Teacher situation (long) -- UPDATES #26, #56, #141 (mini), #151, #165

[jayhawk]

I have to agree with the prior posters and I think Weeble Wobble hit it the head.  I have an 8th grader and a HS Junior and these seems like a LOT of extra-class work to get an A.  I think the curriculum or the teacher is just setting these kids up for failure, frankly.  Have you had a chance to speak to other parents?  If they share their feelings, I think it would be a good idea to set up a meeting with the teacher and then the principal if necessary to calmly and methodically set out your concerns with the work, the organization problems and communication issues. 

Keep climbing the hierarchy until you get some solid answers.  Are other classes set up this way? 

Just seems hinky to me.

[camlan]

I'm also confused by the fact that the kids supposedly can use their study halls to do more work.

If they can't use the equipment in their own scheduled class, how is there going to be enough equipment for them to use when they are there during their study hall, and another class is in the room, using the equipment? Or if their study hall is at a time when the classroom is used for something else, by a different teacher, who is not going to welcome experiments going on during the class?

It's just all too hit or miss for comfort.

[Thuringwethyl]

No advice but I just have to say:

If I had encountered this kind of situation in my college classes (changing grade requirements, prevented from working in class, given the run-around like your son has) I would have either dropped the class or gone with other students to complain to the dean*. This is not acceptable.

*Or whoever handles student complaints;I'm not sure as I never had any.

[Coley]

I have to agree with the prior posters and I think Weeble Wobble hit it the head.  I have an 8th grader and a HS Junior and these seems like a LOT of extra-class work to get an A.  I think the curriculum or the teacher is just setting these kids up for failure, frankly.  Have you had a chance to speak to other parents?  If they share their feelings, I think it would be a good idea to set up a meeting with the teacher and then the principal if necessary to calmly and methodically set out your concerns with the work, the organization problems and communication issues. 

Keep climbing the hierarchy until you get some solid answers.  Are other classes set up this way? 

Just seems hinky to me.

Unfortunately, we don't really know most of the kids in his class, and a directory isn't provided, so we have no way to contact the parents. The kids are divided on teams. Then within the teams, the kids rotate through various classes throughout the day. They aren't all in the same the classes at the same time. DS has mentioned a few kids in his classes, but I'm not sure he even knows their last names. I know of a girl who is on DS's team that came from the same elementary school. If she's in his science class, I may e-mail her mom. We've done some committee work together.

No, the other classes aren't set up this way. The other curricula are pretty straightforward. The kids do work and receive grades. There are no layers, and the workload outside of class is manageable.

[jedikaiti]

I'm still trying to figure out when he has time to do any other schoolwork - it sounds like trying to keep up with the teacher's fickle scheduling and going in early/staying late/working at home must take all the time he has!

[Coley]

I'm also confused by the fact that the kids supposedly can use their study halls to do more work.

If they can't use the equipment in their own scheduled class, how is there going to be enough equipment for them to use when they are there during their study hall, and another class is in the room, using the equipment? Or if their study hall is at a time when the classroom is used for something else, by a different teacher, who is not going to welcome experiments going on during the class?

It's just all too hit or miss for comfort.

If I understand the study hall arrangements correctly, students go to a classroom that is not in use for that class period. The teacher for that classroom supervises the study hall. If kids have work to do for another class and need help or equipment, they have to go to that teacher's classroom, assuming he or she doesn't have another class at that time.

I should mention that the kids don't have study hall every day. It alternates with P.E.

[Coley]

No advice but I just have to say:

If I had encountered this kind of situation in my college classes (changing grade requirements, prevented from working in class, given the run-around like your son has) I would have either dropped the class or gone with other students to complain to the dean*. This is not acceptable.

*Or whoever handles student complaints;I'm not sure as I never had any.

I teach at the college level, and I can virtually guarantee that if I did what this teacher is doing, I'd have students and administrators all over me about it. In fact, it could be grounds for a grade appeal if a student's grade was adversely affected by last-minute changes or lack of clarity in expectations.

