A teacher who should not be a teacher

Tila

Sat, Aug 24 2013, 10:19 pm

My youngest and middle child had this teacher in elementary school and she did serious damage to their self esteem and school reputation. Now she is teaching in the high school and it is only day two and both days she kicked my son (and three others who she has previously picked on in elementary ) out. Today these boys were over and we talked about it. She also spends a lot of time on her I phone, and when she is challenged by a student and does not know the answer will google it, but not tell the child he was right. I am paying hard earned $$$ for this education. I never liked her and want her out. My word means nothing. If it came from a school benefactor, then something would be done. ARRRGH! Any suggestions??

granolamom

Sat, Aug 24 2013, 10:41 pm

a teacher on her iPhone? are you kidding me? I have no problem with a teacher googling information on her break if she is unsure (although my kids teachers tell them google is not a 'resource') but during class? wow. our schools have strict 'no phones during school' rules, I'd assume the teacher shouldnt be on her phone during class time aside from an emergency. I would definitely report this concern to the administration.

I dont know your son, or why he was kicked out of class. However, I am uncomfortable with ANY child being kicked out of class on the first day (aside from real crazy stuff in which case the principal would have given you a call about it). that is no way to begin the year. again, I would mention to the principal.

if they truly ignore you, what options do you have? could you switch to another class? school?

I think it is highly unlikely that they will fire a teacher because you 'dont like her and want her out'. think about what you want from the administration before talking to them. at most, I think you can ask that she not use her phone during class and some sort of protocol for kicking kids out of class. she is not the first, nor the last, teacher to be a jerk and not tell kids when they are right or to take challenging questions personally. unfortunate, but we all need to learn to deal with people like these. they sometime wind up as our bosses or colleagues.

and I completely agree with you that your kid deserves better. unfortunately, the schools have the upper hand here, its not a please-the-consumer economy. and another truth is that good teachers are hard to find (and afford) so there are (too many) awful teachers around.