Terrible teachers at TJ

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How is this a thing?

I'm a parent of a freshman so I've had very little exposure to teachers yet, but already there are two very bad teachers that seem should be removed ASAP and I don't know how they are still employed.

Teacher #1 -
I've met so many parents independently of boys, girls, athletes, non-athetes complain about this one PE teacher. In her back to school night presentation she talks about her stillbirth. Which I think was set up to prepare us for her constant absences and negative attitude.

My varsity athlete in 3 sports absolutely dreads PE with her and has a B despite actually trying and being one of the best (insert any activity they're doing). She actively goes after them too. I only get constant negative reports from her when no other teacher ever even sends me an email.

Teacher #2
He's 80+ teaching foundations of computer science and everything he teaches the kids is outdated. He doesn't follow the curriculum so any kids in his class are then at a disadvantage for future CS classes at TJ. All this information was verified by a friend's husband who does programming professionally so knows the material he's teaching and methods are all way, way out of date.

Bottom-line:
How, at a top-notch school, do they not have better performance or even just-don't-suck standards for their teachers? TJ shouldn't be for every student or teacher.

Make sure TJ gets no bad teachers…the rest of FCPS should get them, right?!?!

[Anonymous]

OP, you are not crazy as others have complaints too. But you need to email the principal. Nothing posted here will help fix this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How is this a thing?

I'm a parent of a freshman so I've had very little exposure to teachers yet, but already there are two very bad teachers that seem should be removed ASAP and I don't know how they are still employed.

Teacher #1 -
I've met so many parents independently of boys, girls, athletes, non-athetes complain about this one PE teacher. In her back to school night presentation she talks about her stillbirth. Which I think was set up to prepare us for her constant absences and negative attitude.

My varsity athlete in 3 sports absolutely dreads PE with her and has a B despite actually trying and being one of the best (insert any activity they're doing). She actively goes after them too. I only get constant negative reports from her when no other teacher ever even sends me an email.

You are obviously a miserable person who possesses less empathy than a rock.

1. The teacher presenting about her stillborn baby is not a "set up." What would make you think she'd constantly be absent just because she shared a detail about her family and its tragic loss? And then you assume that because the teacher lost a child, she will have a negative attitude? What is wrong with you? Show some compassion.

2. Being a multi-sport athlete does not mean your kid is a stellar PE student. Maybe he refuses to follow rules, learn new skills, and/or do his work in Health or Driver's Ed.

3. Maybe you only get negative reports from the one teacher because your kid has picked up on your holier than thou approach, thinking your kid is perfect, or maybe he's picked up on your piss poor attitude about non-academic classes.

Maybe this teacher is indeed a terrible teacher. Or maybe you and/or your kid are the problem. I predict it's the latter.

I've never, ever had a problem with a school or a teacher before this one in particular. Obviously, kid is at TJ. But also, there are ***lots*** of other parents having the same issue with this teacher as discussed on an internal parents chat. I confirmed in person that it was, indeed, the same teacher we were all complaining about.

I'm a recurrent pregnancy loss patient myself but I'm done with her piss poor attitude.

What does the bolded mean?

You've never had a problem with a teacher before this one in particular. Obviously you've never had a problem and that's why your kid is at TJ? That makes no sense.

You've never had a problem with a teacher before this one in particular. Obviously your kid is at TJ, so... Again, this makes no sense.

You still have not explained why you think the teacher sharing about her stillbirth is at all related to her attendance or her attitude. Why did you think it was a set up?

Because she's saying that's why she has a terrible attitude and missing school.

I encountered the teacher outside of class doing something and I made a casual remark about helping out and her response was basically I'll do anything to not be in class. I mean it was super clear she hates her job. Very, very clear.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How is this a thing?

I'm a parent of a freshman so I've had very little exposure to teachers yet, but already there are two very bad teachers that seem should be removed ASAP and I don't know how they are still employed.

Teacher #1 -
I've met so many parents independently of boys, girls, athletes, non-athetes complain about this one PE teacher. In her back to school night presentation she talks about her stillbirth. Which I think was set up to prepare us for her constant absences and negative attitude.

My varsity athlete in 3 sports absolutely dreads PE with her and has a B despite actually trying and being one of the best (insert any activity they're doing). She actively goes after them too. I only get constant negative reports from her when no other teacher ever even sends me an email.

Teacher #2
He's 80+ teaching foundations of computer science and everything he teaches the kids is outdated. He doesn't follow the curriculum so any kids in his class are then at a disadvantage for future CS classes at TJ. All this information was verified by a friend's husband who does programming professionally so knows the material he's teaching and methods are all way, way out of date.

Bottom-line:
How, at a top-notch school, do they not have better performance or even just-don't-suck standards for their teachers? TJ shouldn't be for every student or teacher.

Make sure TJ gets no bad teachers…the rest of FCPS should get them, right?!?!

