Is that what you would prefer?

Sorry, but what kind of a question is that. Just be glad your kid didn't get a zero and move on? Surely not, that is why there is a federal law providing appropriate access to education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To be clear, was the 15 minutes the extended time or was the extended time not given? In the case of the latter, I would send a polite reminder of the IEP- many gen ed teachers don’t see it unless the case manager sends it out, so it is possible the teacher doesn’t know

15 minutes was the original amount of time. It was one of those classes where they rotate stations within a group; so lots of chaos, back noise and a bunch of teens. 15 minutes probably wasn't enough for all but the fastest most on the ball. Though they still have the time to complete the work the email itself felt like they were being called out for not using their typing *quickly* (teacher essentially thinks; since you are "allowed" to type this should be fast). They are still allowed to complete the assignment / no penalty but the email so late in the school year felt unnecessary (they likely only have a couple more total).

Teacher doing bare min at end of year. Forward the email to your kid's case manager and/or resource teacher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teacher just sent them an email that I was copied on. questioning why something was not done in the allotted 15 minutes…also seemed as if they were viewing typing as some sort of special gift.

OP at my kids' school, with most teachers there wouldn't be an email. Just a zero on the grade book - and they would move on without a second thought. Is that what you would prefer?

Not op, but pull that sh*t on my kid and I call an IEP meeting so fast they wouldn't know what hit them. Willfully ignore my kids accommodations and see what happens. I can call a meeting every day of the week if I need.

If you are the teacher described, you need to be removed from your job.

DP and I'm not sure your hostility/escalation is necessary.

Yes, your child has an IEP that should / must be followed. So do about 1/3rd of the students in the class. The teacher is just one human trying to fulfill the required accommodations for every single student in the class simultaneously. Teachers are not able to draw from a well of supernatural powers, which is what teaching in 2026 seems to require.

And I say this as a parent of a child with an IEP. I want my child's IEP to be met, as it should be. But I also know what the teacher is up against, so I'm not going to demand they are "removed from the job" considering the job is completely, 100% impossible now.

You're a lousy teacher if you know a kid has an iep and you're giving them 0s while ignoring their accommodations. Do that to my kid and watch what happens.

Okay. So you’re going to escalate with hostility. Gotcha. Good luck.

DP. you bet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For all we know it was a 5 min assignment that the teacher allocated 15 min for. Maybe your kid was horsing around. Since he can still finish the work, I would not get bent out of shape over a slightly snarky email. Being overprotective is not helpful to your child in the long run. Even if your child was being perfect and the teacher was off base, you have to pick your battles and model that for your child. I imagine teachers are completely burnt out by this time of year.

Victim blaming. Nice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op my kid has awful dysgraphia and other disabilities and the reaction of teachers to my kid's issues with motor skills was one of the worst issues I had to face. Most teachers blame parents for the child's inability to write. We had 20 iep meetings one year because the football coach/math teacher (he was a horrible teacher) was angry about my kid's dysgraphia and in our first IEP meeting asked why we hadn't taught our kid to write. He bullied and tormented our very scared child. We had to get lawyers and advocates involved.

The ignorance about dysgraphia by school staff is astounding. My kid's case manager and the Vice Principal responsible for special ed at my kid's high school had no idea what dsygraphia is.

This is why so many special education teachers are quitting. You made the special education teacher hold 20 meetings in one year not because she wasn't doing her job but because you were mad at the football/math coach? So the special education teacher couldn't work with any other student during all those meeting and she also spent countless hours doing paper work.

I get why OP is annoyed, but I don't get why OP is so mad. Teacher takes time to email parent. Sounds like it wasn't a valid reason to email but the student is not getting a zero and can still complete the work. Maybe the teacher was explaining your kid could still get credit. Maybe the teacher just sucks. It is the end of the year. It just seems like it isn't worth the stress of making a big deal over it. It could be also that I am just worn down over my kid not getting accommodation and realized even in the past if I have been proactive and made calls and emails nothing much changed.

Teachers who are going to accommodate will and those who won't will just keep making excuses. Now I call the counselor and ask other parents which teacher are the ones who won't accommodate and I try to figure out a way not to have my kid take their class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teacher just sent them an email that I was copied on. questioning why something was not done in the allotted 15 minutes…also seemed as if they were viewing typing as some sort of special gift.

OP at my kids' school, with most teachers there wouldn't be an email. Just a zero on the grade book - and they would move on without a second thought. Is that what you would prefer?

Not op, but pull that sh*t on my kid and I call an IEP meeting so fast they wouldn't know what hit them. Willfully ignore my kids accommodations and see what happens. I can call a meeting every day of the week if I need.

If you are the teacher described, you need to be removed from your job.

DP and I'm not sure your hostility/escalation is necessary.

