Teachurs Bah!!!

[The Elkster]

Originally Posted by Sooner

I don't know why teachers or family of teachers have a hard time accepting the fact that a lot of teachers are average at best and of those half are below average.

If your a parent who has kids going through public school, this is true. My kids are gr 10 and 8 now. Have already seen examples of teachers who teach and teachers who just collect a paycheck. Before I get jumped on, this is true with any profession but bad teachers can really set a kid back. I experienced it in school, I'm sure most have and I see it with my kids. That's why we remember the good/great ones, they made a difference.[/QUOTE]

I didn't see anyone claim that teachers are perfect. Maybe you can show us that... What people are pointing out is that there is far far more to consider here than just the teacher. Entitled parents are at the top of the list.

[Redfrog]

"Obviously underskilled...so you've observed and evaluated her teaching abilities in person and are equipped to make this conclusion are you?

I'll tell you what's obvious. The spelling of the title of you post makes your contempt for teachers pretty obvious. So why should I take your obviously biased rant seriously?"

WOW!

Sounds like I'm not qualified and never will be unless I marry this teachur.
Sitting in her lap while she stumbles through the day is not the only way to learn that she has made an error, no more than getting an arrow through the eye is the only way to learn the whole apple on the head thing is not a good idea.

Re: the spelling in the title, you don't believe that was unintentional do you?

Maybe I did it so that someone would notice and read the post?

Biased rant???? Really??? I'd expect an "F" if it wasn't biased. Rants are supposed to be biased. That's why it's a rant and not a documentary.

Are you a teachur?


Elkster:
"Bored isn't an excuse for anything."

Agreed, but I didn't say it was an excuse, I'm saying it is a challenge in this instance to use it as a teaching tool instead of 'punishing' a 6 year old for doing what is natural. I train dogs and know the benefits of positive training and reinforcement over negative. Surely someone who is supposed to be trained to train our country's future can grasp the concept.

" I think we were all bored to tears at one time or another in school. So what."

The so what is that it is a waste of a person's mind. A good teacher would see the opportunity instead of punishing or whinging about class size. The time for unicorn rides and rainbows is long gone. Class sizes are what they are deal with it or work someplace else. The reality is it will take some extra effort. Teacher has to decide if it is worth it. I had classes that were large. Not bragging just stating the reality. Some teachers were nearly useless and some were excellent.

"Course nobody wants the teachers disciplining their little precious."


Do you know the difference between discipline and punishment? And yes, every single one of those kids is 'precious'. Anyone who doesn't believe that should never teach.

"They just want precious to have all the special coddling he needs to realize that super potential that must be there. Yes maybe the teachers should psychoanalyze each child then split the class into 10 specialized groups then teach them in 10 different ways at the same time! What an idea. I mean we pay taxes don't we. "This is what you got from my post. I said the teacher should have been faster on realizing she was losing the student and taken some action to remedy the issue, other than punishing after the fact.

"Obviously there are extremely good and bad teachers. "

That's my point. I'm not saying this teacher is a bad teacher. I'm not saying this teacher is a bad teacher. I'm saying she made an error in this case. It's important when it involves any kid, but more important when it involves my G/D who I've spent countless hours with, as she is searching for more stuff to learn.

"Then there are the large majority of average teachers who for whatever reason teach in a certain way. Maybe its because they come from a predominately science or art or language background."

So are you saying because of a teacher's personal background a child [you know one of the cookie cutter kids who is exactly like the one next to it] should get short changed?


I'm sure the same teacher that is terrible for one kid is great for another. I mean every teacher is going to approach things a different way and that will hit a tone with some and not for others. To some extent its luck of the draw whether you get the teacher that jibes with your precious.

So the poor teacher's skill depends on luck and "Precious" pays the price for the bad luck.

C'est la vie. If you expect more specialized help and targeted teaching then take ownership and teach your own kid or pay the extra it takes to fund that kind of specialized attention. It ain't cheap!


So it's only money that stands in the way? Teachers aren't paid enough? Really?

Mediocre teaching is way more expensive than private schooling and far more damaging.

[Wild&Free]

Never read the whole post, but I think I got the jist of things.

For me, this scenario is where I have a huge issue with the concept of everyone being equal. The education system must follow that guideline and as such, the class can only move as fast as the slowest student. I spent a good part of my school years, being bored. I did AP placement tests and a few others but since I was in a rural community it didn't amount to much, other then getting the results of my IQ test. It was 144 before someone chimes in.