It's a magnet school. It should not have teachers that hate their jobs or are not actually up-to-date on the material they are teaching. (By up to date, I mean the material is maybe over 20 years old). Some of that you might get away with at a regular school, but, no, I don't think **any** school deserves teachers that hate being a teacher or the job. Hence my suggestion that that teacher finds an admin position.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP. My freshman DS has the 80+ year old teacher. He complains all the time. I'm in CS myself and I think he is amazing. Maybe in a couple decades, my DS will realize how lucky he was to have such a treasure of an experienced teacher in high school.

Interesting - my friends Dad insisted that the material he's teaching is wrong and way out of date. That other classes are teaching it right and he's not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP. My freshman DS has the 80+ year old teacher. He complains all the time. I'm in CS myself and I think he is amazing. Maybe in a couple decades, my DS will realize how lucky he was to have such a treasure of an experienced teacher in high school.

Interesting - my friends Dad insisted that the material he's teaching is wrong and way out of date. That other classes are teaching it right and he's not.

That teacher was teaching at TJ when the new principal was a student there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP. My freshman DS has the 80+ year old teacher. He complains all the time. I'm in CS myself and I think he is amazing. Maybe in a couple decades, my DS will realize how lucky he was to have such a treasure of an experienced teacher in high school.

Interesting - my friends Dad insisted that the material he's teaching is wrong and way out of date. That other classes are teaching it right and he's not.

That teacher was teaching at TJ when the new principal was a student there.

The 80-year-old teacher is incredibly engaging and one of the best—he teaches Python and Java, along with concepts like Boolean algebra. Many current TJ teachers who are also alumni were once his students. However, if a student isn’t genuinely interested in programming, they may struggle to earn good grades and might not enjoy his class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP. My freshman DS has the 80+ year old teacher. He complains all the time. I'm in CS myself and I think he is amazing. Maybe in a couple decades, my DS will realize how lucky he was to have such a treasure of an experienced teacher in high school.

Interesting - my friends Dad insisted that the material he's teaching is wrong and way out of date. That other classes are teaching it right and he's not.

That teacher was teaching at TJ when the new principal was a student there.

The 80-year-old teacher is incredibly engaging and one of the best—he teaches Python and Java, along with concepts like Boolean algebra. Many current TJ teachers who are also alumni were once his students. However, if a student isn’t genuinely interested in programming, they may struggle to earn good grades and might not enjoy his class.

The student wasn't complaining, it was the parent saying that it's way out of date, totally not relevant and isn't setting the kids up for success in other CS classes.

[Anonymous]

What, precisely, is the 80 year old teacher teaching (or not teaching) that lead the husband considering his teaching to be out of date?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How is this a thing?

I'm a parent of a freshman so I've had very little exposure to teachers yet, but already there are two very bad teachers that seem should be removed ASAP and I don't know how they are still employed.

Teacher #1 -
I've met so many parents independently of boys, girls, athletes, non-athetes complain about this one PE teacher. In her back to school night presentation she talks about her stillbirth. Which I think was set up to prepare us for her constant absences and negative attitude.

My varsity athlete in 3 sports absolutely dreads PE with her and has a B despite actually trying and being one of the best (insert any activity they're doing). She actively goes after them too. I only get constant negative reports from her when no other teacher ever even sends me an email.

Teacher #2
He's 80+ teaching foundations of computer science and everything he teaches the kids is outdated. He doesn't follow the curriculum so any kids in his class are then at a disadvantage for future CS classes at TJ. All this information was verified by a friend's husband who does programming professionally so knows the material he's teaching and methods are all way, way out of date.

Bottom-line:
How, at a top-notch school, do they not have better performance or even just-don't-suck standards for their teachers? TJ shouldn't be for every student or teacher.

Make sure TJ gets no bad teachers…the rest of FCPS should get them, right?!?!

It's a magnet school. It should not have teachers that hate their jobs or are not actually up-to-date on the material they are teaching. (By up to date, I mean the material is maybe over 20 years old). Some of that you might get away with at a regular school, but, no, I don't think **any** school deserves teachers that hate being a teacher or the job. Hence my suggestion that that teacher finds an admin position.

I don’t think you realize how entitled you sound. It’s only an afterthought to say no school should have teachers like that. You probably believe it contains the smartest kids in the county, ignoring the fact that some got in and turned it down, some brilliant kids chose not to apply, and some brilliant kids didn’t get in because it is not based on meritocracy anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What, precisely, is the 80 year old teacher teaching (or not teaching) that lead the husband considering his teaching to be out of date?

It was the coding techniques according to the Dad. Things that haven't been professionally in use for several decades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How is this a thing?

I'm a parent of a freshman so I've had very little exposure to teachers yet, but already there are two very bad teachers that seem should be removed ASAP and I don't know how they are still employed.

Teacher #1 -
I've met so many parents independently of boys, girls, athletes, non-athetes complain about this one PE teacher. In her back to school night presentation she talks about her stillbirth. Which I think was set up to prepare us for her constant absences and negative attitude.

