So tired of hearing about the mean teacher

[Anonymous]

My child comes home everyday telling us how mean the teacher is. Today she yelled at the class for not getting some work done. My child hates school because of the mean teachers. The nice ones can really make all the difference and my child loves them and appreciates them and actually learns from them. The teacher seems to have poor classroom management skills, doesn't follow the responsive classroom model, and I'm told that she uses the clip behavior chart in excess to the point where students don't even know why they had to move their clips down to the "bad" colors. I don't even know what to say to my child that would be helpful. Anyone else dealing with the mean teacher? Any advice on how to encourage my child after the looooonnnngg day in her class?

[Anonymous]

The first thing I would do is talk to a few other parents and get a sense for what they're hearing. Depending on what you hear, I would schedule a meeting with the teacher and hear his/her side. (Do not lead with "mean teacher".) Ask about the clip behavior chart. Say you want to better understand it so that you can help reinforce the same behaviors at home.

I think you need to at least entertain the possibility that your child might be not conveying the whole story. The teacher, as a professional, deserves the benefit of the doubt until you can gather more information.

If after all this, the teacher is in fact mean and disorganized, say something to the principal. But at that point you'll actually have some data points to share.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The first thing I would do is talk to a few other parents and get a sense for what they're hearing. Depending on what you hear, I would schedule a meeting with the teacher and hear his/her side. (Do not lead with "mean teacher".) Ask about the clip behavior chart. Say you want to better understand it so that you can help reinforce the same behaviors at home.

I think you need to at least entertain the possibility that your child might be not conveying the whole story. The teacher, as a professional, deserves the benefit of the doubt until you can gather more information.

If after all this, the teacher is in fact mean and disorganized, say something to the principal. But at that point you'll actually have some data points to share.

+1

[Anonymous]

I absolutely agree that my child may not be telling everything that happened. My child isn't always in trouble at school, but there are moments when my child does get yelled at or in trouble by the teacher. I've tried saying "sounds like you've had a rough day, anything I can do to make it better?" And the response is "I want to be in a different class with a nice teacher".
I've met with the teacher for conference and she seems nice enough, but I can see that she may not be the most consistent with her expectations/organization. Emails often go unanswered. I'm told that they no longer have morning meeting, which I feel is important for the students to start their day with. I have no plans on going to the principal or trying to reason with the teacher at this point. The school year is coming to an end soon enough. I just hope I can encourage my child to have a positive attitude when the day has been very bad due to the teacher being unfair to the class.

[Anonymous]

One kid's perception of "the mean teacher" could be another kid's ideal teacher.

Mayber her style is just wrong for your daughter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One kid's perception of "the mean teacher" could be another kid's ideal teacher.

Mayber her style is just wrong for your daughter.

Op here. You are exactly right. It's definitely a bad fit. We've been incredibly lucky up until this year. Maybe that's why this year is so hard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One kid's perception of "the mean teacher" could be another kid's ideal teacher.

Mayber her style is just wrong for your daughter.

Op here. You are exactly right. It's definitely a bad fit. We've been incredibly lucky up until this year. Maybe that's why this year is so hard.

They're going to encounter "mean" teachers. And mean bosses. This is as educational as whatever is being taught.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One kid's perception of "the mean teacher" could be another kid's ideal teacher.

Mayber her style is just wrong for your daughter.

Op here. You are exactly right. It's definitely a bad fit. We've been incredibly lucky up until this year. Maybe that's why this year is so hard.

They're going to encounter "mean" teachers. And mean bosses. This is as educational as whatever is being taught.

Sure they will, but that doesn't mean we shouldnt expect fair treatment and that doesn't mean we can't vent about it and try to make things a little better. Not everyone's a hardass, you know? We definitely aren't in my family.

[Anonymous]

Let's see....doesn't use responsive classroom, does use non-approved clip chart, destroys children's love of learning....sounds like half the teachers at my school. Must be FCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let's see....doesn't use responsive classroom, does use non-approved clip chart, destroys children's love of learning....sounds like half the teachers at my school. Must be FCPS.

Yes, it is FCPS

[Anonymous]

I think your child has the teacher mine had 2 years ago. She wasted so much time tracking bad behavior. I agree with the advice. You need to gather data from teacher, other parents, etc and decide if your child is overly sensitive or this teacher needs some serious remediation when in comes to classroom management 101.

What grade? I had never heard of someone tracking bad behavior on a chart the whole class and any parents could see until we experienced it. I am hoping this is the same teacher (unlikely) because otherwise there are other idiots using this method.

[Anonymous]

Does your school advertise itself as a "Responsive Classroom" school? Not all FCPS schools are, and at my school only a handful of teachers have Responsive Classroom training. If it is an RC school, you may want to ask about the methods being used.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does your school advertise itself as a "Responsive Classroom" school? Not all FCPS schools are, and at my school only a handful of teachers have Responsive Classroom training. If it is an RC school, you may want to ask about the methods being used.

True, but there are only two approved behavior systems in fcps - PBIS, and Responsive Classroom. Neither one includes the infamous clipchart. So while it's not forbidden outright, it's just not a good practice, and in my opinion shows that the teachers in the school have poor training. Naturally, this is because of the administrators, and as far as I can tell the majority of Fairfax principals are not good at their jobs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My child comes home everyday telling us how mean the teacher is. Today she yelled at the class for not getting some work done. My child hates school because of the mean teachers. The nice ones can really make all the difference and my child loves them and appreciates them and actually learns from them. The teacher seems to have poor classroom management skills, doesn't follow the responsive classroom model, and I'm told that she uses the clip behavior chart in excess to the point where students don't even know why they had to move their clips down to the "bad" colors. I don't even know what to say to my child that would be helpful. Anyone else dealing with the mean teacher? Any advice on how to encourage my child after the looooonnnngg day in her class?

Ugh, I hear you, OP, about the mean teacher.

Some make you wonder why they even chose a career where they'd have to deal with children, since the only children they seem to enjoy are those who can manage to act like adults.

But I find the best approach to take with my children is just to ask questions and listen with my empathy/give support and encouragement. Also, frequently reminding kids of the teachers they DID love and their good school experiences seems to be a good method for combating the "I hate school because of this bad teacher" mentality. And asking what they think their beloved teachers would do in the kind of situations that their "mean" teachers respond to with a lack of self-control...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think your child has the teacher mine had 2 years ago. She wasted so much time tracking bad behavior. I agree with the advice. You need to gather data from teacher, other parents, etc and decide if your child is overly sensitive or this teacher needs some serious remediation when in comes to classroom management 101.

What grade? I had never heard of someone tracking bad behavior on a chart the whole class and any parents could see until we experienced it. I am hoping this is the same teacher (unlikely) because otherwise there are other idiots using this method.

Hi, it's op, my child is in 4th. I don't ever agree that using a behavior chart is a good method, but I especially hate it at the fourth grade level. They're too old for that.