There are different paces for different people. You can go on youtube and find videos of a preteen (by now) teaching calculus. He was self taught and makes it look easy. You can also pull up videos of the kid riding his skateboard off the roof of his parents place into a bush. In public schools both are treated the same.

Also consider the fact that the public school system was first funded by corporate sponsored NGOs. It is designed to create a workforce with the minimum knowledge required to do most labor jobs that require some thought, how to respond to authority, and how to regurgitate information. Gone are the days of schools teaching young people how to think and recognize symbols and patterns. Sad state of affairs.

[hal53]

Originally Posted by Wild&Free

Never read the whole post, but I think I got the jist of things.

For me, this scenario is where I have a huge issue with the concept of everyone being equal. The education system must follow that guideline and as such, the class can only move as fast as the slowest student. I spent a good part of my school years, being bored. I did AP placement tests and a few others but since I was in a rural community it didn't amount to much, other then getting the results of my IQ test. It was 144 before someone chimes in.

There are different paces for different people. You can go on youtube and find videos of a preteen (by now) teaching calculus. He was self taught and makes it look easy. You can also pull up videos of the kid riding his skateboard off the roof of his parents place into a bush. In public schools both are treated the same.

Also consider the fact that the public school system was first funded by corporate sponsored NGOs. It is designed to create a workforce with the minimum knowledge required to do most labor jobs that require some thought, how to respond to authority, and how to regurgitate information. Gone are the days of schools teaching young people how to think and recognize symbols and patterns. Sad state of affairs.

corporate funded NGO's?, really?... or did u miss a decimal point a couple sentences previously, please explain the NGO's that funded the school system......

[silver]

Originally Posted by The Elkster

Bored isn't an excuse for anything. I think we were all bored to tears at one time or another in school. So what. Ya think work is going to be any different for them? School isn't just about learning math and science. It also serves as a place to teach habits and discipline (if allowed). Course nobody wants the teachers disciplining their little precious. They just want precious to have all the special coddling he needs to realize that super potential that must be there. Yes maybe the teachers should psychoanalyze each child then split the class into 10 specialized groups then teach them in 10 different ways at the same time! What an idea. I mean we pay taxes don't we.

Obviously there are extremely good and bad teachers. Then there are the large majority of average teachers who for whatever reason teach in a certain way. Maybe its because they come from a predominately science or art or language background. I'm sure the same teacher that is terrible for one kid is great for another. I mean every teacher is going to approach things a different way and that will hit a tone with some and not for others. To some extent its luck of the draw whether you get the teacher that jibes with your precious. C'est la vie. If you expect more specialized help and targeted teaching then take ownership and teach your own kid or pay the extra it takes to fund that kind of specialized attention. It ain't cheap!

I am having a hard time finding your point here, should the teachers try to find what works for the students or should the students adjust to the the teacher.

[silver]

Originally Posted by FishingMOM

I had a doc that wanted to put stinky on meds at 9 months old. Fired him.




Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder predominantly inattentive (ADHD-PI), also called attention deficit disorder (ADD), is one of the two types of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The term was formally changed in 1994.

Though the term attention deficit disorder is still widely used. ADHD-PI is similar to the other subtypes of ADHD in that it is characterized primarily by inattention, easy distractibility, disorganization, procrastination, and forgetfulness; where it differs is in lethargy/fatigue, and having fewer or no symptoms of hyperactivity or impulsiveness typical of the other ADHD subtypes.

Different countries have used different ways of diagnosing ADHD-PI. In the United Kingdom, diagnosis is based on quite a narrow set of symptoms, and about 0.5–1% of children are thought to have attention or hyperactivity problems.

The United States used a much broader definition of the term ADHD. As a result, up to 10% of children in the U.S. were described as having ADHD.

Current estimates suggest that ADHD is present throughout the world in about 1–5% of the population.

About five times more boys than girls are diagnosed with ADHD.

Medications include two classes of drugs, stimulants and non-stimulants. Drugs for ADHD are divided into 2 classes: first-line and second-line medications. First-line medications include several of the stimulants, and tend to have a higher response rate and effect size than second-line medications.

Although medication can help improve concentration, it does not cure ADHD and the symptoms will come back once the medication stops.

Very well put, would you care to elaborate on autism and aspergers?

[Iron Brew]

So it's only money that stands in the way? Teachers aren't paid enough? Really?

