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i have a few nightmare stories but i have forgotten all of them except one because it was strange. a student gave me a disney mug for a christmas gift in 2006. a month later, he said his mom wants his gift back. i believe it was because i gave the student a lower grade or i did not call on him as much as he wanted to. i had never used the mug as it sat in my closet at school so luckily i was able to return it.
i know girls from school (as well as boys) probably threaten teachers in their own way, especially sexually at the high school level (give me a good grade or i will say you slid your hand up my skirt) or with corporal punishment (let me be or i will say you pushed and hit me). i have never really been in that situation as i always am very cautious with students. i do remember this bizarre story though. it still seems unreal to me but it is!
I taught an elective in high school. The curriculum guide was very specific about the course and every student was
given a thorough syllabus about the course. There were also state specifications on what was required for me to
do in the class. However, since this was an elective there were some students who assumed that they would get
an automatic A. It wasn't difficult to receive an A if the major requirements were met such as completing and turning in
work on time, actual participation in class (producing the work) and writing a paper (which was required for every
course in the school by the administration). Easy right? Answer: no. There were students with the encouragement of
their parents who thought this was ridiculous and all of them should get an A. It didn't matter that they didn't follow
the basic and easy steps to receive the A & couldn't care less about the majority of students who had no problem
following the basic requirements and worked hard. What made it more frustrating was that I had to attend
meetings with the principal, parent & the student and re-explain the state requirements, the course description and
the syllabus and got little support from the administration who often would sympathize with the parents. There
were 2 occasions where I was asked to change the grade and I refused and told the principal that he could do that.
When the principal checked into the students previous school (a transfer) or their academic records, then he (principal)
would agree with me. Ugh!
I taught an elective in high school. The curriculum guide was very specific about the course and every student was
given a thorough syllabus about the course. There were also state specifications on what was required for me to
do in the class. However, since this was an elective there were some students who assumed that they would get
an automatic A. It wasn't difficult to receive an A if the major requirements were met such as completing and turning in
work on time, actual participation in class (producing the work) and writing a paper (which was required for every
course in the school by the administration). Easy right? Answer: no. There were students with the encouragement of
their parents who thought this was ridiculous and all of them should get an A. It didn't matter that they didn't follow
the basic and easy steps to receive the A & couldn't care less about the majority of students who had no problem
following the basic requirements and worked hard. What made it more frustrating was that I had to attend
meetings with the principal, parent & the student and re-explain the state requirements, the course description and
the syllabus and got little support from the administration who often would sympathize with the parents. There
were 2 occasions where I was asked to change the grade and I refused and told the principal that he could do that.
When the principal checked into the students previous school (a transfer) or their academic records, then he (principal)
would agree with me. Ugh!
i had a mother who was our schools former school nurse a few years ago complain back in January because her daughter received a D on the mid-term exam. her daughter is a junior and is enrolled in my US History Honors course. The course has an End of Course Exam attached to it which is worth 20% of the student's overall grade plus the pass rates go on the school's report card, so from a school standpoint and student standpoint its a pretty big deal. the statewide pass rate last year was 53% with less than 5% of the statewide population receiving A's on the EOC test. i gave the kids a 125 question study guide prior to christmas break, the mid-term was 100 questions. her daughter got a 70% on the mid-term (which in my state is a "D"). mom complained that less than half the test was based on the study guide (which she got from her daughter) and that a curve should've been given (she didn't give a reason as to why she thought this other than i can assume to boost her child's grade is all). in the end i provided a detailed report on each question and where it came from (not that i had to it just helped my argument that her daughter is a lazy cheerleader). 80% of the mid-term was taken word for word from the study guide. an additional 10% was taken from the guide but the questions were re-designed to make it more difficult. the remaining 10 questions were randomly tossed in there, i.e. something from a quiz back in september or something. stuff like that. as i told my principal who was 100% behind me from the get go (he does not care for this mother at all) if her daughter had actually studied the review guide she would have scored at minimum a 90%. her daughter just simply didn't study (although mom claimed she and her daughter went over the guide thoroughly, but when she referenced the guide she didn't even know that it was 125 questions, she thought it was 100 questions, shows me right there she had never even looked at it).
long story short this young lady is going to be in for a world of hurt when she gets to college. she'd better save mom and dad some money and not go at this point.
The two worst parents I encountered for demanding grade changes in my career were teachers themselves, the first one actually worked at my school - ARRGGGG!!!!! The principal ended up having to tell her that she needed stop or she'd have to find a new job the next year because everyone would hate her. He somehow made her husband do all the parenting related communication from that point on, not sure how that was worked out but it did improve things a lot. I do know both he and his sister flunked out of college. The second one moved the kid to her school pyramid mid-year because we wouldn't change the grades so I don't know how that ended up working out.
greenvillebuckeye and Oldhag1.....It would have been nice to have you both as colleagues. After several
years of these type of situations I had to leave. BTW, most of the students like the one I mentioned,
had a bad time in college and most didn't finish. Wonder how long the parents have to support them?
