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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Wow.  Just got back from our first parent-teacher conference with our DD's DCPS PK-4 teacher.  I hate this woman like poison.  She seems not to give a shit about anything other than whether or not all the kids are silent, pliable little automatons.  That coupled with the fact that she seemed incapable of actually listening to a word we said, or having an actual dialogue, was just horrifying.  She literally couldn't look either of us in the eye, and when she responded to something one of us said, it was clear she hadn't listened to a word.  Anyway, on the way home, we both agreed that this teacher could probably do minimal damage at this early stage.  But the fact that we're talking about "minimal damage" is appalling.

In 30 minutes, I've gone from being mostly in favor of the DC teacher's union to thinking principals should be able to fire teachers at will.  Literally, they should pass out a questionaire at the end of the school year, and if a teacher gets an average of 2 out of 5 stars, they should be given a boot in the behind.[/quote]

what do you think of the school in general?  the principal?  any other teachers you've encountered?  the community?  other parents, especially those of older students may be a useful resource to you.  is it a case of one bad apple, but you are otherwise happy?

also, what does your child think?  is he/she enjoying the introduction to school?

you are understandably concerned.  your strong reaction reflects a genuine concern with your child's education.  know that you are the single most important ingredient to his/her success in school.[/quote]

OP here:  Her previous teacher was fantastic.  Warm, effective.  Also a bit of an oddball when dealing with parents, but obviously that's to be expected.  She spends most of her waking hours teaching 3-4 year olds.  The school in general is more than we could've hoped for.  The principal is completely amazing--she's a super-bright, incredibly dedicated force of nature.  We have a really strong school community, with lots of motivated, highly-involved parents who bring tons of resources to bear.

What's stunning to me is that there's this, pardon my expression, toadstool at the teaparty that everyone acknowledges is a problem, but that there's just nothing that can be done.  Job security apparently trumps every other concern.

The one thing that keeps me from getting too concerned is that several of the most involved parents in the school also have children in this class; it's almost as though they put the most invested parents in the crappy teacher's class, and all the parents who might consider jumping ship into the good teacher's class.

One other thing:  this bad teacher also has a reputation for sort of discouraging parental participation (e.g. as room parents).  Is this normal, or is that something of a red flag?[/quote]

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