13 Things Your Child's Teacher Won't Tell You(look at THIS BS)!

SHINE by Yahoo News ^ | Tue Aug 17, 2010 | Interviews by Neena Samuel

[US Navy Vet]

A look inside a teacher's mind could help you understand lesson plans and maybe even guide your child to perform better.

1. If we teach small children, don’t tell us that our jobs are “so cute” and that you wish you could glue and color all day long.

2. I’m not a marriage counselor. At parent-teacher conferences, let’s stick to Dakota’s progress, not how your husband won’t help you around the house.

[luckystarmom]

One of my daughters has issues also. It’s why we always had to start homework early. It’s not as bad in the spring when it stays light late. They can always go out after dinner from like 7-8.

My kids all go to private school. We even switched private schools for my daughters because it was giving so much homework. The new school is a lot better. Also, the new school seems to explain things better. My daughter just knows what to do and does it.

At the old school, I was having to help with math every day (and she’s good at math). I was literally reteaching the lesson. There was always tons of writing in the other classes. The science teacher (who was also the bad math teacher) was constantly giving them quizzes in addition to lots of homework. Ughh!!! It was a nightmare.

[luckystarmom]

I hate Saxon math. That’s what the private school my daughters attended from 4th-6th used, and I was constantly having to reteach math to one of my daughters. She’s good at math (a year ahead), but she needs repetition to get things down, and Saxon math does not have much repetition. We changed schools last year for 7th. It’s also private, and they use a regular text book. However, the teachers seem to be very good at teaching the concepts. She rarely needed help last year, and her test scores were better.

My other daughter did okay with Saxon math, but she said the teacher didn’t teach anything. She just read the book and understood it. She only needs to see things once, and she gets it. She typically doesn’t miss anything on the math section of the standardized testing, and she’s 2 years ahead (geometry in 8th grade).

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

Holy cow you are not kidding..... my son came home from a college history class today and said the girl sitting next to him, who was both texting through the class and rubbing up against her boyfriend, questioned the names of the three ships that Columbus sailed to America..... seriously...my son said he wanted to ask her what she was doing in first grade when they taught that the first time.

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

I have done some substitute teaching and my list would include:

1)Please don't send your child to school ill. A fever or a green snot covered nose should be a signal that your child needs some rest and possibly drugs. Stay home with your child.

2) I'm sorry to be the only person with the guts to tell you this, but your child is not gifted. She is not precocious. She is not outgoing...Your child is spoiled and rude and accustomed to getting 100% of your attention and as much as I would LOVE to be able to spend the day one-on-one, I have 20-something students who deserve attention too.

3) Your child is really a nice young person who is trying very hard to please you but she isn't applying to Harvard this year, please quit trying to push her to your expected levels of greatness and let her learn and grow at her pace as God intended.

4) Kids fight and argue - that is part of learning and maturing. It doesn't mean they need counseling or anger management classes and you don't need to monitor ever word or action until they can prove to you they can be trusted.

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

I agree with Olddeckhand - I live outside of Houston and the news stories about theft, drugs, illegal activity in the ranks of the HISD teaching staff is unreal. I have experience with both public schools and homeschooling and have to say when a school has a strong Principal, it is usually a well run decent school - but you get someone with an entitlement mentality in charge and the place is run like a zoo....

[reformed_dem]

Like one room schools?

Both my kids attended a one-room school k-5. It was the best experience for both of them and for us as parents. Being so small, all the parents helped out, knew all the kids, knew each other, knew the teachers, knew what was going on every day. It was the longest continually operating school in California, opened in the 1850's. Sadly, the school district shut it down at the end of last year after threatening to do it for years.

[SCalGal]

I hate Saxon math. That’s what the private school my daughters attended from 4th-6th used, and I was constantly having to reteach math to one of my daughters. She’s good at math (a year ahead), but she needs repetition to get things down, and Saxon math does not have much repetition.

I also hate saxon math. I teach special ed, and it's horrible and confusing for any student who needs repetion. And their "special education adaptations" really stink!!

[Raider Sam]

From what I heard, they couldnt play on the line next to each other because they would get into fights during the game.

[VeniVidiVici]

My in-laws are retired teachers in TX. Both retired in their 60s.

So are mine. They retired years ago but are now in their 70s and teaching online college courses. They seem to live quite comfortably. Not that there is anything wrong with that :-)

[conservatism_IS_compassion]

Separating specific examples of both kinds of teachers requires putting down the broad negative brush and closely examining individual cases....the same approach we would want a good teacher to use when his/her students enter the classroom each day.

I agree with every thing you've said, and want to underscore this last paragraph. Yes, ideally that is absolutely what we as taxpayers should want for our schools. Unfortunately, the schools that are most deeply in crisis, are precisely the same schools that have the strongest teacher's unions that make it impossible to examine the individual teacher.

I went into a union building during a teachers' strike many moons ago, and whatever educational issue was on my mind, they said that the school board meeting scheduled at a certain time on a certain day would discuss that issue. I wasn't the only parent there, by any means - but the chairman of the school board had to dismiss us. He explained that the meeting was explicitly called to discuss negotiating positions in the teachers' strike, and therefore had to be closed to the public! I absorbed that for a moment, and realized that the only reason any of us parents were there was because of a calculated strategy of the union - and thus a calculated lie by the teacher I spoke to - to sow confusion at the board meeting. I bolted upright and led the way out of the meeting, hoping that in that sense my presence there wasn't a total loss.

People of the same trade seldom meet together even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public or some contrivance to raise prices." - Adam Smith

A union is "a conspiracy against the public" - nothing more. You may be sure that I never had any respect for that teacher again!

[CT-Freeper]

But the good ones work a 12-hour day when you include grading and prep done at home.

Yep - my wife is a high school chemistry teacher and easily puts in 8 hour days at the school, then a few more at home each evening.

That, and I don't know why people assume summer vacation is 3 months long. Here in Connecticut, the public schools get out mid-to-late June, and start up again the last week of August - that's about 8 or 9 weeks. The private and Parochial schools get out even earlier - end of May, and start up again same time as the public schools.