incompetent teacher -- what can parents do?
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Anonymous
Libel suit waiting to happen. No reporter would touch that with a 10-foot pole. It's also just not newsworthy. At all. |
Anonymous
| Assume this is Pyle OP? |
Anonymous
| Define incompetent... |
Anonymous
| MCPS and Starr took way too long to take action on teachers that were physically abusing kids. So I can only imagine how they handle performance issues that are nowhere near as serious. |
Anonymous
| In middle school the kids have seven teachers, so if one isn't the best, they can still have 6 great teachers. |
Anonymous
| OP, just curious (as the parent of an MCPS 6th grader) - how can you tell by week 2 that the teacher is incompetent? |
Anonymous
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Had one year in middle school where a new teacher was hired who just clearly was not competent to teach the subject. Not a bad person, just a terrible teacher. We tried to use it as a teachable moment for our kid that for the rest of her life there would be people – college roommate, fellow cubicle worker, future boss, significant other of best friend, what have you – that would be almost unbearable to deal with and that learning how to be around people who don't bring much to the table and are annoying as hell is part of figuring out how to maneuver through life. By middle school, a child needs to be able to start grasping how to deal with that concept. It really dawned on my kid that year that she could learn to make the best of it and find ways to handle it, even if it meant she didn't learn a whole helluva lot in the subject that year (and yes, we did make an effort to fill in the gaps wherever we could).
That being said, it's a whole other ball of wax if a teacher is bullying or abusive – that's when you raise hell, but that's another thread. 
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Anonymous
| This is exactly why teacher's unions are a bad thing. I can't believe people don't jump on this!! |
Anonymous
The union isn't the problem. Even without a union, the employer must weigh the pros and cons of firing with a potential wrongful termination lawsuit...just like every other employer. If the teacher is a minority or in a protected class (age, Lgbt), then a lawsuit is almost guaranteed and would be costly to defend. In real life, it's rather difficult to fire people immediately. Duh. |
Anonymous
| What school is this? Or at least what subject? |
Anonymous
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My spouse teaches middle school and last year was a nightmare with one position in the department. The teacher left over the summer (most teachers that are leaving make it known in the spring after the get hired for a new position, giving the school the opportunity to replace), so they had a very short window to find a replacement. The person they got was not the best, but qualified. Unfortunately, that person quit early in the school year, and they were left scrambling again to find either a qualified permanent teacher replacement, or a qualified long-term sub. Neither one materialized and the studnets went through five different teachers (including my spouse for the final months of the year). The kids really suffered, and they offered a free mini summer school with the opportuntiy to retake the exam, so they could get the high school credit. Even in middle school, an incompetent teacher makes a difference.
I'm curious, though, OP, how you know that the teacher is incompetent. What examples do you have that brought you to this conclusion? Is there usualyl a high teacher turnover rate at the school? My spouse's school is "less desirable" and they have a difficult time keeping teachers for the long haul. Maybe your child's school is not rushing the process because they know it would be difficult for them to replace the teacher.
Unions protect workers from unjust firing (among other things). Do you feel the same way about police unions? Fire fighter unions? Factory worker unions? While I agree it's important to be able to remove "incompetent" teachers, I'm not comfortable with the idea of an administrator having the power to immediately fire a teacher with no protocol in place. The teachers' union in question has negotiated a process for removing incompetent teachers, and from the OP's post, it looks like that process has already started. |
Anonymous
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OP here. Thanks for input folks. I'm sorry but I don't feel comfortable answering any specific questions about school, subject, or why I believe the teacher is incompetent. As a regular reader of this forum I understand that may be annoying to those of you with an interest in this topic.
I appreciate hearing people's experiences, especially from those of you who understand the inner workings of MCPS personnel policies. |
Anonymous
Not a former journalist here, just a rationally-thinking person. And I agree with the journalist. The day that "my kid's crappy teacher" is legitimately newsworthy is the day that we've solved all the world's problems, and it's world peace and lollipops for everyone. Except your kid whose not learning so much math this year. |
Anonymous
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Principal can make it happen. This has happened twice in my DD's years in school -- once in K and once in 7th. In both cases teachers were clearly in over their heads.
In K, the principal brought in a resource teacher as support so basically class was taught by two people. Mid-year, a new teacher took over. In 7th, the principal moved the teacher to a different class that she could handle, and brought in a new teacher. So it can happen. Both times, parents were very vocal and brought specific examples of lack of learning, incorrect material being taught, etc. I respect teachers and think there's a real danger of something like this becoming a witch hunt, but it's possible to get it done if it's a serious situation. |
Anonymous
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If you lean HARD on a principal, meaning you make sure people ABOVE him are aware as asking what he is doing, then he can will
the process along as fast as he can. He still needs to follow a process though. Bug him in droves and complain to the community superintendent or even the superintendent. |