Mediocre teaching is way more expensive than private schooling and far more damaging.

Teachers aren't paid enough. I'll say it again. Teachers aren't paid enough.

Then I'll add some clarifications. I have a teaching degree. I am a millwright now. It takes 4 years to get your teaching degree. If it is an after degree it takes 2 years plus a prior degree, so say 6 years of education. It then takes 9 or so years to get to the top of the pay bracket.

With my millwright ticket I have 8 months of school over 4 years. When I wasn't in school I was working and earning a wage. A first year apprentice does not make much less than a first year teacher. A journeyman can or does make more than a nine year teacher. So, 4.5 years into a ticket, you make more than the guy or gal who by this time has 13-15 years into it. You also work less than a teacher, and you have way less stress. I've done both, so flame away.

I love teaching. I will probably never step in a classroom again as a teacher. I know others fleeing to the trades. There is a reason. Btw - personal opinion, but many of those leaving are probably the ones people on this forum would want to stay.

[79ford]

I remember the teacher being the one to evaluate kids on their performance in school and to have parents in on the loop to help at home.

The whole evaluating your teachers performance based on your kids performance seems to be a common phenomenom now.

[FishingMOM]

Originally Posted by silver

Very well put, would you care to elaborate on autism and aspergers?

Asperger syndrome (AS), also known as Asperger disorder (AD), is an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) that is characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction and nonverbal communication, alongside restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior and interests. It differs from other autism spectrum disorders by its relative preservation of linguistic and cognitive development.

Although not required for diagnosis, physical clumsiness and atypical (peculiar, odd) use of language are frequently reported

Named after the Austrian pediatrician Hans Asperger who, in 1944, studied and described children in his practice who lacked nonverbal communication skills, demonstrated limited empathy with their peers, and were physically clumsy.

Most children improve as they mature to adulthood, but social and communication difficulties may persist.

Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and verbal and non-verbal communication, and by restricted, repetitive or stereotyped behavior.

The diagnostic criteria require that symptoms become apparent before a child is three years old.

Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their synapses connect and organize; how this occurs is not well understood.


Stereotypy is repetitive movement, such as hand flapping, head rolling, or body rocking.

Compulsive behavior is intended and appears to follow rules, such as arranging objects in stacks or lines.

Sameness is resistance to change; for example, insisting that the furniture not be moved or refusing to be interrupted.

Ritualistic behavior involves an unvarying pattern of daily activities, such as an unchanging menu or a dressing ritual. This is closely associated with sameness and an independent validation has suggested combining the two factors.

Restricted behavior is limited in focus, interest, or activity, such as preoccupation with a single television program, toy, or game.

Self-injury includes movements that injure or can injure the person, such as eye poking, skin picking, hand biting, and head banging.
A 2007 study reported that self-injury at some point affected about 30% of children with Autism.


The prevalence of autism is about 1–2 per 1,000 people worldwide, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report 20 per 1,000 children in the United States are diagnosed with ASD as of 2012 (up from 11 per 1,000 in 2008).

The number of people diagnosed with autism has been increasing dramatically since the 1980s, partly due to changes in diagnostic practice and government-subsidized financial incentives for named diagnoses; the question of whether actual prevalence has increased is unresolved.

[hal53]

see Silver???...google is your friend!.....

[Redfrog]

Originally Posted by Iron Brew

Teachers aren't paid enough. I'll say it again. Teachers aren't paid enough.

Then I'll add some clarifications. I have a teaching degree. I am a millwright now. It takes 4 years to get your teaching degree. If it is an after degree it takes 2 years plus a prior degree, so say 6 years of education. It then takes 9 or so years to get to the top of the pay bracket.

With my millwright ticket I have 8 months of school over 4 years. When I wasn't in school I was working and earning a wage. A first year apprentice does not make much less than a first year teacher. A journeyman can or does make more than a nine year teacher. So, 4.5 years into a ticket, you make more than the guy or gal who by this time has 13-15 years into it. You also work less than a teacher, and you have way less stress. I've done both, so flame away.

I love teaching. I will probably never step in a classroom again as a teacher. I know others fleeing to the trades. There is a reason. Btw - personal opinion, but many of those leaving are probably the ones people on this forum would want to stay.

I'm glad you found your true calling. So many teachers don't, and that's a crying shame. More of them should be millwrights.

[Nester]

It's that time of the year already......



