Need your advice

[Mommy23g]

Quart B
Thankfully you "taught" first grade (past tense). Thanks for the public school good luck comment. Good luck to you on your job search!

You stated "I taught first grade and held them all responsible to be prepared. They need this to continue to be responsible in the future."

Come on! A child forgetting a book twice over a whole school year will not make them irresponsible. I don't know all the things teachers have to deal with, and I'm sure many are not appreciated. I try to show all my children's teachers respect and even send in gift cards to help buy classroom supplies because I know they have limited funds for those things. As a critical care nurse I have to deal with a lot of issues every shift. If any family member takes the time out to drop something important off I make sure my patient gets it.

I started working at the age of 14 all the way through college. I drove old cars and learned young the value of a dollar. This came from my 2 hard-working, loving parents who started teaching responsibilility way before first grade. Occasionally forgetting something (like a reading book 2x over a school year) is human nature and learning how to share with a classmate who left their book at home is a much more valuable lesson in life.
If the teacher wants to take anything away (at most) take some time off recess. Taking reading group (or any core subject) for punishment is ridiculous. If all teachers did this just think (a lot of kids would leave all their books at home so they wouldn't have to do any core subjects)

[QuartB]

I certainly was not trying to be rude in my original comment. I was only trying to make the point that the teacher probably just has rules that all students have to follow and probably isn’t singling your daughter out, and therefore you shouldn’t be too concerned.

You said in your last post, “If any family member takes the time out to drop something important off I make sure my patient gets it.” Do you not believe the teacher when she said the office did not give her the book? Because if she really did not know, it seems like the office’s fault that she did not see it. Maybe you should also be concerned that the office doesn’t communicate with the teacher which could be hurting the students (which is also not singling your daughter out). I also did not say the teacher was right about punishing her by taking away reading group, and I would never do that myself. I mentioned that I “taught” 1st grade but I am now teaching Kindergarten and am sure parents are happy to have me as their children’s teacher! When I said that I held my students responsible to be prepared, I meant that I tried to teach them to be more independent and not rely on their parents as much, they are getting old enough to remember to check at that age.

I was also being serious when I said good luck with public school. If you aren’t comfortable with the private school, you should go to a school that you have a better feeling about. Sorry if I upset you but that was not my intention. I truly wish you good luck with your children’s new school. All children and their parents should be happy at their school as it is a huge part of their lives!

[Mommy23g]

I do believe the office staff may have forgot to get the book to the teacher. The funny thing is that the same way they forgot to get the book to the teacher (being busy etc..) is the same reason I forgot to put it in her bookbag (after she had already checked for it being in there). The difference is they made my daughter bare the punishment (by keeping her out of reading group).

It's amazing to me that they expect 6 and 7 year olds to remember things and yet it's Ok when a grown (paid) staff member forgets. I'm paying tuition and part of that tuition is paying the receptionist's salary. She assured me she would get the book to my daughter and she didn't (according to the teacher).

I am concerned because this rule affects all the kids in my daughter's class. I won't just ignore it because it doesn't single my daughter out. The rule is a bad one whether it affects one or all first graders. Common sense goes a long way in working with children.

Thank you for your input!

[wsop]

Originally Posted by Mommy23g

I do believe the office staff may have forgot to get the book to the teacher. The funny thing is that the same way they forgot to get the book to the teacher (being busy etc..) is the same reason I forgot to put it in her bookbag (after she had already checked for it being in there). The difference is they made my daughter bare the punishment (by keeping her out of reading group).

It's amazing to me that they expect 6 and 7 year olds to remember things and yet it's Ok when a grown (paid) staff member forgets. I'm paying tuition and part of that tuition is paying the receptionist's salary. She assured me she would get the book to my daughter and she didn't (according to the teacher).

I am concerned because this rule affects all the kids in my daughter's class. I won't just ignore it because it doesn't single my daughter out. The rule is a bad one whether it affects one or all first graders. Common sense goes a long way in working with children.

Thank you for your input!

The teacher's consequence for a child forgetting their book is completely illogical. Throughout your children's years in school, you will encounter great teachers, good teachers and poor teachers. Sounds to me your dd has a poor teacher this year. I'm not faulting you for changing schools, but any school you go to will have a mixture of great, good and poor teachers. Chances are, this will not be your last encounter with a poor teacher, regardless of what school your children are in.

It can be very frustrating and make a long year seem that much longer. This year I am dealing with the worst teacher I have ever encountered in my 23 years of having kids in school, and this a public school. Unfortunately, we can not interview our children's future teachers!

And just so no one thinks i am a teacher hater, I have encountered MORE great and good teachers over the years than bad teachers, so that's the good news! It's just very hard getting through those years with those that probably should be in a different profession

[Mommy23g]

wsop
Sorry to hear your child is going through a tough year with a bad teacher. I totally agree with you on the teacher issue. Like any profession (mine is nursing) there are great, good, Ok and awful. Thankfully the great, good and OK definately outweigh the awful. Unfortunately it's when our children get the awful I cringe.

The public school I'm putting my kids in has a wonderful reputation and I know several of the teachers (and they are wonderful). They are much more open to parent involvement than the private one they are in (I wasn't even allowed to go to any of the class parties-the parents just had to drop the cupcakes, chips etc.. at the door the morning of. Only the classroom mom was allowed to participate (and she was pre-picked prior to school starting). The one positive for the school is both my children have learned soo much and I do appreciate that. However, I want school to incorporate some fun time too for the the children (only one field trip for my 1st grader this whole year to walk around for 45 minutes at a Christmas tree event). The public school I'm sending them too is very small and I'm so excited for my children!