Thursday, August 26, 2010

What if your kids don't like the teacher?

My daughter comes home this first week of school already protesting her teacher and methods.  Oh good, this is going to be a long school year.  To make it better my daughter has a new teacher in her school, so I have very little historical information to pull from other parents on negotiating the classroom.  Of course Poppa Bear pops out immediately with what is wrong with this teacher and don't worry princess, "I'll take care of it".  Luckily I didn't actually say this out loud and at the same time my daughter became distracted with the new kittens running around our house.  After getting a minute to think about this situation presented and as always in my looking for a teachable moment it came to me.  I should give you some back story first though...

Back story;
Both my children went to a wretched Montessori school and not to name names, but don't ever send your kids to "Montessori Children's House" in Houston.  One horrible excuse for a teacher it turns out was telling my children things like, "You're stupid", "You're not truthful", "You're a bad kid", "Your father is a bad person", and "You're a liar".  Luckily this was isolated to only one of the teachers and the other teachers were outstanding.  Yes, I worked diligently to get my children out of that school, but in joint custody situations things may not happen in a timely manner.  Then both my children shared the same Kindergarten teacher, whom in my opinion is truly an Angel from God.  Point being that both my children have already at their young ages seen the best and worst teaching has to offer.  What are we dealing with this year?

Mulling the situation over I realize that one big difference as in years past is that both my children are older and better equipped to take care of themselves, albeit with some guidance.  Strategy number 1; The only thing to call this strategy is "Bribery" and yes I would love to give it more of feel good name, but let's call it what it is.  So my daughter is on a mission to find out what her new teacher loves.  Brownies? Fajitas? Baby Dolphins? and then on to phase 2 and deliver this suck up gift.  I really should think about Strategy number 2.  Hmmm.

This teacher can't be that bad and yes my daughter got in trouble on the second day of school, plus she doesn't like that her best friend is in a different class.  She is most likely over reacting, but she would not go into school this morning.  So as I walked down the halls with her slung over my shoulder informing her that I "Will" duck tape her to her desk, we both laughed.  Then we run into the teacher and the first words I hear from this teacher to my daughter and no smile I might add is, "Are we finally going to have a good day?".  Wow, this teacher could be the devil and she may not like me.  It really wasn't my fault and it just came out when I responded with, "Someone is grumpy in the mornings".  I'm really not helping the situation......


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2 comments:

  1. My son Zachary had a bad 1st grade teacher, his first time around, if that makes you understand it a bit more. She was probably one of the worst teachers I've known at that school. It broke my heart because he was a good student, but she didn't dedicate the time he needed and she let him just get way behind and eventually fail the year. BTW, she was pregnant so I think she wasn't fully committed to the school year. I was never able to figure her out because she never made eye contact with me. My ex mother in law was treated the same way. She never engaged in a conversation until the day she "summoned" me to a meeting about how he was going to have to repeat the year. I wanted to eat her alive! Well, she didn't come back after that summer and I am glad. I wish I had told the principal that I wanted him switched to another teacher, but at the beginning of the school year she "seemed" so nice. Ug.

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  2. There are going to be good and bad teachers and how do we help our kids cope with it? My gut reaction is to get my daughter moved to a different class, but I think she needs to learn how to deal with it. Failing to teach is a whole other issue though and that teacher needs to find a different job.

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