Yes, your child has an IEP that should / must be followed. So do about 1/3rd of the students in the class. The teacher is just one human trying to fulfill the required accommodations for every single student in the class simultaneously. Teachers are not able to draw from a well of supernatural powers, which is what teaching in 2026 seems to require.

And I say this as a parent of a child with an IEP. I want my child's IEP to be met, as it should be. But I also know what the teacher is up against, so I'm not going to demand they are "removed from the job" considering the job is completely, 100% impossible now.

You're a lousy teacher if you know a kid has an iep and you're giving them 0s while ignoring their accommodations. Do that to my kid and watch what happens.

Okay. So you’re going to escalate with hostility. Gotcha. Good luck.

OP here-- the teacher did not give my kid a "0" -- I was writing more about the tone and how she handled it (seemed to be coming from a place of blame/wrongdoing VS help)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teacher just sent them an email that I was copied on. questioning why something was not done in the allotted 15 minutes…also seemed as if they were viewing typing as some sort of special gift.

OP at my kids' school, with most teachers there wouldn't be an email. Just a zero on the grade book - and they would move on without a second thought. Is that what you would prefer?

Not op, but pull that sh*t on my kid and I call an IEP meeting so fast they wouldn't know what hit them. Willfully ignore my kids accommodations and see what happens. I can call a meeting every day of the week if I need.

If you are the teacher described, you need to be removed from your job.

DP and I'm not sure your hostility/escalation is necessary.

Yes, your child has an IEP that should / must be followed. So do about 1/3rd of the students in the class. The teacher is just one human trying to fulfill the required accommodations for every single student in the class simultaneously. Teachers are not able to draw from a well of supernatural powers, which is what teaching in 2026 seems to require.

And I say this as a parent of a child with an IEP. I want my child's IEP to be met, as it should be. But I also know what the teacher is up against, so I'm not going to demand they are "removed from the job" considering the job is completely, 100% impossible now.

You're a lousy teacher if you know a kid has an iep and you're giving them 0s while ignoring their accommodations. Do that to my kid and watch what happens.

Okay. So you’re going to escalate with hostility. Gotcha. Good luck.

OP here-- the teacher did not give my kid a "0" -- I was writing more about the tone and how she handled it (seemed to be coming from a place of blame/wrongdoing VS help)

You need to develop a thicker skin. And don’t assume that the teacher was 100% at fault. There are many kids who misuse the extended time accomodation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:9th grader has very slow processing speed and dysgraphia and a new IEP (moved from 504) that finally allows extra time.

Teacher just sent them an email that I was copied on. questioning why something was not done in the allotted 15 minutes…also seemed as if they were viewing typing as some sort of special gift.

It’s a tough day for them (exams) and a few other sh.. things that are happening. Hate that they have to deal with this too.

what exactly is the problem here? did the teacher not give the kid his accommodation of extended time? or does the kid not have that accommodation and perhaps needs it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teacher just sent them an email that I was copied on. questioning why something was not done in the allotted 15 minutes…also seemed as if they were viewing typing as some sort of special gift.

OP at my kids' school, with most teachers there wouldn't be an email. Just a zero on the grade book - and they would move on without a second thought. Is that what you would prefer?

Not op, but pull that sh*t on my kid and I call an IEP meeting so fast they wouldn't know what hit them. Willfully ignore my kids accommodations and see what happens. I can call a meeting every day of the week if I need.

If you are the teacher described, you need to be removed from your job.

DP and I'm not sure your hostility/escalation is necessary.

Yes, your child has an IEP that should / must be followed. So do about 1/3rd of the students in the class. The teacher is just one human trying to fulfill the required accommodations for every single student in the class simultaneously. Teachers are not able to draw from a well of supernatural powers, which is what teaching in 2026 seems to require.

And I say this as a parent of a child with an IEP. I want my child's IEP to be met, as it should be. But I also know what the teacher is up against, so I'm not going to demand they are "removed from the job" considering the job is completely, 100% impossible now.

You're a lousy teacher if you know a kid has an iep and you're giving them 0s while ignoring their accommodations. Do that to my kid and watch what happens.

Okay. So you’re going to escalate with hostility. Gotcha. Good luck.

OP here-- the teacher did not give my kid a "0" -- I was writing more about the tone and how she handled it (seemed to be coming from a place of blame/wrongdoing VS help)

You need to develop a thicker skin. And don’t assume that the teacher was 100% at fault. There are many kids who misuse the extended time accomodation.

What do you mean by “misuse extended time”? Can you give some examples?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op my kid has awful dysgraphia and other disabilities and the reaction of teachers to my kid's issues with motor skills was one of the worst issues I had to face. Most teachers blame parents for the child's inability to write. We had 20 iep meetings one year because the football coach/math teacher (he was a horrible teacher) was angry about my kid's dysgraphia and in our first IEP meeting asked why we hadn't taught our kid to write. He bullied and tormented our very scared child. We had to get lawyers and advocates involved.

