Info on new students

amother

Sun, Aug 20 2023, 12:34 am

Every year I sit down with the teacher of the grade below me and she tells me what I need to know about each student, both what I need to be told about (family background, social issues, etc) and for me to be able to create a good seating chart. I always liked doing this, as I come into the year knowing who to focus on for different areas.
But this year (I already did it) I feel kind of differently. I learned some information that yes is good for me to know but on the other hand what would happen if I didn’t know? Maybe my students will live up to the expectations I have of them all being smart, kind, stable, etc?

amother

Tulip

Sun, Aug 20 2023, 12:42 am

To all teachers out there, I BEG you, please please don't give the new teacher bad information an ANY child! Every child deserves a fresh start with no judgment from the new teachers. I don't think teachers should be giving any information at all. If there's something important for the teacher to know, it should come from the principal & not from the teachers from the previous years. Sometimes when a teacher doesn't like a particular child, she can give bad information to the new teachers and the child nebach doesn't stand a chance. Every child deserves to start with a clean slate.

amother

Sun, Aug 20 2023, 1:48 am

School only has the resource department tell me if a student has a learning disability they know about. I do think it’s helpful for a teacher to tell me which kids need help focusing so they can sit in the front, which kids shouldn’t sit next to each other, which kid didn’t do well socially and should be put next to someone she’ll have a good chance of getting along with..
The thing is that sometimes information comes in that is useful but also personal. Like certain family situations- if a child acts a certain way, and they have a hard family situation, I will be so much more accommodating and understanding, instead of being more firm and only realizing mid way through the year that X is going on at home.

No one tells me who is and isn’t getting good grades, this isn’t like that. This is more about things that will be good for me to know. The hanhala would only tell me the major things, which don’t apply to most ppl bH.

amother

Firethorn

Sun, Aug 20 2023, 6:50 am

I'm an experienced teacher, worked in a few schools, and I'm also a parent myself. I find newer teachers are doing too much with their info. And experience teachers don't need the info.

I loved 1 schools method. It worked very well for me. Information is told ONLY WHEN ASKED, after Succos.
Each child starts fresh the new year, we treat each child with sensitivity. We know it's possible some kids have learning disabilities, focusing issues, family Situations with a one parent home. We learn how to detect learning disabilities and can usually spot them. If we can't we can bring up the problem after success. We usually don't have any family related projects so it doesn't matter what type of home a kid comes from in the beginning. A child on her own sometimes mentions certain situations. Yom tov time we try not to start hard homework because all households are adjusting . First time homework is not done a warning is given. I could detect issues if kids are disorganized and missing supplies.

New friendships formed over the summer if two kids sitting next to each other are not working out well we separate them. If a child seems to have trouble focusing we usually bring the child closer to the front.

All children try their best on the first day of school. Why not give them the opportunity.?

imaima

Sun, Aug 20 2023, 7:08 am

amother OP wrote:

Usually my colleagues tell me about students with diagnosis but otherwise they tell me that I should have my own impression, so they don’t let their subjective assessments cloud my perception. The students deserve a fresh start witha new teacher who doesn’t carry the baggage of the past

gottago

Sun, Aug 20 2023, 7:23 am

As a teacher, I prefer to figure these things out myself. This gives my students a real fresh start. If the seating needs tweaking after 2 weeks, I can make changes. If I have questions about a specific kid after a few weeks, I can ask them.

If you feel like you must have this conversation, Why not stick to the brilliance of hilchos shemiras halashon?
Maybe start your meeting by learning through the seven conditions of toeles...
It would likely be a really short meeting

amother

Mimosa

Sun, Aug 20 2023, 7:31 am

As a high school principal- I totally agree with not sharing previous year info. Students often mature and flourish over the summer- and they shouldn't be pre- judged.
That being said: at the upcoming staff meeting I do share info that is important to know- divorced families, loss in the family, new student to the school, family relocated---- etc on a limited basis.
Social worker will know all pertinent info as well.
Often the balance of shared info about a student, respecting privacy and not pre- judging is a thin line.

amother

NeonYellow

Sun, Aug 20 2023, 8:47 am

I'm so confused. Not a teacher here, but a parent. ONE year I didn't call teachers at the beginning of the year to tell them about my son's ADHD. (He's now in high school, this was in middle school, it slipped through the cracks.) Suddenly my son was getting into major trouble with a couple of his teachers, things were spiraling downwards, and it was only a couple of weeks into school...