[Coley]

I'm still trying to figure out when he has time to do any other schoolwork - it sounds like trying to keep up with the teacher's fickle scheduling and going in early/staying late/working at home must take all the time he has!

The past couple of weeks have been rather hectic for him. He's a hard worker, and he is motivated to succeed in school, so he puts in the time. I suspect that he will learn a lot about time management this year. Sometimes people have to learn it the hard way. He usually has homework in 2-3 subjects each day. However, he does have several extracurricular activities, so he's a pretty busy kid.

[SingActDance]

I don't believe in homework for exactly the reasons that the OP stated, so I'm a bit biased. Many children simply do not have home environments that are conducive to homework. I believe that a child should be able to attain A based solely on work done in class. So I think the system is more flawed than the teacher. Was this the teacher's decision, or a school system decision?

[Kestrels Nemesis]

This is seriously messed up.  I remember junior high science classes.  Bookwork was assigned for home, lectures and labs were done in the class room, and anything requiring a computer was done at school....But then I was in junior high in the early 90's when home computers were not nearly as common as they are now.  I still remember typing some of my early junior high papers on my Mom's typewriter.....

I cannot recall ever having something this ridiculous in school....and if I had, my parents would have been at the principals office immediately.  If they received no satisfactory explanation they would have demanded my withdrawl from the class and entrance into another, or would have pulled me from school period.  They were not helicopter parents, but they didn't suffer fools and educational fads gladly.

If it was my child, and I didn't get a satisfactory explanation from the teacher and principal I would ask to have my childs team changed.  In the grand scheme of things 6th grade science isn't going to make or break him, but it does provide the foundation for later scientific education, and losing an entire year to an idiotic teacher could cause a lot of catch up.

[CakeBeret]

Good grief, it's 6th grade science, not a master's thesis.

I think you should absolutely address this with the principal and, if necessary, the school board. I agree with PPs that this structure, with this teacher's implementation, can have some seriously damaging effects on the students.

[Coley]

OP here with another update.

DS was able to finish his experiment today. He did not finish it before school. He said he had to go in during study hall to finish it. I asked him what happened during the class period today. Videos. In fact, they didn't finish watching the videos, so they will be watching videos during class on Monday and Tuesday. The last day to work in class on the projects will be Wednesday. This means, of course, that any kids who want to work on projects Monday or Tuesday will have to come in early or use their study hall. As I understand it from DS, everything is due Wednesday.

I am so glad that I got DS there early this morning to do his experiment and that I stuck around to make sure the teacher let him do the work. He has that behind him, so he can concentrate on writing the research paper for the experiment between now and Wednesday. He will get it the A-layer work turned in, but I wonder about the other kids.

I asked DS if the teacher gave him a hard time about the fact that I was there this morning. He said she didn't say anything directly about me, but she did make a vague remark that he didn't understand and doesn't remember now. He said he told her that he didn't understand what she meant, and she said, "You know what I mean." He didn't.

I'm thinking that I may wait to approach the principal about all of this after Nov. 5 when the teacher says she will have the grades updated.

[Jones]

You are much more patient than I, which is probably wise, but daaarn I was seeing fire just reading your update, IRL I'd be putting on my shoes and heading to the school for a meeting.

WATCHING VIDEOS when there is work to be done! Making a snide remark to a student about their parent!

[WillyNilly]

I really feel for the kids.  All of them - even your son who got his stuff done (because he got it done at a great personal cost to himself) - this teacher is setting them up for failure.  Every kid should have the opportunity to get an A based solely on classwork, done during class hours.

[Deetee]

I strongly suggest that you approach the principal right now before any grades are released. The process, not the outcome is the problem and even if your son gets an A, it was a poor process.

Also, your complaints have more weight if they are NOT associated with a grade.

modify: This doesn't need to be a complaint. This should be more of a heads-up for the principal. The principal cannot do his/her job effectively unless they know what's going on. So help the principal deal with this situation as well as possible.