Yep.

[jungleboy]

Originally Posted by Okotokian

OR, the teacher doesn't have time to attend to 30 little ones who can't follow instructions and have to be dealt with individually, because they are "special" and "bright" and need to be "stimulated" or be "bored".

Let's face it Red, in your and my day, our parents would not have been called in. We would have been told to stick out or hands for a strapping in order to "enhance" our attention. I got more than a few of those.

When a teacher gives the class a direction or order, the kids need to follow it. My wife hasdouble and sometimes TRIPLE classes in her gym. That's 80 kids. 80 precious little darlings who of course can do no wrong but are just "special". Think she has time to try to convince kids individually to stop bouncing balls or talking while she is trying to give instruction?

Believe me, if your GD's teacher didn't give a damn she wouldn't have called in the parents. That takes extra work and effort to do. She would have just let the kid drift.

This sounds very much like what we heard from friends of ours. Their boy was wonderful. He just had lousy teachers in every one of his 12 years of school. They were all mean to hiim and picked on him... uh yeahhhhhh.... riiiiiiiight. LOL

Same old same old maybe we should accept the fact that as in every profession some people just aren't cut out to do the job they are being payed for.
I've been listening to this poor "over worked teachers" with "over crowded classrooms" schtick for as long as I can remember. It's like the weather and farmers .. always been a problem for some and always will be. I know there are a lot of teachers out there go into the game because they really can't think of anything else to do with their lives and being a hairdresser requires you to work all year long . I had some great teachers growing up but I had a lot of teachers that were just psycho $%^&#@! that had no business in the classroom,

Some teachers shouldn't teach just like some welders shouldn't weld and some salesmen shouldn't be dealing with the public

[jungleboy]

Originally Posted by Iron Brew

Teachers aren't paid enough. I'll say it again. Teachers aren't paid enough.

Then I'll add some clarifications. I have a teaching degree. I am a millwright now. It takes 4 years to get your teaching degree. If it is an after degree it takes 2 years plus a prior degree, so say 6 years of education. It then takes 9 or so years to get to the top of the pay bracket.

With my millwright ticket I have 8 months of school over 4 years. When I wasn't in school I was working and earning a wage. A first year apprentice does not make much less than a first year teacher. A journeyman can or does make more than a nine year teacher. So, 4.5 years into a ticket, you make more than the guy or gal who by this time has 13-15 years into it. You also work less than a teacher, and you have way less stress. I've done both, so flame away.

I love teaching. I will probably never step in a classroom again as a teacher. I know others fleeing to the trades. There is a reason. Btw - personal opinion, but many of those leaving are probably the ones people on this forum would want to stay.

Some teachers are also highly over paid for the quality of job they do

[Iron Brew]

Originally Posted by jungleboy

Some teachers are also highly over paid for the quality of job they do

That's true of every profession.

[cgs01]

Teachers cannot tell me that a class of 30 kids is too many as that is what I grew up with. When I was in elementary/junior high, we had two classes for each grade with 28 to 31 kids in each. This was back in the 70s. The teachers seemed to be able to handle the class sizes.

At least the teacher in the OP is showing some interest in the child. She does seem to "not understand" children though if her first reaction is ADD. She does seem to need to be told that this is an intelligent child and may need some extra work in either the form of extra assignments or helping her classmates.

However, your granddaughter is going to have to learn to pay attention in class no matter how bored she is or she will be labelled as "problem".

The teacher did the right thing about calling the parents in. Now the parents need to work with the teacher find a solution to keep your granddaughter interested in learning or she will stop trying to learn.

cgs

[Iron Brew]

Originally Posted by Redfrog

I'm glad you found your true calling. So many teachers don't, and that's a crying shame. More of them should be millwrights.

I did. I left it to go millwrighting. It was about the year lord Ralph negotiated the raise for teachers and granted no budget for it. Over 200 laid off or not hired as promised in Edmonton alone. I was leaving the private system to move to the public. I am not able to relocate due to my wife's career. I had a choice. Unemployment or work. I chose work.

I'm also lucky in that I found I enjoyed millwright work as well. I still love teaching math.

[shortaction]

Very small bit of info to base a desicion on but if your G/D is truly "thirsty to learn" then I'm suprised she didn't snap to attention when the teacher started to present the assignment. Wouldn't that be an opportunity to quench her thirst? Kinda like when your sitting in a deer stand for 6 hours and are bored to tears and then you hear that one familiar snap, your attention comes around in a hurry.