The ignorance about dysgraphia by school staff is astounding. My kid's case manager and the Vice Principal responsible for special ed at my kid's high school had no idea what dsygraphia is.

We had a teacher like this - bullying DC and me about dysgraphia. I kept getting notes home asking me to stop scribing for my DC because the teacher thought by doing that I was coddling him and that I was the reason he couldn’t write. Once the teacher called me on the phone and I had to ask, “did you read the neuropsych report I gave you at the beginning of school?” OFC, the teacher had not. I had to cite the page of the report where I was explicitly advised to scribe homework.

That teacher did such permanent damage to DC’s self-esteem that recently, when DC graduated from college (14 years after he had this teacher), DC actually said, “can you imagine if Mr. X could see me graduating from college with honors? Remember how mean he was to me and how he always treated me like I was stupid?”

I would note hold 20 IEP meetings for a non-compliant teacher. First failure to comply with an IEP gets a polite email to teacher outlining facts of failure to comply and reminding that IEp compliance is a legal obligation. Second failure to comply gets a polite email to principal noting facts of second failure to comply, attaching email chain about first failure to comply, and asking principal to provide “professional education and any necessary resources to bring teacher X into compliance with the IEP”. Third failure to comply gets failure #1 and #2 along with details of failure #3 forwarded to either the associate superintendent of special education or the superintendent with a closing line that says, “I look forward to having this matter resolved within 24 hours so that I do not have to resort to my due process options.”

All emails after the first are also copied to the non-compliant teacher. No one likes to be called out in front of their boss. Smart people also don’t like that a written record of non-compliance in a legal obligation is being created.

IF you’re a teacher and you get fired because I am calling out your failure to fulfill your legal duty, that is not my problem. Teaching is a professional job and if you can’t meet your professional obligations you do not belong in the profession.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op my kid has awful dysgraphia and other disabilities and the reaction of teachers to my kid's issues with motor skills was one of the worst issues I had to face. Most teachers blame parents for the child's inability to write. We had 20 iep meetings one year because the football coach/math teacher (he was a horrible teacher) was angry about my kid's dysgraphia and in our first IEP meeting asked why we hadn't taught our kid to write. He bullied and tormented our very scared child. We had to get lawyers and advocates involved.

The ignorance about dysgraphia by school staff is astounding. My kid's case manager and the Vice Principal responsible for special ed at my kid's high school had no idea what dsygraphia is.

We had a teacher like this - bullying DC and me about dysgraphia. I kept getting notes home asking me to stop scribing for my DC because the teacher thought by doing that I was coddling him and that I was the reason he couldn’t write. Once the teacher called me on the phone and I had to ask, “did you read the neuropsych report I gave you at the beginning of school?” OFC, the teacher had not. I had to cite the page of the report where I was explicitly advised to scribe homework.

That teacher did such permanent damage to DC’s self-esteem that recently, when DC graduated from college (14 years after he had this teacher), DC actually said, “can you imagine if Mr. X could see me graduating from college with honors? Remember how mean he was to me and how he always treated me like I was stupid?”

I would note hold 20 IEP meetings for a non-compliant teacher. First failure to comply with an IEP gets a polite email to teacher outlining facts of failure to comply and reminding that IEp compliance is a legal obligation. Second failure to comply gets a polite email to principal noting facts of second failure to comply, attaching email chain about first failure to comply, and asking principal to provide “professional education and any necessary resources to bring teacher X into compliance with the IEP”. Third failure to comply gets failure #1 and #2 along with details of failure #3 forwarded to either the associate superintendent of special education or the superintendent with a closing line that says, “I look forward to having this matter resolved within 24 hours so that I do not have to resort to my due process options.”

All emails after the first are also copied to the non-compliant teacher. No one likes to be called out in front of their boss. Smart people also don’t like that a written record of non-compliance in a legal obligation is being created.

IF you’re a teacher and you get fired because I am calling out your failure to fulfill your legal duty, that is not my problem. Teaching is a professional job and if you can’t meet your professional obligations you do not belong in the profession.

I once had a class of 38. Over 20 students had IEPs or 504s and I had no co-teacher.

The law can demand all it wants. When you have one person responsible for implementing over 20 plans simultaneously, they are going to slip up. It doesn’t matter how organized they are or how disciplined they are.

So yes, it’s a professional job. Yes, it’s the teacher’s obligation to honor IEPs. But as a person who has actually experienced this, I can tell you with confidence that yelling at me isn’t going to make it any easier for me to do the impossible.