anonymous letter... yes or no

amother

Sun, Nov 23 2014, 10:23 am

granolamom wrote:

wow. that is some list of grievances. in my experience, unfortunately, the fish stinks from the head. usually, a hanhala hires teachers who are in line with their own educational philosophies. so if this is a one-off thing,meaning one bad teacher in a school full of average to good teachers, then yes, set up a face to face meeting with the principle to address the changes that need to be made. but if you are finding that in general, this is the type of teacher in this school, than I highly doubt the administration will do anything about it. at best, they will give you face time and possibly 'yes you' but be prepared for them to tell you how you and/or your child are too sensitive or at fault. and in the interim, start looking for another school if possible.

oh to answer your questions, very appropriate content, do not send a letter, meet with the principle. jmo.

This has been my experience too. Not the OP. Crying

DrMom

Sun, Nov 23 2014, 10:51 am

If you think the outcome wil be an improved school, then send the letter, or talk to someone, but do it in the open, not anonymously. I would not take an anonymous letter seriously.

Are there other schools in your area?

More likley the solution is to vote with your feet. You are a paying customer and if you are not satisfied, seek out other options.

amother

Sun, Nov 23 2014, 11:00 am

amother wrote:

Suicidal is a big scary word. Especially for a 2nd grader. By the end of the year he would cry that he was worthless and why was he ever born. My life is worthless and I don't want to live. It was a dark scary time for us.
B"H he is much happier now. It took a tremendous amount of time and patience. Lots of private talks and self esteem building exercises. His English teacher the following year worked with us to try to build his self esteem (unfortunately his Rebbe had enough of him by the end of the year) and I did an amazing thing for him over the summer. I kept him home and it was amazing for him. I had no idea what a change that would make for him. B"H he is a much happier kid now.
As for switching him, do you really think it is so different in other schools? There are good teachers and bad teachers in every school and I think most Jewish dayschools/Yeshivas only know how to teach one kind of child and as I said, he is not a cookie cutter kid.

This was me OP.

SRS

Sun, Nov 23 2014, 12:04 pm

amother wrote:

#1 There are Jewish schools that can and do deal with non-cookie cutter kids.
#2 There are non-sectarian private schools that can and do deal with non-cookie cutter kids.
#3 There are public schools that can deal with non-cookie cutter kids.
#4 YOU CAN DEAL WITH YOUR NON-COOKIE CUTTER KID AND YOU DID RIGHT AT HOME.

I have little tolerance for kid drama. But a 2nd grader talking about suicide is not "drama". It is very serious issue and I think you can find a better solution. Get your kids out of this school. Don't believe that another school cannot be of help. And please keep him home more often since he enjoyed it and blossomed. Don't allow school (or camp or any other group setting) to become the center of his world. Make his relationship with you as prominent as possible.

amother

Sun, Nov 23 2014, 9:22 pm

Thank you all so much for the advice and the validation. I wasn't sure if I was overreacting (yes, the comments are unacceptable but nobody's perfect).
I am still not sure if I should speak to the principals about this. I'm not sure if it would help or hurt.
Of course I have explored other options for schooling but for right now, I feel this is our best option.

OP