My varsity athlete in 3 sports absolutely dreads PE with her and has a B despite actually trying and being one of the best (insert any activity they're doing). She actively goes after them too. I only get constant negative reports from her when no other teacher ever even sends me an email.

Teacher #2
He's 80+ teaching foundations of computer science and everything he teaches the kids is outdated. He doesn't follow the curriculum so any kids in his class are then at a disadvantage for future CS classes at TJ. All this information was verified by a friend's husband who does programming professionally so knows the material he's teaching and methods are all way, way out of date.

Bottom-line:
How, at a top-notch school, do they not have better performance or even just-don't-suck standards for their teachers? TJ shouldn't be for every student or teacher.

Make sure TJ gets no bad teachers…the rest of FCPS should get them, right?!?!

It's a magnet school. It should not have teachers that hate their jobs or are not actually up-to-date on the material they are teaching. (By up to date, I mean the material is maybe over 20 years old). Some of that you might get away with at a regular school, but, no, I don't think **any** school deserves teachers that hate being a teacher or the job. Hence my suggestion that that teacher finds an admin position.

Oh but it has. For decades. The rumor going around in the late 90s was that my physics teacher had been fired from another FCPS school and moved to TJ because they figured a bad teacher could get away with it at TJ because the students were smart enough to compensate for her.

I still passed college physics after that experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What, precisely, is the 80 year old teacher teaching (or not teaching) that lead the husband considering his teaching to be out of date?

It was the coding techniques according to the Dad. Things that haven't been professionally in use for several decades.

Computer programmer here. In a foundations class you're learning print statements and if blocks. Not design patterns and software engineering techniques.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How is this a thing?

I'm a parent of a freshman so I've had very little exposure to teachers yet, but already there are two very bad teachers that seem should be removed ASAP and I don't know how they are still employed.

Teacher #1 -
I've met so many parents independently of boys, girls, athletes, non-athetes complain about this one PE teacher. In her back to school night presentation she talks about her stillbirth. Which I think was set up to prepare us for her constant absences and negative attitude.

My varsity athlete in 3 sports absolutely dreads PE with her and has a B despite actually trying and being one of the best (insert any activity they're doing). She actively goes after them too. I only get constant negative reports from her when no other teacher ever even sends me an email.

You are obviously a miserable person who possesses less empathy than a rock.

1. The teacher presenting about her stillborn baby is not a "set up." What would make you think she'd constantly be absent just because she shared a detail about her family and its tragic loss? And then you assume that because the teacher lost a child, she will have a negative attitude? What is wrong with you? Show some compassion.

2. Being a multi-sport athlete does not mean your kid is a stellar PE student. Maybe he refuses to follow rules, learn new skills, and/or do his work in Health or Driver's Ed.

3. Maybe you only get negative reports from the one teacher because your kid has picked up on your holier than thou approach, thinking your kid is perfect, or maybe he's picked up on your piss poor attitude about non-academic classes.

Maybe this teacher is indeed a terrible teacher. Or maybe you and/or your kid are the problem. I predict it's the latter.

I've never, ever had a problem with a school or a teacher before this one in particular. Obviously, kid is at TJ. But also, there are ***lots*** of other parents having the same issue with this teacher as discussed on an internal parents chat. I confirmed in person that it was, indeed, the same teacher we were all complaining about.

I'm a recurrent pregnancy loss patient myself but I'm done with her piss poor attitude.

Internal parent chat?

I'm a TJ parent, do you have more info on this because the only TJ parents I know are kids that came from our middle school and parents I met at his sports games. I'd love to get to know some of the other parents better but my kid turned pretty free range when he started high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I would be leery of getting information verified by "a friend's husband" and thinking that a "B" in PE is related to athletic ability. You are not there in the classroom and your information is second and third hand.

Your kid really needs to work hard to not get an A in PE.

Any able bodied kid who earns a B in PE should get grounded and have their electronics taken away by their parents.

There is a PE teacher at TJ that gives graded written tests.

Since you are obviously not me (the OP) can you verify that I'm not crazy? There is a problem PE teacher that everyone knows about?

The one I know gives written tests on the history of ultimate frizbee and the rules of competitive badminton. I don't know if she had a miscarriage but I do know she seems to think PE should have "rigor" instead of just being a class where kids can take a breath in the middle of an otherwise intense day.

A lot of the teachers are intense.

In my opinion the worst offenders are the Spanish department.

One price of advice to anyone thinking of coming here. Think long and hard about taking Spanish at TJ. My kid has a few years of Spanish under his belt so he continued with it and Spanish is his second hardest class and it is expected to only get harder. So many TJ kids only take the minimum 3 years of language because of the "rigor" of Spanish.

Language is not an honors class and I wonder if this is an attempt to turn it into an honors class or an attempt to reduce their class size.