I teach honors algebra in middle school. Every year, at the beginning of the year, I tell my students that much of the concepts they are going to see are going to be new to them and that the rigor is going to change. Students who have previously been able to blow of homework now and then, or not really pay attention, must now focus or be lost. So I get students who have been able to get straight A's start to see their math grades drop. Some of the parents have tried to put the blame on me. Then come in ready to lambast me and show me that their child has received straight A's, so, obviously, the problem lies with me.
Luckily, I have a lot of things in place to make them successful - free after school tutoring, well correlated reviews, etc. When everything is laid out in front of them, it takes the wind out of their sails, to their chagrin, sometimes. The thing is, I take it very personally if students don't get the grade they want. I do everything within my power to make it so. They can't really beat me up any more than I can beat up myself.
I teach honors algebra in middle school. Every year, at the beginning of the year, I tell my students that much of the concepts they are going to see are going to be new to them and that the rigor is going to change. Students who have previously been able to blow of homework now and then, or not really pay attention, must now focus or be lost. So I get students who have been able to get straight A's start to see their math grades drop. Some of the parents have tried to put the blame on me. Then come in ready to lambast me and show me that their child has received straight A's, so, obviously, the problem lies with me.
Luckily, I have a lot of things in place to make them successful - free after school tutoring, well correlated reviews, etc. When everything is laid out in front of them, it takes the wind out of their sails, to their chagrin, sometimes. The thing is, I take it very personally if students don't get the grade they want. I do everything within my power to make it so. They can't really beat me up any more than I can beat up myself.
I hear ya. I teach geometry and half of my students are accelerated 9th graders who also are used to easy A's. Geometry is a different animal and I get blamed when students struggle as well. It never ceases to amaze me that parents use "My child has ALWAYS gotten A's" as their defense. As the new geomtry teacher, I had several students moved to the other teacher's class at the semester break. Several students have come back to tell me they miss my class.
We have to put all kinds of catches in place as well. In my school, kids are allowed to retake tests after completing a review packet on their own time. Very few students do it and of those that do, most will not score any better on the retake. The problem is, usually, effort on the part of the student. They're just not used to working for grades.
I have one of those myself. Dd#2 has always easily gotten A's but the combination of AP history, AP lit, Honors chemistry and pre calc in the 10th grade are eating her lunch. Her learning how to manage her time and actually study is turning out to be a slow painful process, however, as a teacher, I know it's her not her teachers. She has never had to study and lacks the skills to do well right now. Hopefully, she'll learn them this year and be back to her normal higher GPA next year.
the difference with geometry and a simple math question is geometry involves proofs and using theorems as well as using what is given to discover what is not given. it is far more complicated than a simple routine matter in junior high school like finding the LCD or GCF. these parents don't realize that the material gets harder each year. of course your child may stumble.
I hear ya. I teach geometry and half of my students are accelerated 9th graders who also are used to easy A's. Geometry is a different animal and I get blamed when students struggle as well. It never ceases to amaze me that parents use "My child has ALWAYS gotten A's" as their defense. As the new geomtry teacher, I had several students moved to the other teacher's class at the semester break. Several students have come back to tell me they miss my class.
We have to put all kinds of catches in place as well. In my school, kids are allowed to retake tests after completing a review packet on their own time. Very few students do it and of those that do, most will not score any better on the retake. The problem is, usually, effort on the part of the student. They're just not used to working for grades.
I have one of those myself. Dd#2 has always easily gotten A's but the combination of AP history, AP lit, Honors chemistry and pre calc in the 10th grade are eating her lunch. Her learning how to manage her time and actually study is turning out to be a slow painful process, however, as a teacher, I know it's her not her teachers. She has never had to study and lacks the skills to do well right now. Hopefully, she'll learn them this year and be back to her normal higher GPA next year.
of course they are not used to working for grades. this is the participation trophy generation.
I taught an elective in high school. The curriculum guide was very specific about the course and every student was
given a thorough syllabus about the course. There were also state specifications on what was required for me to
do in the class. However, since this was an elective there were some students who assumed that they would get
an automatic A. It wasn't difficult to receive an A if the major requirements were met such as completing and turning in
work on time, actual participation in class (producing the work) and writing a paper (which was required for every
course in the school by the administration). Easy right? Answer: no. There were students with the encouragement of
their parents who thought this was ridiculous and all of them should get an A. It didn't matter that they didn't follow
the basic and easy steps to receive the A & couldn't care less about the majority of students who had no problem
following the basic requirements and worked hard. What made it more frustrating was that I had to attend
meetings with the principal, parent & the student and re-explain the state requirements, the course description and
the syllabus and got little support from the administration who often would sympathize with the parents. There
were 2 occasions where I was asked to change the grade and I refused and told the principal that he could do that.
When the principal checked into the students previous school (a transfer) or their academic records, then he (principal)
would agree with me. Ugh!
Administrators with a spine (or clue) seem to be the rare exception these days. While it may be more comfortable for them to take the parent's side in the meeting, who do they think they'll be working with for months/years into the future?
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