Has your child ever had a bad teacher? If so, how did you deal with it?

[bluestateguy]

This is a question for parents, because while the large majority of teachers perform anywhere from satisfactory to outstanding, there will always be a few who are truly bad. Over the course of a K-12 education, there is a good chance a child will have at least one of these bad teachers. So as a parent, how did you deal with this?

[LisaM]

1. Well, for starters, it could be a life lesson

In every walk of life, your child is going to encounter situations that are less than perfect. Just try to counter whatever the badness is at home. I had an English teacher once who taught things by rote, and didn't really cover everything we needed for an AP test. So my mother coached me on the poetry part at home. I didn't end up scarred for life by it, and now I can laugh about it a little (considering I beat everyone in the class on the AP test).

It can be an opportunity, not an obstacle. And, for the record, someone I know thought that the bad teacher was the best one she ever had.

[bluestateguy]

2. I suppose you could be right

But I'm not so sure I would want a young child of 7-8 learning that lesson the hard way. Especially if it cost him or her a year of their education.

[txlibdem]

16. Agreed times 1000

What lesson is your child learning? That nobody gives a crap about the job they do anymore and it's all about the money. Get more money no matter who you harm in the process? Are they learning that nobody gives a crap about them and they're alone in the world so they better "be tough" and roll with the punches? Are they learning that their parents don't have a couple of hours to spare to talk with the teacher to see if the situation can be helped, or with a school administrator to see if they have any remedies (change teachers, etc.)?

Like bluestateguy, I don't want any young children learning any of those lessons.

[Cleita]

3. I never had children, but my fifth grade teacher could

have been called a bad teacher because she never taught us anything. She just had us doing fun things all day like art, music and playing games. We kids of course loved her. My parents became alarmed but started teaching me at home after school and the weekends, English, Math, Spelling and whatever basics I would need in the sixth grade. Some of my classmates' parents did the same. Of course this was back in the days of the stay at home mothers so there weren't two parents coming home from work to do this. Maybe a smart teenager could be hired to tutor kids as well or an older sibling. But for those kids who didn't get tutoring, they mostly managed to catch up the following year anyway. Fortunately, the sixth grade teachers knew what a bad teacher mine was and made allowances for the kids from her class. She was close to retirement so no one wanted to make waves.

[Brickbat]

4. My son had a bad teacher in first grade. He was not abusive or cruel, just ineffective.

We stuck it out for the year.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

5. bad teachers are those who teach to the test!

Good teachers are those who induce critical thinking, take time to make sure that all students are motivated, understand and can apply knowledge. A good teacher has a good class management system where disclipline is not needed and he/she can focus on the teaching. Tell me about the teachers who scream at the kids and send them to the office every lesson!

[Smarmie Doofus]

6. With great difficulty.

>>>So as a parent, how did you deal with this?>>>>

Private parochial school, 2nd grade ( I know, I know, it's a long story as far as what he was doing there. Some cozy nite by the fire.).

Truculent, hostile, arrogant. Not much of a teacher besides. On parent meeting nite ( there was one per year) I waited my turn, went into the room and kept turning around looking for the adult size chair that I assumed she had for me to sit in.

No adult chair. She didn't want anyone sitting down. She wanted us in and out in ten minutes.

Another time she stood me up altogether ( there was a small snow storm and she left early despite the fact that she had an appt. w. me.)

I complained to the principal and sounded her out about switching to the OTHER second grade class at midyear. She said no dice; there was a waiting list of similarly dissatisfied parents.

I moved to a better public school district after grade two , partly because of the teacher.... she'd been there a million years and had a lot of political capital. ( BTW, it's a catholic school w. no real union to speak of) and partly because on the day Bush began the preliminary bombing at the opening of the second Iraq war, the church bells were pealing, "Off we go , into the wild blue yonder." That clinched it for me.


The lad did grades 3, 4 and 5 in public school. I had problems with one teacher there but mostly because she was mindlessly implementing a city policy that made absolutely no sense. Also, the PS principal was an imbecile and it wouldn't have helped to complain to her.

[Davis_X_Machina]

7. I paid two guys from Pawtucket RI...

...whose names ended in vowels come up here and beat the crap out of her.

I mean, that's what you do in these situations, isn't it?

[lumberjack_jeff]

8. Do you still have their numbers? n/t

[Davis_X_Machina]

9. No, but you could look them up here:

They weren't very good. But then I didn't pay very much.

[Skink]

10. My bad teachers were mysteriously followed by good ones.

so I'm guessing my folks complained and the school knew how bad these folks were and tried to make it up.

