Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
You really have no idea at this point whether or not this person is a competent educator.
I agree. I would also be a little put off by such a lukewarm reception at open house, but it doesn't reflect on her ability to be a fabulous teacher. Some teachers are fabulous with kids and do poorly in communication with parents. It may be that she is not a good teacher, or she may be the best teacher your child will get to experience. I agree with posters who feel you are overreacting/reacting to the wrong things. You could certainly go in and request/demand(?) a change if you feel so strongly. Some administration will give in to parent requests, some will not. I don't know what your school will do.
When our daughter entered kindergarten she had the most wonderful teacher, but the school's brand new administration and she did not see eye to eye and she decided to retire 6 weeks into the year. I do not remember the issues exactly, but it tore this teacher apart to leave after 30 years of service. There wasn't anything we could do but wait to meet the new teacher. This teacher was very different, not warm and wonderful and seemed very strict. The class size was fairly small and didn't need an assistant, but I noticed soon after that a full time TA was assigned. Almost every day my daughter would tell me she had been bad at school. I would ask what she had done and she could never tell me. I was baffled because she was one of the most pleasant and obedient kids I have ever known - just a sweetheart. I was concerned, but thought it was my girl that had issues. It wasn't until the end of the year that I learned from the TA that her entire purpose of being there was to keep the Kindergarten teacher in line. She was apparently a nasty women and instead of bringing in yet a 3rd teacher the school decided to bring in a TA who could mitigate the damage. I truly felt horrible for having not pieced this together myself. The point of the story is that as awful as this was and as bad as I felt about it there was no lasting damage whatsoever. The daily confessions stopped and school continued on with some wonderful teachers. My daughter finished school as a National Merit Scholar and is about to start university with no scars of her Kindergarten experience. In fact, I would bet she doesn't even remember.
2nd story: On the first day of 2nd grade we received a very unhappy surprise. The teacher we were expecting and were very excited about turned out not to be our teacher. I was so angry!! I wanted the experienced teacher I had been expecting, not this brand new first time teacher we were placed with. My child was the top of her class; why would they do this? Ugh. However, I did not say anything (especially not to my child) and decided to see how things played out. I am so glad I kept my mouth shut. The teacher turned out to be fabulous and the next year I requested my son have her for 2nd grade also. She had all those kids reading at an amazing level and they were excellently prepared for 3rd grade. I am still in touch with her even though we now live 2500 miles away and 2nd grade is a distant memory.
Some of the chirpiest perkiest teachers I've met have also been the most incompetent. There are some people who can pull it off - iron fist in a velvet glove types, usually - but for most people chirpy and perky doesn't do much to keep 20 five-year-olds safe and engaging in goal-oriented behaviors. Chirpy can make for good babysitters or tutors, but usually not very good classroom managers.
The postcard thing is pretty near meaningless. For all you know, she got assigned this kindergarten class 24 hours before open house. Even if she didn't, postcards are way, way down on list of priorities for first week of school prep. Total style over substance. I mean, if they have time for it, super, but it's not a big deal.
Some of the chirpiest perkiest teachers I've met have also been the most incompetent. There are some people who can pull it off - iron fist in a velvet glove types, usually - but for most people chirpy and perky doesn't do much to keep 20 five-year-olds safe and engaging in goal-oriented behaviors. Chirpy can make for good babysitters or tutors, but usually not very good classroom managers.
The postcard thing is pretty near meaningless. For all you know, she got assigned this kindergarten class 24 hours before open house. Even if she didn't, postcards are way, way down on list of priorities for first week of school prep. Total style over substance. I mean, if they have time for it, super, but it's not a big deal.
I agree with this, sometimes those just sweet as can be teachers are genuinely just too sweet. Maybe your child won't take advantage of her, but a couple will. Next thing you know know, your kid will still love her but will be telling stories about so-and-so's antics and chaos will be interfering with learning too much.
__________________
When I post in bold red that is moderator action and, per the TOS, can only be discussed through Direct Message.
Attention given to cutesy, please-the-parents window dressing like postcards and room decorations are fine and all, but are not indicative of whether or not the educator's any good at teaching. I will concede that any teacher being blase and not putting his or her best foot forward at a meet and greet is being unwise. But, again, not necessarily an indication of teaching ability.
Bad day? If she can't get it together for 2 hours during orientation, how is she going to last the whole year? Supposedly she has 25 - 30 years of experience. I think she is lazy and has checked out. Anyway, how do I get my son re-assigned to a good teacher with minimal impact on him?
Agreed. Sounds like you got the clunker. Hopefully your child is resilient and will be OK. If he is the sensitive type, it could be a miserable year. Ours was. In retrospect, it would have been better to pull him out and send him to private school or even home school once things got bad (about week 3 of the school year), but it was so difficult and confusing at the time that we just stuck it out. Now I have a kid who hates school and everything to do with school. This year I was told I could have a better teacher, but we'll see if the principal keeps her word. If not, I'm going to go private mid-year if I have to, even though we won't have many options for a private school that will accept him late.
You could make an appointment with the principal ASAP and say you are concerned and think it is a bad fit. Probably won't help, but it's worth a try.
She could have had a death in her family or the loss of a close friend. Also, your expectations are a bit over the top. I am a parent and went through all the school stuff. My child was very gifted and I was upset every year because she could have taught the classes. She was miserable and the teachers picked on her because she had trouble being interested in classes where she knew all the material until she got older and they had advanced classes. Seriously. I went to pick her up and a teacher was screaming at her for putting dominoes up before they were finished. I was walking up the hall and could hear yelling at my child. The same teacher "forgot" to make sure she informed the bus driver she needed to get off the bus with a friend. She got a note from my child. My child said she balled it up and threw it away and she got off the bus near our home and had to walk home by herself and I was not there. Now, that's a problem. My child was home by herself for over an hour, crying when I got there. She was in 1st grade.
And, "lottery" for getting a spot in a school? Really? You had to buy tickets for a "spot" in a public school? That's very sad. What is even sadder is that a school is "better" because one has more money and can afford to live in the area, thereby increasing a child's ability to receive better education. That is shameful.
Also, "lame" is cruel. As human beings we should refrain from using words like that to describe another. What school did you go to?
And, "lottery" for getting a spot in a school? Really? You had to buy tickets for a "spot" in a public school? That's very sad. What is even sadder is that a school is "better" because one has more money and can afford to live in the area, thereby increasing a child's ability to receive better education. That is shameful.
That's not how it works. In schools where there is a predetermined number of spots available for pre-k, kids who are of age can submit there names for a spot. The names are drawn by lottery (as opposed to first-come-first-served, or some other non-random system), which eliminates the ability for parents to buy a spot, and makes it equally available to all eligible students.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