From what you have said it would leave me to believe that she is "thirsty to learn" what she wants to learn and if what the teacher is presenting doesn't tickle that interest then she isn't interested and becomes a distraction.

The most important thing about this situation, is how you and your daughter approached this with your G/D. Did you immediately come to her defense or did you wait until your daughter had spoken to the teacher? After the meeting did you take anything positive from it? Did you make it clear to your G/D that the teacher runs the class room and that she will have her for the year and that the teacher has a curriculum to follow and and not everything is exciting or interesting to everyone, but each part is a set of building blocks. So she needs to suck it up and pay attention and not be disruptive? You and your daughter have a huge influence on your G/D's mindset. You can feel however you like about the teacher, but you must instill respect for the teacher or she will tune her out and not learn anything!

Even the poorest of teachers will present most of the cirriculum and if a child is intelligent, pays attention and has respect for their teacher they will do fine. The poor students will suffer the most from a poor teacher and poor students aren't just the ones with the lowest I.Q.!

This could be a very positive learning experience for your G/D, or it could set her back to a point she will never overcome. I wish her the very best.

[Redfrog]

Shortaction.

"The most important thing about this situation, is how you and your daughter approached this with your G/D. Did you immediately come to her defense or did you wait until your daughter had spoken to the teacher? After the meeting did you take anything positive from it? Did you make it clear to your G/D that the teacher runs the class room and that she will have her for the year and that the teacher has a curriculum to follow and and not everything is exciting or interesting to everyone, but each part is a set of building blocks. So she needs to suck it up and pay attention and not be disruptive? You and your daughter have a huge influence on your G/D's mindset. You can feel however you like about the teacher, but you must instill respect for the teacher or she will tune her out and not learn anything!"

This was a few minutes out of the day on one assigment. The teacher chose to punish instead of teach.

I fully understand making a 6 year old girl responsible for learning the lesson in the classroom, especially after all of two weeks there. I'm working on simply having the curriculum sent directly to the kid on her leap pad along with the teacher's paycheck. Seems fair if the kid is going to be responsible for how things are done.

[jungleboy]

Originally Posted by Iron Brew

That's true of every profession.

Absolutely true.

[riden]

Been teaching since '95, and been in a k-9 since 2000.

I don't teach gr 1, but how much motivation do they need? Gr 1 kids show up with an incredible optimism and are joyful to do whatever is asked of them. Seriously, these kids would get excited over watching grass grow. I love watching them, they are hilarious, most of them spend the whole day with a big goofy grin on their face. They are a blast to talk to in the hall, they are the polar opposite of jaded, it's refreshing.

My kids were in the computer room today and I could watch the gr 1 teacher across the hall, she had kids coming to the front of class teaching numbers. Pretty simple basic stuff, but the kids were on the edge of their seat and so happy they looked like they would bust.

That's what I see anyway, no motivation needed. Maybe city kids are different than the farm kids I teach.

[kreator]

Holy crap! A thread about teachers on AO! I've never seen one before!

[MrDave]

For every thirty students, half of them must be held back so others can keep up. The ones who can't keep up MUST have someone else to blame it on. Take the parents word, its the teacher, not their spoiled child.

Seen enough of the type growing up. My kid is too smart for the teacher. Nope your kid isn't actually any smarter, just haven't been taught to sit down, shut up, and listen. Teachers teach. Idiots blame the teacher when their kid hasn't learned how to learn.

Maybe home schooling is what she needs, that way she can keep being special. Not just another student who has to pay attention and earn her grades.

[biggyJ]

Teaching is an interesting profession. If all they had to do was teach then I would agree it would be an extremely over-paid profession.

However this is not reality. Today's teacher is much more than a simple teacher of reading, writing and arithmetic. Today's teacher is expected by society to be:

Psychologist
Nurse
Nutritionist
Counsellor
Coach
Beauracratic paper shuffler
Social worker
Bathroom attendant
Crossing guard
role model
Motivational speaker
And in some cases the parent figure.

All of this is added to the fact that each of these jobs needs to be applied to each student in their class differently.

It is a tough job, with many different hats worn in a given day. Things will go wrong, mistakes will be made, and as soon as it does you have a parent who is all to willing to defend their child right or wrong.