[madrchsod]

11. my kids and i have had our share but

the good teachers make up for anything the "bad teachers" did`t do.

[nenagh]

12. As a divorced mum with 3 children, their education was very NB to me...

And ultimately my responsibility.

I never counted on having good or bad teachers.. but some of the teaching methods were pretty antique..

1. Times tables: When the grade 2 kid could stand up beside his desk and recite the x2 table in 1 minute.. he could then go on to the x3 table etc..
My guy was nervous.. and began to fear math..

I used to tell him.. Math is simple,Colin, you memorize it once.. and it never changes.. :)

But when he became really nervous.. I waited until he was asleep for 20 min or 30 min then bent down by his bed and whispered in his ear...

"You really are good at math.. good at the times tables.. you will really do well"


2. Reading.. Mine learned to read using white printed pages with the words sorted out by vowel sounds.. I'm still surprised anyone learned with that method at all

Finally, when one had trouble with reading "dog" as time went on he showed interest in computer games..

He wanted GamePro magazines.. and though I could not afford then, I bought them for him.. and so he learned to read, because he had to read to understand GamePro mags.


A father I knew had a shy high school student.. So for many years wherever the Dad went, he was accompanied by a high school math or science book.. He learned the courses so he could teach his daughter..

She has finished her fourth yr University this year.. and all those years were a bonding experience for them both.

You cannot expect the teacher to be good or bad, but hope to help the child each yr...

[txlibdem]

15. The Math Whisperer?

I love this post! Don't get a big head but you are my hero.

I used to think that my parents did nothing to help me in my schooling. I have recently learned that I am an Asperger's sufferer. Now every bit of difficulty I had in school is so much more clear to me.

So your "unconventional" approach is really great. As a child I needed that type of individual, creative help but my parents weren't highly educated and nobody knew about Asperger's back then (60s and 70s). I think my mom just gave up at some point. It didn't seem to matter what my report card had on it. She'd just say "Well, if that's the best you can do..."

[Happyhippychick]

13. What do you mean by "bad"?

My daughter has had an ineffective, scattered and boring teacher. I made her stick it out because life is not always about perfection, sometimes life lessons are more important than school lessons.

She once had a teacher who yelled, berated and threatened. I pulled her out after a few months. I won't put up with that shit at all however I gave the teacher two chances to improve the environment.

[LisaM]

14. Exactly

an abusive teacher is one thing, but a less-than-perfect teacher is another. Kids need to learn that life has bumps.

[mzteris]

17. most know my kid's story

so won't go into it again -

bottom line - we pulled him out at Christmas and homeschooled. It was supposed to just be until we found another school, but he took to it like a duck to water and we realized how - even when he'd had "good" teachers, he still wasn't getting the education he was capable of or deserved.

I sacrificed my career - and now - it's coming back to bite me in the @ss and I can't buy a frickin' interview, much less a JOB after being a SAHM for so many years. . . I wouldn't change it though, my kid's come first.

[LWolf]

18. Yes. A health teacher his freshman year in H.S. in 1994.

It was a graduation requirement, that freshman health class. I heard nothing from the teacher, and my son said class was going "okay." He had weekly chapter tests to show me; scores ranged between 85% and 100%, with most in the low ninety percent range.

He got his midterm progress report; it was an "F." It had a comment stating that students from that "misguided outcome based education school" were consistently not ready for high school.

The school in question was a K-8 district pilot school. I worked there. My 2 sons, this one being the youngest, attended through 8th grade. The school was well known, quite popular, and always had a long waiting list. A fully public magnet school. This, as a matter of fact, is where I began to learn that allowing SOME schools to customize, while others could not, created resentment and problems down the line. Just one of the many reasons I oppose charter schools.

I called and left a message with his teacher. I did not get a call back. I called his counselor. She agreed to set up a meeting. I showed up; the teacher didn't, sending a note that she refused to meet with me. We DID get to discuss the reason for the "F," and my son WAS responsible for it. You see, he didn't like the teacher, and he hated her "style." Which wasn't much of a style. It was: Show up on Monday, read a chapter. Answer 3 questions each night about the chapter, correct them in class together, and turn them in each day, Tuesday - Thursday. Take a test on that Chapter on Friday. Rinse, repeat, all term long. That was it.

His point? "Why should I do all that damned busy work? I read it. I could discuss it if she wanted me to. I could do a lot of things with it. I learn it. I prove I learned it every Friday on those stupid tests. Why should I turn in homework?"

That was it. Half the grade was the homework, half the tests. He only did the tests. Hence, the failing grade.

