Anonymous wrote:Teachers are not evaluated based on parent input, yes it’s absolutely a red flag if 20/25 families take issue.

But if the majority of students are moving forward, absolutely nothing will happen to that teacher.

And you’ll have to better define ‘bad job.’ What does that mean?

Anonymous wrote:Just a note to the teacher that there are lots and lots of parents out here who support you in your efforts to take the time you need to build community and create joy and trust and friendship in your virtual classroom.

Thanks for approaching your work and this year with such care.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If SOLs aren't waived parents will know if their kid has a bad teacher

DL is a wet dream for bad teachers, as literally nothing will happen to them no matter what. They'll get away with murder and still get paid. Even if confronted (which won't happen), they can just blame it on a bad internet connection, unruly kids, how their dog ate their lesson plan, etc etc. Look at home many corners were already cut this spring.

Anonymous wrote:I’m the Pp. I’ve been teaching for years and have enjoyed wonderful relationships with my student’s parents. The fact that you use the word “just” worries me. It isn’t ‘just’. It’s the primary thing I need to do the first two weeks of school.

Yes, I will assess but I really need to build my community. We are all coming together not knowing each other. I knew my students in March, but will not know these kids. I use responsive classroom and building community has to come first.

Also, I always communicate with my parents, hence the week at a glance. I do much more than that. My student’s parents will know why I do what I do. If it makes me look subpar, then I will be okay with that. I would recommend you read up on what it takes to make DL work. Everything I have read says that community has to be built first and that it takes time.

Respectfully, a teacher who always wants to be better.

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Anonymous wrote:I’m still waiting to get the schedule and class assignment for my rising first grader but am extremely worried DL will be subpar. If I can’t go the pod/tutor route what options do I really have, especially if we end up doing DL for the entire year?

Think about what specific complaints you have, then talk to the principal. In the spring I fielded many complaints from parents when I was doing more than anyone else in the school. I was going against DCPS policy doing live lessons. The principal can explain what we are and aren’t allowed to do. If a teacher isn’t doing what’s expected that’s the person who can take action. But you should be specific. “Live lessons don’t work for my kid” won’t get you far. “The teacher lectures too long without giving kids time to respond/practice so my kid zones out” is more helpful.

I agree that specificity matters. It's not helpful for parents to just throw up their hands and say "this isn't working." What's not working? Why isn't it working? Is it a technical issue, is it your kid's personality/learning style, is it organizational, etc.? And then you can give useful feedback. In the spring, I asked the teacher if it was possible to get the week's assignments at once, rather than each day's assignments that day, because it would allow me to see the overarching plan, and also allow my kid to maybe work ahead on days that I was more flexible. She did, and it was really helpful. I think that most teachers want to do a good job, and will be receptive to constructive, respectful feedback. And don't forget to tell the teacher what things are working well! That is also useful, so they know what's working and can do more of it.

But hopefully a parents would not designate a teacher as subpar if the teacher said no to this and the school didn’t expect teachers to have a week done at a time. There are many reasons other than laziness or disorganization why a teacher may do daily planning. For example, a teacher might realize that the classes need to move slower or faster through a particular topic based on Monday’s lesson and not want to be locked into activities for Tuesday through Friday already given to parents.

This is why I gave a week at a glance and not the lessons. If we needed to move slower, I would let parents know. I also gave a lot of must Do’s and may do’s that were independent to keep kids working. I hope to do the same this fall. Regardless, you really do want your child’s teacher to spend the first two weeks with forming community and bonding. This may be 1-on-1 or small group. It means I won’t cover as much, but I really want my students to feel included. I also need to learn who they are. I hope parents understand that community and SEL learning need to be first and then teaching can happen.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m still waiting to get the schedule and class assignment for my rising first grader but am extremely worried DL will be subpar. If I can’t go the pod/tutor route what options do I really have, especially if we end up doing DL for the entire year?

Think about what specific complaints you have, then talk to the principal. In the spring I fielded many complaints from parents when I was doing more than anyone else in the school. I was going against DCPS policy doing live lessons. The principal can explain what we are and aren’t allowed to do. If a teacher isn’t doing what’s expected that’s the person who can take action. But you should be specific. “Live lessons don’t work for my kid” won’t get you far. “The teacher lectures too long without giving kids time to respond/practice so my kid zones out” is more helpful.

I agree that specificity matters. It's not helpful for parents to just throw up their hands and say "this isn't working." What's not working? Why isn't it working? Is it a technical issue, is it your kid's personality/learning style, is it organizational, etc.? And then you can give useful feedback. In the spring, I asked the teacher if it was possible to get the week's assignments at once, rather than each day's assignments that day, because it would allow me to see the overarching plan, and also allow my kid to maybe work ahead on days that I was more flexible. She did, and it was really helpful. I think that most teachers want to do a good job, and will be receptive to constructive, respectful feedback. And don't forget to tell the teacher what things are working well! That is also useful, so they know what's working and can do more of it.

But hopefully a parents would not designate a teacher as subpar if the teacher said no to this and the school didn’t expect teachers to have a week done at a time. There are many reasons other than laziness or disorganization why a teacher may do daily planning. For example, a teacher might realize that the classes need to move slower or faster through a particular topic based on Monday’s lesson and not want to be locked into activities for Tuesday through Friday already given to parents.

Anonymous wrote:When I look back on my education, I know I had some really great teachers, some adequate teachers, and some duds. That will be the same for my own kids- regardless of distance learning or in person. So this is something I have thought about before.

So far we have had great teachers and adequate teachers. Great teachers inspired my kids to push themselves. Adequate teachers covered required materials well but didn't really inspire my kids to push further. So, when we have an adequate teacher, it just has meant that we have had to be the ones to encourage our kids to push themselves. A bit more work on our part- but mostly normal parenting things like finding books, movies, resources, museums on a subject that is interesting them at the moment and/or that they are covering in school.

For a dud, I think we would do the above, plus things like tutoring, workbooks, khan academy, etc. I would let it slide for one year- again, I expect all kids encounter a dud at least once in their schooling. I would not let it slide for 2 years in a row- I think that would be too damaging. And in that instance, I would request/push for a change in teachers.

If this is the year we get a dud- I will be fine with it. Expectations are lower anyway. With no aftercare/activities, we have more time and opportunities to supplement, tutor, encourage kids to learn other things. There are a plethora of online opportunities- both free and for cost. It is tough with the parents working remotely- but the kids are also not exposed to other kids as much and are less likely to balk if we assign additional things.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m still waiting to get the schedule and class assignment for my rising first grader but am extremely worried DL will be subpar. If I can’t go the pod/tutor route what options do I really have, especially if we end up doing DL for the entire year?

Think about what specific complaints you have, then talk to the principal. In the spring I fielded many complaints from parents when I was doing more than anyone else in the school. I was going against DCPS policy doing live lessons. The principal can explain what we are and aren’t allowed to do. If a teacher isn’t doing what’s expected that’s the person who can take action. But you should be specific. “Live lessons don’t work for my kid” won’t get you far. “The teacher lectures too long without giving kids time to respond/practice so my kid zones out” is more helpful.