I am sorry your G/D had one small negative outcome, but I bet that in her long career as a student she will have many positive ones. She will learn to fall in love with reading, see the wonders of science, and find the satisfaction in finally 'getting' division. She will go on field trips, play sports with her friends and in the end will probably never remember getting in trouble for not paying attention one time.

[sns2]

Not gonna be pulled into a ****ing match. Majority of posters are right in that teaching mirrors every profession. Good ones, bad ones, and average ones. The big difference is that we can't really drop bad clients like most professions can, so we learn to deal with them, and we get good at saying the right things to difficult people so they get out of our grill. Self preservation really so we can make it to retirement with our sanity intact.

Redfrog, have your Granddaughter's parents advocate for her all the way through, but make sure they have the right attitude, and they will get much farther than if they come in with guns blazing and backs up against the wall. Also keep in mind that your granddaughter is a long way from university, and maybe the most important lesson she will learn in life is to work her hardest, and respect authority. That's ultimately how most people get ahead in life. Do it for long enough and she'll eventually be in a position of authority.

Most of us on this board are probably too old to really remember what made for a "good teacher." The best teachers I had were the ones who were my athletics coaches, the ones who talked to me about things outside of school and appeared to take an interest in what I had to say, the ones who didn't let the sh_t-heads in the class make the place a mockery, plus the ones who told the odd joke and made me laugh.

Armed with that bit of self-knowledge, I try to do all those things. I have coached football, soccer, badminton, archery, and led international trips where kids serve in orphanages and medical clinics. I try and identify a few of the "outsiders" every year who look like they are hurting and lonely inside. I talk to them like they are important, I celebrate their accomplishments, and just try to make them feel generally special, if only for a few moments. I do stupid things with the kids to make them laugh. Yesterday when teaching about First Nations ability to sneak up on their enemies to launch surprise attacks, I told the kids to tear out the last two sheets in their chapter handout (they were a useless mapping exercise), and crumple them up. I said those are your spears and arrows. I then appointed a very quiet girl as the chief of the grade 7 tribe, and told her to lead her warriors in a sneak attack on a European explorer who was lost in the bush and asleep. I sat in a desk at the back of the class and put my head down. I told them to sneak up within four feet before they launched their weapons. Four feet quickly turned to less than four inches because I could feel their breath right at my head. She yelled and 60 paper bombs were launched at my head. I quickly died. They wanted to ensure my death, so I think most grabbed their "arrows" and launched a second wave of attacks. Those kids laughed so hard their stomachs were hurting.

No other teachers in the school do stuff like that, but it works for me. It also allows me to retain the class' respect when I have to be a hard-a_s, which I have to be all too often. Am I everybody's favorite? No. Do kids learn well in my class? You bet.

One of the things I try and teach all of my students, and my own children, when they invariably complain about other teachers, is that if they give them a chance they will likely learn more than they thought they would. That lesson can start for kids when they are young.

I am not saying that teachers are always right, far from it, just realize that not every doctor successfully diagnoses every patient, and not every teacher will be able to find the switch for your kid. And I hate to say it, but not every kid is the next Einstein. The world needs people to work behind the gun counters to tell customers that the 30-06 is an outdated cartridge.

Just my .02 cents. Take it for what it's worth

[shortaction]

Originally Posted by Redfrog

Shortaction.

This was a few minutes out of the day on one assigment. The teacher chose to punish instead of teach.

I fully understand making a 6 year old girl responsible for learning the lesson in the classroom, especially after all of two weeks there. I'm working on simply having the curriculum sent directly to the kid on her leap pad along with the teacher's paycheck. Seems fair if the kid is going to be responsible for how things are done.

Really, you believe that the teacher had a parent/teacher interview with the parents of every child that daydreamed for a few minutes once in the first two weeks of school? Hmmm. To top it all off she "removed privileges". Still sounds like someone made her do what she didn't want to do and she isn't used to that. If a child has some vigour, I would be a lot more concerned about the teacher I never heard from than the ones I did! "the kid" is responsible for her own actions, no doubt about that and misbehaviour will be met with discipline "removed privileges".

It is a minor, minor occurrence, the teacher was just bringing a behaviour problem to your daughters attention early so all of you (teacher included) could nip it in the bud and work together to see her reach her potential, don't make a mountain out of a mole hill. There was obviously other situations than just the one incident, but the teacher just used that example. It won't do your G/D any good. She is going to have poor teachers, poor employers, poor friends, etc, etc. That's life, how she deals with it, is what will matter.