I thought she was wrong. I also thought she was using her bias against the school he'd come from, which encouraged active thinking and learning instead of rote out of the book work, and allowed people who understood and demonstrated mastery to move on to other things. I thought she didn't like, not only his former school, but my son himself. You see, my son was one of those gifted underachievers. Not a Type-A personality, he was the kind that drive us all crazy: too smart for his own good, and lazy. Putting forth the minimum effort to get by unless he really liked the topic or found the way it was approached engaging.

So I thought he was wrong, too. He knew the class content. He needed to learn responsibility, and he needed to learn that there are times we have to do our jobs and follow through with our responsibilities even when we don't like the people we work with or for, or the job itself.

He wanted to transfer out of the class. I didn't let him, because I didn't want to set a precedent of blaming others for his own irresponsibility.

The counselor negotiated a plan, agreed upon and signed by teacher, parent, and student. If he did every homework assignment and turned it in, and continued to pass tests, for the rest of the term, he'd get a passing grade.

And he did. I checked his homework every night myself. Part of the contract was a document that his teacher initialed every day when he turned his work in. According to her, he turned in every assignment and passed every test.

And got an F on the final term report card. He was right. I was wrong.

The son did independent study and repeated the course with a different teacher while moving forward with the next term.

I reported the teacher's failure to honor the signed agreement, filed a formal complaint, and moved on. I did not haunt the offices of admins demanding to know that she'd been punished. I knew that the complaint would stay in her personnel file, and I knew that the admins weren't pleased, and would deal with the situation behind closed doors.

I also knew that if I came on too strong, made a big public drama out of it, that the whole thing would backfire. Attack too hard and the admins would circle the wagons to defend her. Quietly have my say and file the complaint, and move on, and action would be taken. I didn't have to witness that action. It wasn't about revenge. It wasn't about me, or my son. It was about the good of the school and students. The big picture.

Edited to add: I can tell a story about one bad teacher my oldest son had, as well, and one bad teacher I had in high school. Do you want them, too?

[bluestateguy]

19. That was very interesting

Any other stories I'm sure would be appreciated.

[LWolf]

21. My oldest son:

His first grade teacher was a nightmare. He, like his brother, was identified as "gifted." Unlike his brother, he WAS, and IS, a "Type A" personality...driven to succeed and learn MORE. He was reading and writing before kindergarten. His first grade teacher didn't know what to do with him. He already knew how to read, count, add, print, and the rest of the skills she was teaching his class-mates. She didn't like him blurting out answers to things, she didn't like his constant asking her for something else to do, she didn't like it that "he thought he knew so much." She didn't like him.

I didn't blame him for this one. He was in first grade. A six-year-old. A YOUNG first grader, since he didn't turn six until he'd been there for a couple of months. I talked to the principal. He couldn't transfer him to a different class; they were all full, and he didn't think it was fair to force a transfer on another student to achieve a "trade."

I did what I could to support my son throughout that year. I was more concerned with his self-esteem than anything else; I could give him what he needed academically, and did. It was having to face a grownup who obviously didn't like him every day that was the hard part. It was his first lesson in "you don't have to like everybody, but you have to treat them with respect anyway." Fortunately, his 2nd grade teacher liked him, challenged him, and supported him, and 1st grade eventually faded.

[soleiri]

20. One bad teacher

Or rather, a teacher that didn't "fit" with my oldest son. She was his 3rd grade teacher.
It wasn't how she treated him in class, or her teaching methods.
During one meeting she told me that he wasn't listening to her and how he would look out the window, etc.
He couldn't or didn't want to sit flat on his chair. He tucked his legs under and sort of kneeled (I guess) on the chair.

In another meeting she went on and on about how 4th grade would be too difficult for him and basically said that I should take him to a Doctor (medication?). When I asked if she meant medication, she said that she couldn't suggest that, but if...

I listened to her go on and on.
I then asked if she read the information I gave the school from his Audiologist. Nope. She, despite Doctor's orders, had him sitting in the back of the class (she also had a real high squeaky voice which he had trouble hearing). We changed his seating, but it didn't solve the problem of him staring out the window.

His previous teachers had always been very positive, but she seemed genuinely irritated by him.
every time she and I spoke it was something negative, she had NOTHING positive to say about him.
I finally told her just that. I said to her that she has never said a single thing positive about him and that I had nothing more to talk to her about.
that was that, she actually left the school the next year.
BTW, he did great in the 4th grade. He had a wonderful teacher.

I asked my other son (just entering H.S.) if he had any teacher he thought was bad or ineffective at least.
He thought about it, and then said no. I asked about his 8th grade history teacher (He had said that the class was noisy and the students never listened). He said that no the teacher was really good and he learned a lot, it was the kids that were bad.