teacher question #2

[jr_lenz]

I have parent/teacher conference coming up and have some real conserns about this year teacher. How do I bring these up with out having her resent my child? She is young, has never taught 1st grade before, and has expressed many times that she is overwhelmed, and doesn't enjoy teaching 1st grade. She has very poor communcation skills, and never answers emails, or notes that I send with Trayon. Trayton feels like she doesn't like him, and won't read for her, so he has low reading scores, even though he breezes through the books at home.

I don't want to offended her, but at the same time this is my child's education I am dealing with. I have to go alone, Lance is flying and he is usually the softer one of us, so I am little scared about coming off as a bitch.

[christykay]

With three kids in school I have already had my share of "wonderful" parent teacher conferences- and of course I am typically the one that has to deal with these as well.

When I am dealing with a teacher that I'm not too terribly impressed with- I first let the teacher give her talk, I listen and then I ask a few questions myself. During one conference in particular I had a conversation that began by me asking her, "What do you suggest we do to make this a successful academic year for Dylan?" The teacher was a little taken back by my comments, but...I am his mom and no one else is looking out for my son so it is my responsibilty.

I am sure my son's last teacher thought I was a bitch, but...think what you want, my son will always be high on my priority list, as will my daughter's for that matter. Just by me making that one little statement it opened a whole area of conversation that really wound up making a huge difference that year. I still didn't care for the teacher, but it made our interaction throughout the year a little more tolerable.

I wouldn't worry about coming off as you said a bitch. You are your child's number one support system and if the teacher isn't able to recognize this, than maybe she shouldn't be teaching. Good Luck!

[mrs.loadmaster]

It sounds to me like the teacher you're describing is being very unprofessional. Not returning parent's emails/notes is a big no no in my school. I know you said she's young, however, it is simply a professional courtesy to respond to parents whose children you teach. It's also not professional IMO to tell parents you're overwhelmed and that you didn't want to teach 1st grade. I tell the parents of my students that I don't want to teach elementary school, but I teach in the middle school! If I were you, I would play it by ear in the conference, and try to be positive for your son's sake, but if she keeps doing the same things, I would consider talking to the principal or the counsellor. It would also be okay to ask for another teacher or counsellor to attend the conference or future conferences if you feel like that would help.

Good luck!

[Adreamer's_wfe]

If she has already told you that she is in over her head and she doesn't like it - you are in trouble. The things that you are concerned about are probably well beyond what she can handle right now. Go through your list, choose the ones that are most important, maybe two, and start there. I would start with the reading issue, especially since he does not want to read for her. This is a vital age for immergent readers, and he needs to be encouraged, not scared.

In fairness to her, you need to talk to her before you go above her to the principal. A good principal will ask you if you have talked to the teacher first, and ask you to take that step.

After a few weeks, go back to your list and see if she has made an adjustment, if not, ask her about it again, if she has thank her and tell her how much you appreciate her working on the problem. Give it another week then approach her again.