I explained to them what his triggers are, where he struggles, what is within his control and what is not, and B"H we worked everything out and his year was okay. But yes, I think it's important to teachers to understand what "makes kids tick." At least kids with some sort of issue...

(One teacher now knew not to sit my son next to a bulletin board because he would be constantly fiddling with it, another knew that he needs help in a certain area, and that he impulsively calls out when he thinks the teacher said something wrong, and that we're working on that very hard with him because it sounds very disrespectful but he struggles with it and doesn't mean it as chutzpah...)

I don't think he's atypical. Lots of kids have attention issues, or anxiety, or learning issues, or whatever. More communication, to me, is very helpful. Unless it's a teacher with a vendetta against a student?

amother

Sun, Aug 20 2023, 9:40 am

I really hear a lot of the points here. Like the amother above, though, I do think that there is a use for it. The teachers I speak to don’t have personal vendettas against anybody, it’s not like that at all. In fact, when I get told about social situations from the previous year, I do like knowing about it. I pretend that I don’t know and let things happen naturally while keeping a close eye and maybe seeing what I can do with it.

amother

Petunia

Sun, Aug 20 2023, 9:48 am

amother NeonYellow wrote:

That's on the parent to relate to the teacher. I have a daughter with a particular issue, that's not readily picked up on the first few days. I call up the teachers to inform them of it and how best to handle it.

I wouldn't want the previous teachers to provide this info. Maybe they will leave out a crucial detail, maybe I wasn't happy with the way they handled it. First hand info is always a lot better than second-third hand info.

amother

Iris

Sun, Aug 20 2023, 9:58 am

I'm a teacher in public school, and I really appreciate info about students! I take stuff about the students themselves with a grain of salt (although I'll certainly keep an eye out if I'm told that, for example, X can be sneaky). I know that students mature and that they also behave differently for different teachers and depending on peer influence.

What's really been helpful for me though is info about parents--which ones are receptive to suggestions, which ones tend to be anxious and need reassurance, which ones make excuses for their kids. I had one student for the past 2 years and I was warned about her mother, who is a fierce advocate for her daughter. BH the daughter did really well in my class and we had a great relationship because I knew from the start what Mom's concerns would be and could address them and make sure I was giving the student the kind of support that was needed.

amother

Petunia

Sun, Aug 20 2023, 10:01 am

amother OP wrote:

You don't know that. And its not so much a personal vendetta, it may be more like a personal dislike, or perhaps they handled it in all the wrong ways. Perhaps the teacher and student just didn't click. Some personalities are just not a good match and doesn't speak much to any situation.

The need to know info should be provided by the parents and principals. It works so much better if you come into class with untainted perspective, than apply someone else's perspective to student. Also, I'm a big fan of listening to our own intuition, and developing our own read of a situation. Why wouldn't you want to give yourself that opportunity?

Also, the information may not be always current. Perhaps a family member's illness has B"H resolved itself, or perhaps a family's situation has taken a downturn over the summer - how would you know that? If you're coming into class, assuming you're up to speed, your actions may be off the mark. Isn't it better to come into class with the understanding that you need to learn about your students?

If the kids are young, social situations could have changed significantly over the summer. What was true last June, may no longer be true in September. Your pretending that you don't know actually works against you, not for you. Because if you pick up on a concerning behavior, you'd then reach out to the parent/study/principal to follow upon and get first hand info. But if you think you already know it all, your standing by and not responding promptly can set the tone for the rest of the year. You also may respond differently to a child that you were warned about versus a child that you were not. That may give the child a message that she is already been picked on, and all her good intentions may go out the window without even giving the child a chance.

Every person deserves a fresh chance. Following up with previous years teachers destroys that.

amother

Peru

Sun, Aug 20 2023, 12:40 pm

amother OP wrote:

I hear that. Maybe next year I’ll try not talking to the previous year’s teacher, and seeing how it goes.
And over the course of my teaching years, I’ve had just a few parents will reach out with information that I need to know about their child. Most parents don’t. I’m not sure why, maybe they assume the teacher will tell me.

Or maybe because they assume their child will be given a fresh chance.