If you truly believe that the teacher is over-reacting, over punishing and is being detrimental then go to the principal, it won't be the first time they heard about this, and they will take action! If they don't, keep moving up the ladder till someone does. But if way back in your mind you think there maybe a chance your G/D is pushing the envelope a bit then I would hesitate. Again I believe the greatest importance will lie with how your daughter handles the situation with your G/D.

[Junglefisher]

Simple answer. Homeschooling. Either the teacher is wrong and you'll have an easy time and raise a genius or you'll develop understanding for the teacher.

[FishingMOM]

Animals and Children are a lot alike, you let them get bored and they get into mischief.

I hate parent teacher meeting nights, I find them a complete waste of time, I rather pop in unannounced to have a chat with the teachers then I dont get scripted carp or rushed out the door so they can pigeon hole every parent into a 7-15 minute window.




A young horse, left alone on a farm in New Brunswick while his pals were away for training, found mischief that made him news this week when he climbed onto his owners' roof.

CTV News reported Stephen Downey and his wife were puzzled when Stephen's brother Archie sent them a photo of their colt, Must Win, stuck on top of their garage. They thought it must have been a joke designed in Photoshop.

But no, their trouble-making horse really had climbed up on the roof using a small hill at the back, and they have the hoof hole to prove it, according to CTV. After snapping the photo, Archie told the broadcaster he helped the horse down using a long pole.

Must Win was unhurt and the family has since erected a fence to deter any other horses with climbing ambitions, according to the story. But Stephen Downey told CTV the horse was probably just bored on the farm without the other horses.

“He’s like a two or three-year-old kid and he was just looking for some excitement and he got into trouble like a regular kid would do," he said.

[Wild&Free]

Originally Posted by hal53

corporate funded NGO's?, really?... or did u miss a decimal point a couple sentences previously, please explain the NGO's that funded the school system......

http://www.arc.org/content/view/100/217/

look it up Hal. Corporate and Industrial leaders had a big part in the creation of the public school systems.

[Sporty]

Originally Posted by Redfrog

I know there are some teachers on board here and I'm sure we all know some good ones and a few great ones. I had good teachers in school and some real duds. Guess which classes the students did well in. Same student, different teacher, different result.

My kids are long done school. one was a genius, who worked her butt off to be one. One was brilliant but only average in school. And the youngest made the teachers earn every penny of their wages.

I'm reliving the school thing now through the eyes of my perfect grandkids. The eldest started grade one this year and the teach has already had my daughter in for a 'talk'.

Seems this poor overworked and obviously underskilled grade one teacher had to repeat an assignment to my G/D because she got bored and wasn't paying attention.

Her solution was a parent teacher conference, remove privileges and maintain a close vigil for signs of ADD.

The kid is 6 and has been in school for two weeks.

I spend a lot of time with this child and she is very smart and is constantly looking to be challenged. I'm not saying she is perfect because she's my G/D. I'm saying she is extremely well behaved, respectful and thirsty to learn.

Too bad she got stuck with a mediocre teacher who thinks her job is to baby sit.

I'm not talking about an unruly child or behavior problems, I'm talking about a teacher who can't motivate or challenge a child and is too inept to see the problem.

BTW I taught adults for a G.E.D. for a couple years. I know the difference between constipation and motivation.

So, it's the teacher's fault that the kid, out of boredom, decided not to pay attention and then missed an assignment? Life isn't all about fun and games, it's still up to the student to complete their assignments even if they aren't the most interesting. Classes have only been back a couple of weeks, I guess the teacher could have ignored this incident and hoped it didn't happen again or they did what was the responsible thing to do, nip it in the bud right from the start.

There are definitely bad teachers but the majority are good teachers, over worked and under appreciated. Far too many people are leaving basic child rearing up to the schools instead of doing it at home and there are more students that are going into grade 1 these days without even knowing how to read at the most basic level. I've seen teachers not only try and work with the curriculum in their class rooms but have seen them be responsible for kids that went to school without any lunches, buying these kids lunch out of their own pockets. Then they have to deal with the other kids that show up in class with their cell phones and other gadgets and have the parents flip out when their kids are told they aren't allowed to use these gadgets in the class room. Instead of ranting about the teacher, with your experience, how about problem solving with her to come up with a solution. At the end of the day though, it's the student's responsibility to pay attention in class and complete assignments.