sariana
10-22-2011, 02:35 PM
I posted this on a teacher board but wanted to get responses here as well:
A vocal group of parents is expressing concern about my DS's teacher. One particularly vocal mom was claiming that she believes the teacher is senile. One example she gave is that the teacher confused "multiple meaning words" with "homophones." The assignment was to read a story and find the words with multiple meanings. The teacher used the word no as an example because there also is the word know, which sounds the same.
The parent went to another "well-respected teacher" at the school, and that teacher agreed with the parent that "multiple meaning words" are not the same as homophones.
I happen to agree but do not think this is a sign of senility or evidence of a bad teacher. The definitions of MMWs, homophones, homonyms, homographs, and etc. are not universally accepted and used. I don't think confusing the two things is a "high crime" of teaching in second grade. I think it IS important for students to know that no and know are different words that sound the same, whatever they are called. (Do 2nd graders really need the vocabulary: homo-whatever and such?)
Finally, the assignment came home on a day that there was a guest teacher in the classroom (a sub). So who even knows what exact instructions were given? Maybe the instructions were supposed to be "find the homonyms" and the guest teacher did not convey that. (The instructions were hand-written--on my son's sheet, half of the sentence was in his writing, and half was in an adult's writing.)
This group of parents is planning to try to have this teacher removed from the classroom because of this and other alleged "mistakes": she was counting by 5s and randomly switched to counting by 10s; she taught > and < backwards (my DS claims this is not the case, so it's one student against another here); she "has papers all over the place"; the kids are bored, hate school, don't want to go.
I should mention that half the class started out in a 2/3 split. That teacher, rather than differentiate, taught all the students 3rd-grade level work. I think SHE is the one at fault here, not the newly hired (but 19-year experienced) teacher who inherited a group of disgruntled whiners who "want to learn cursive" and do multiplication.
Incidentally, or perhaps not, two students are GATE identified, but several other parents claim their children "need to be challenged."
Also, my DS has special needs and always has struggled in school (not academically, but with behavior). He is having his best year yet, if I can trust the reports from the teacher. According to these other parents, maybe I can't.
I know my first step is to get into the classroom to observe what's going on, which I plan to do.
Sorry for rambling. I meant to post about just the one thing but just kept going on and on.
I'm really feeling sick about all this. I feel that the parents are ganging up on the teacher, but I also don't want my son in the class if the teacher IS incompetent.
After a couple of responses, I added this:
Yes, most of the parents the group that had this (impromptu) meeting have observed the class, some pretty extensively. But I have not, and I don't necessarily take the words of PARENTS any more than those of STUDENTS, IYKWIM.
Some of the parents in the group are or have been teachers, including one who teaches second grade (who has not observed, since she currently teaches, but who said she has had concerns since the teacher started) and another one who used to teach second grade.
The "ringleader" admitted she never has been a teacher and appealed to those of us who have for our opinions. (I taught middle school, though, so I'm not much help in this area.)
This "ringleader" said she has been keeping track of a whole litany of complaints from parents and mistakes the teacher has made. I have not seen the whole list. The homophone thing, the counting example, and the > vs < were given as examples of a bigger problem. She also cited a handwritten spelling error (i.e. not a typo) in which the teacher had written "happends" instead of "happens" or "happened."
Being the parent of a child with ADHD and suspecting that I have ADD myself, I see that as a more likely "diagnosis" for this teacher than senility. After a meeting I had with her and the RSP teacher, I told my husband, "She's more ADD than I am!" (IMO, so is the RSP teacher, whom I like and respect, as do other parents.) The disorganization and mistakes strike me as lack of attention to detail more than anything else.
But the "ringleader" claims her son is being emotionally destroyed by this teacher. That is a pretty serious accusation.
Any thoughts?
A vocal group of parents is expressing concern about my DS's teacher. One particularly vocal mom was claiming that she believes the teacher is senile. One example she gave is that the teacher confused "multiple meaning words" with "homophones." The assignment was to read a story and find the words with multiple meanings. The teacher used the word no as an example because there also is the word know, which sounds the same.
The parent went to another "well-respected teacher" at the school, and that teacher agreed with the parent that "multiple meaning words" are not the same as homophones.
I happen to agree but do not think this is a sign of senility or evidence of a bad teacher. The definitions of MMWs, homophones, homonyms, homographs, and etc. are not universally accepted and used. I don't think confusing the two things is a "high crime" of teaching in second grade. I think it IS important for students to know that no and know are different words that sound the same, whatever they are called. (Do 2nd graders really need the vocabulary: homo-whatever and such?)
Finally, the assignment came home on a day that there was a guest teacher in the classroom (a sub). So who even knows what exact instructions were given? Maybe the instructions were supposed to be "find the homonyms" and the guest teacher did not convey that. (The instructions were hand-written--on my son's sheet, half of the sentence was in his writing, and half was in an adult's writing.)
This group of parents is planning to try to have this teacher removed from the classroom because of this and other alleged "mistakes": she was counting by 5s and randomly switched to counting by 10s; she taught > and < backwards (my DS claims this is not the case, so it's one student against another here); she "has papers all over the place"; the kids are bored, hate school, don't want to go.
I should mention that half the class started out in a 2/3 split. That teacher, rather than differentiate, taught all the students 3rd-grade level work. I think SHE is the one at fault here, not the newly hired (but 19-year experienced) teacher who inherited a group of disgruntled whiners who "want to learn cursive" and do multiplication.
Incidentally, or perhaps not, two students are GATE identified, but several other parents claim their children "need to be challenged."
Also, my DS has special needs and always has struggled in school (not academically, but with behavior). He is having his best year yet, if I can trust the reports from the teacher. According to these other parents, maybe I can't.
I know my first step is to get into the classroom to observe what's going on, which I plan to do.
Sorry for rambling. I meant to post about just the one thing but just kept going on and on.
I'm really feeling sick about all this. I feel that the parents are ganging up on the teacher, but I also don't want my son in the class if the teacher IS incompetent.
After a couple of responses, I added this:
Yes, most of the parents the group that had this (impromptu) meeting have observed the class, some pretty extensively. But I have not, and I don't necessarily take the words of PARENTS any more than those of STUDENTS, IYKWIM.
Some of the parents in the group are or have been teachers, including one who teaches second grade (who has not observed, since she currently teaches, but who said she has had concerns since the teacher started) and another one who used to teach second grade.
The "ringleader" admitted she never has been a teacher and appealed to those of us who have for our opinions. (I taught middle school, though, so I'm not much help in this area.)
This "ringleader" said she has been keeping track of a whole litany of complaints from parents and mistakes the teacher has made. I have not seen the whole list. The homophone thing, the counting example, and the > vs < were given as examples of a bigger problem. She also cited a handwritten spelling error (i.e. not a typo) in which the teacher had written "happends" instead of "happens" or "happened."
Being the parent of a child with ADHD and suspecting that I have ADD myself, I see that as a more likely "diagnosis" for this teacher than senility. After a meeting I had with her and the RSP teacher, I told my husband, "She's more ADD than I am!" (IMO, so is the RSP teacher, whom I like and respect, as do other parents.) The disorganization and mistakes strike me as lack of attention to detail more than anything else.
But the "ringleader" claims her son is being emotionally destroyed by this teacher. That is a pretty serious accusation.
Any thoughts?