Teacher doesn't actually teach anything

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Really all you can do is ask to meet with the teacher. A C- for art that is technically meeting all the criteria seems overly harsh. Not everyone is an artist.

Fwiw, MS art made my kid swear he'd never take another art class. And this is a kid who loves drawing and is quite good at it. He's just very slow to get to the finished product, which didn't work for the teacher's expectations -- so he'd rush to finish and miss items on the rubric.

This is what gets me - I tend to agree with you, but the teacher insists everyone can be taught. But he doesn't lecture on technique, just demonstrates for five minutes and lets them at it. A math teacher would never get away with that.

As an artist I have to agree with the teacher. The thing about art is that doing well involves tons of practice. If you think about it, you had to learn to draw in order to write letters and numbers and how you learned was a demonstration followed by lots and lots of practice until you get good at it.

I am not a school teacher but I do teach a lot of people. And the single thing that holds people back is their own fear and trepidation. Second issue is the reluctance to practice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Really all you can do is ask to meet with the teacher. A C- for art that is technically meeting all the criteria seems overly harsh.

Isn’t that the criteria for every subject? You get the basics and you get a C. To get a B or an A to need to demonstrate a higher level of skill.

[Anonymous]

There’s lots of teachers that don’t teach these days. dC’s science teacher is this way. A gizmo sheet is tossed out at them with no instruction and no textbook to consult.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn’t worry about the grade as it won’t go into her transcript for colleges. It’s art.

Of course it will.

lol. In 8th grade? Sure, Jan.

I hate when 30 year olds who have never watched a single episode of the Brady bunch say this. Girl, that word. It does not mean what you think it means. Meaning, you say this enough that we know it's the same person, and you're never really accurate in its use.

Mmm, no, sorry. I’m a DP. I use that phrase on DCUM semiregularly, have seen probably every episode of BB in reruns and am GenX.

But hey, you tried. 🤷‍♀️

[Anonymous]

I’d be miffed. It’s art. Art is subjective and so is the grading for such assignments. Students should be getting full credit for the assignments if they completed them, used a reasonable amount of effort, and followed the directions- at least for a general middle school art class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn’t worry about the grade as it won’t go into her transcript for colleges. It’s art.

Of course it will.

No it won't. And who cares. 8th grade Art won't matter to an otherwise good student.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does she have to take art?

Some people are natural artists, some can learn, and some (like me) can’t draw a stick figure. This doesn’t seem like her place of strength.

+1 The last art class I took was in 7th grade. In 8th and thereafter I chose music or drama instead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is a middle school elective. How can you be this concerned?

Art is not elective in middle school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a middle school elective. How can you be this concerned?

Art is not elective in middle school

It is in our middle school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You need to complain to the head of school. I'm assuming this is a private. No public would do this.

Yes, it's a private, and K-12, so at least the C- won't affect admissions! I think a complaint to the HoS seems a bit excessive, though? I've talked to a few other parents, vaguely, and they all love this teacher. He does seem friendly, but...

Grow some basic courage and just go talk to the teacher directly. Ask what he's looking for in your student's work, and then ask what he did on the last few assignments to teach your child what he's looking for. And ask what your child would need to do on current assignments to get a much better grade, and what he did to teach the class these skills. If he can't give examples of what he taught, then you ask how your child is supposed to improve if he's not giving directions or teaching the skills he's looking for. If that all fails, then you go to the HoS. Why wouldn't you think to talk to the teacher as the very first most basic step?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a middle school elective. How can you be this concerned?

Art is not elective in middle school

It is in our middle school.

Lucky. A lot of kids hate art.

[Anonymous]

talk to the teacher, no reason why she doesn't get a better grade

[Anonymous]

Your headline in your post claims the art teacher doesn’t know how to teach. But then you later say it is YOUR daughter who says that. So you really don’t know if the art teacher can teach, or not, right? The problem
could child (hidden disabilities - have you had a neuropsych done?) or attitudinal. You won’t know until you go in and speak with the teacher. No one here can help you until you do that

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a middle school elective. How can you be this concerned?

Art is not elective in middle school

Even if it’s required, this is middle school. Relax. Who cares. It’s an art class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Really all you can do is ask to meet with the teacher. A C- for art that is technically meeting all the criteria seems overly harsh. Not everyone is an artist.

Fwiw, MS art made my kid swear he'd never take another art class. And this is a kid who loves drawing and is quite good at it. He's just very slow to get to the finished product, which didn't work for the teacher's expectations -- so he'd rush to finish and miss items on the rubric.

+1. Depends on art teacher. Someone who doesn't teach, isn't in class a lot, hides in the art closet. Etc. Stuff like that can impact a student's experience with school art class and probably other classes where the environment is not conducive to learning.
-DP