Personality
Because teachers are people, there is always a "personality factor" when considering teachers for children. After dealing with parental requests (made at the end of the previous year or over the summer) and prior teachers' recommendations, administrators (elementary) take the "personality factor" into consideration when assigning children to teachers' classrooms. The interactions of the "personality factor" may include any of the following:
Talking With the Teacher
Suppose you think that the teacher is not doing his/her job. To start with, don't assume the teacher isn't doing his/her job. This will set up an adversarial relationship. Teachers are doing their jobs. There are many restrictions on what they can and cannot do, what they are to teach and even sometimes when they can teach particular content/process. States mandate all of this through standards (published on each state's website) so parents know what is being taught. Teachers dedicate more than the school day to their job; typically, teachers work an average of 3-4 hours/day longer than their instructional day. It may seem that (s)he is not doing the job, but there are many factors aspects of the job that parents never see or know about.
Talking With Administrators
When making complaints to the principal, parents need to be logical and demonstrate that they have tried to work with the teacher regarding the issue they are complaining about; usually email records and telephone conversation logs are sufficient. This documentation helps support those complaints. Parents need to understand that the teacher may also be maintaining documentation logs. The complaints should be based on facts, not emotional reactions or children's statements (these are very unreliable in many instances when children bear some/all responsibility for difficulties).
The Child Isn't Learning
When parents complain that their child isn't learning from the teacher, it may or may not be true. The administrator can talk with the teacher. Often the problem is that the child doesn't have the prerequisite skills (from previous grades' content/processes) for what the teacher must cover; the teacher is aware that the child is not learning. Guaranteed, the teacher is concerned and has probably already discussed this concern with the previous teacher and/or the administrator.
Talking With the Child About School
When the parent talks to their child about their experience they should ask questions about where they sit in class (proximity to the board and/or instructional area), what they are learning, what their homework assignments are, etc. They also need to ask about other children in the class, who they sit next to, who helps or hinders attention and task completion, who their friends are and why they are their friends, who does (not) get in trouble and what the trouble was about.
Parents Can Help
Parents can fill in the learning gap. Parents need to know what skills the child is missing in order to do the current work. Typically children have difficulties with paying attention or focusing on instruction and/or their work. They may need to eliminate the possibilities of learning problems with the child; assessment for special education and/or ancillary services will address this concern. Please see our website for much more information about this topic (home page, how we can help, assessments and parent modules).
Options of Other Schools
When considering moving classrooms or moving schools all together,parents need to remember that they can't make that decision alone. They can request a different teacher (preferably before assignments are made), but that request may not be honored for many reasons. Administrators must consider class size, social interactions with other students, personality issues, etc. When trying to move to a different school, different issues (such as bus transportation or availability of special or ancillary services) may affect the outcome. If the parent tries to move his/her child to another school district without physically moving into their service district, it then becomes an issue of funding and district level decisions for inter-district transfers must be made.
All children can succeed in school. Parents can help their children by teaching the foundational skills that schools presume children have. Without the foundation for schools' academic instruction, children needlessly struggle and/or fail. Their future becomes affected because they then believe they are less than others, not able to succeed or achieve or provide for themselves or their families. Visit http://parentsteachkids.com to learn how to directly help your child and http://easyschoolsuccess.com to learn what is needed for education reform efforts to be successful.
By Jennifer Little
Because teachers are people, there is always a "personality factor" when considering teachers for children. After dealing with parental requests (made at the end of the previous year or over the summer) and prior teachers' recommendations, administrators (elementary) take the "personality factor" into consideration when assigning children to teachers' classrooms. The interactions of the "personality factor" may include any of the following:
- · Child and teacher,
- · Child and other children in the class,
- · Teacher and total class interaction dynamics,
- · Child's (dis)respect for adults and/or gender,
- · Child's manipulation of parents citing teacher issues (children DO lie about what happens at school),
- · Teacher's management styles and instructional strengths,
- · Parental perceptions of the teacher.
Talking With the Teacher
Suppose you think that the teacher is not doing his/her job. To start with, don't assume the teacher isn't doing his/her job. This will set up an adversarial relationship. Teachers are doing their jobs. There are many restrictions on what they can and cannot do, what they are to teach and even sometimes when they can teach particular content/process. States mandate all of this through standards (published on each state's website) so parents know what is being taught. Teachers dedicate more than the school day to their job; typically, teachers work an average of 3-4 hours/day longer than their instructional day. It may seem that (s)he is not doing the job, but there are many factors aspects of the job that parents never see or know about.
Talking With Administrators
When making complaints to the principal, parents need to be logical and demonstrate that they have tried to work with the teacher regarding the issue they are complaining about; usually email records and telephone conversation logs are sufficient. This documentation helps support those complaints. Parents need to understand that the teacher may also be maintaining documentation logs. The complaints should be based on facts, not emotional reactions or children's statements (these are very unreliable in many instances when children bear some/all responsibility for difficulties).
The Child Isn't Learning
When parents complain that their child isn't learning from the teacher, it may or may not be true. The administrator can talk with the teacher. Often the problem is that the child doesn't have the prerequisite skills (from previous grades' content/processes) for what the teacher must cover; the teacher is aware that the child is not learning. Guaranteed, the teacher is concerned and has probably already discussed this concern with the previous teacher and/or the administrator.
Talking With the Child About School
When the parent talks to their child about their experience they should ask questions about where they sit in class (proximity to the board and/or instructional area), what they are learning, what their homework assignments are, etc. They also need to ask about other children in the class, who they sit next to, who helps or hinders attention and task completion, who their friends are and why they are their friends, who does (not) get in trouble and what the trouble was about.
Parents Can Help
Parents can fill in the learning gap. Parents need to know what skills the child is missing in order to do the current work. Typically children have difficulties with paying attention or focusing on instruction and/or their work. They may need to eliminate the possibilities of learning problems with the child; assessment for special education and/or ancillary services will address this concern. Please see our website for much more information about this topic (home page, how we can help, assessments and parent modules).
Options of Other Schools
When considering moving classrooms or moving schools all together,parents need to remember that they can't make that decision alone. They can request a different teacher (preferably before assignments are made), but that request may not be honored for many reasons. Administrators must consider class size, social interactions with other students, personality issues, etc. When trying to move to a different school, different issues (such as bus transportation or availability of special or ancillary services) may affect the outcome. If the parent tries to move his/her child to another school district without physically moving into their service district, it then becomes an issue of funding and district level decisions for inter-district transfers must be made.
All children can succeed in school. Parents can help their children by teaching the foundational skills that schools presume children have. Without the foundation for schools' academic instruction, children needlessly struggle and/or fail. Their future becomes affected because they then believe they are less than others, not able to succeed or achieve or provide for themselves or their families. Visit http://parentsteachkids.com to learn how to directly help your child and http://easyschoolsuccess.com to learn what is needed for education reform efforts to be successful.
By Jennifer Little
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