sheilaincali
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Post by sheilaincali on Nov 26, 2013 12:16:00 GMT -5
I shared this on facebook but I thought I'd get opinions here too:
I have not been impressed with DS' Enriched English class. Its the only section of 10th grade Enriched (or Advanced) English. Regardless of the outcome I can't pull him from the class and put him in a lower class and I can't change teachers since this is the only section. It should also be noted that this is her first year teaching.
My first issue with her was when DS came home and announced that she was reading Of Mice and Men to them. Yes, reading out loud to the kids. The kids were also discouraged from reading ahead at all. I brought this up at Fall Conferences and she vowed to make the class more advanced and push the students more.
Now he announces last night that she assigned them To Kill a Mockingbird. Ok great- except she tells them "Read the first four chapters and then skip to the last couple, the entire middle part is unnecessary fluff and a waste of time to read"
Do I have a right to be as pissed off as I am? I am shocked that an English teacher would tell them to "skip the middle part" as it is "unnecessary fluff" of a literary classic like To Kill a Mockingbird?
I have a very close relationship with my son and he takes his education extremely serious so I don't doubt his version of events.
WWYD? Complain to the school? The teacher? Ignore it and tell your kid to do himself a favor and read the entire book?
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andi9899
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Post by andi9899 on Nov 26, 2013 12:20:27 GMT -5
So you have mentioned it to the teacher who said she would take the class more seriously and then this happened? I would go to the principal about the teacher. The kids are in advanced classes for a reason. They need to be challenged. This is apparently not happening.
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NomoreDramaQ1015
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Post by NomoreDramaQ1015 on Nov 26, 2013 12:22:23 GMT -5
except she tells them "Read the first four chapters and then skip to the last couple, the entire middle part is unnecessary fluff and a waste of time to read
WTF? Why not just tell them skip the book all together and read Cliffnotes? The whole point I thought of studying literature was to actually read it and discuss?
Would not have been opposed to that advice with the Scarlett Letter.
Doesn't sound like the teacher took much note of what you said at the fall conference. Are other parents not cool with this? If they are maybe getting together to express your frustrations with the teacher would help since there is power in numbers.
How many years does he have to have this teacher? If it's one semester/year and he gets a new teacher I'd supplment at home and slog thru. I survived a horrid sophomore AP English teacher just fine (I'm pretty sure she was the inspiration for Professor Trelawny). I had an excellent junior/senior AP English teacher.
If he's going to have her on a regular basis I'd address it once more with the teacher and if there is no change go higher up the chain about the class.
Definetly tell him read the whole book no matter what, the best parts are in the middle of the book.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 26, 2013 12:25:44 GMT -5
Definetly tell him read the whole book no matter what, the best parts are in the middle of the book.
I agree. The middle part is where the Mocking Bird does all that crazy stuff before it gets killed.
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HoneyBBQ
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Post by HoneyBBQ on Nov 26, 2013 12:26:33 GMT -5
Now he announces last night that she assigned them To Kill a Mockingbird. Ok great- except she tells them "Read the first four chapters and then skip to the last couple, the entire middle part is unnecessary fluff and a waste of time to read" Do I have a right to be as pissed off as I am? I am shocked that an English teacher would tell them to "skip the middle part" as it is "unnecessary fluff" of a literary classic like To Kill a Mockingbird? I have a very close relationship with my son and he takes his education extremely serious so I don't doubt his version of events. WWYD? Complain to the school? The teacher? Ignore it and tell your kid to do himself a favor and read the entire book? I am officially horrified for you. I'm raging STEM person, but I LOVED the classics and believe they should all be read. Honestly, I think I read TKaM in 8th grade or so, as well as oM&M. We were reading Dickens IIRC in 10th. I would be pissed and definitely bring it up - to the principal or the teacher. Just as a quick google - I found this list of suggested reading material for 10th grade (I would assume advanced would be ... more advanced, lol) and it sounds like they are way beyond M&M, etc. voices.yahoo.com/recommended-high-school-reading-list-grade-10-6325756.html?cat=4
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HoneyBBQ
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Post by HoneyBBQ on Nov 26, 2013 12:27:56 GMT -5
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sheilaincali
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Post by sheilaincali on Nov 26, 2013 12:28:20 GMT -5
He is stuck with her all school year. By next year he will be in a different AP class with a different teacher.
Other parents aren't impressed. DS' crew of friends are all the super nerdy smart kids so I've talked to some of the other moms and they are pretty mad too.
I told him to read the entire book and he was planning on doing that anyway.
I called the Principal this morning to complain. I got as far as his secretary and shared my concerns with her. I did refuse to give her my name because I didn't want DS to be penalized by the teacher. She promised to pass my concerns on to the Principal.
Should I follow up with him? See if he did take my concerns seriously? Today is the last day before Thanksgiving break so it's either today or wait until Monday.
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sheilaincali
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Post by sheilaincali on Nov 26, 2013 12:30:56 GMT -5
Honey- DS is a STEM kid all the way but he loves history and reading. Thank you for the two book lists. I printed them off and plan on having DS read them.
With this one exception he has great teachers and is loving school this year. However, this one teacher is doing these kids such a great disservice in my opinion.
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NomoreDramaQ1015
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Post by NomoreDramaQ1015 on Nov 26, 2013 12:33:15 GMT -5
I'd wait till Monday, there probably isn't a lot he can do right now to follow up.
He is stuck with her all school year. By next year he will be in a different AP class with a different teacher
Well that's something. My 10th grade AP teacher was bat shit crazy so we spent most of our time in class parroting what she wanted us to say because it was easier. Not anything to do about it since she was the only AP sophmore English teacher.
We all slogged thru it. The junior/senior AP English teacher was excellent and really pushed us. Plus since she'd been doing this for awhile she knew what class we were arriving from. We were a bit behind in some things but she caught us up quickly.
So there's hope even if nothing is done about it. I was plenty challenged the next two years and learned everything I was supposed to learn. One bad teacher doesn't have to ruin everything.
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sheilaincali
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Post by sheilaincali on Nov 26, 2013 12:34:57 GMT -5
Thanks Drama- that's my hope too. Like I said- all of his other teachers through his high school experience have been great. This is our only hiccup. I normally leave DS to fight his own battles but this one has me really questioning her teaching ability.
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Angel!
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Post by Angel! on Nov 26, 2013 12:35:57 GMT -5
Umm...Wow. I have no advice other than to say I would be pissed too. Advanced 10th graders don't need to be read to & anything worth actually reading should be read all the way through.
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HoneyBBQ
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Post by HoneyBBQ on Nov 26, 2013 12:39:09 GMT -5
Honey- DS is a STEM kid all the way but he loves history and reading. Thank you for the two book lists. I printed them off and plan on having DS read them. With this one exception he has great teachers and is loving school this year. However, this one teacher is doing these kids such a great disservice in my opinion. The good thing is that your kid knows how to read already, so the thing that may get lost is the discussion and the significance of some of the subtleties in the books. I would definitely have him read them on his own, or together... you can google the book and questions you could discuss with him (cliff notes, etc). Or let them spin off- like if you read a Tale of Two Cities then a nice spin off might be Les Miserables, or other French Revolution books. I would honestly be more worried if the math teacher sucked or something, because I feel like that is harder to learn on your own.
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NomoreDramaQ1015
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Post by NomoreDramaQ1015 on Nov 26, 2013 12:40:52 GMT -5
I normally leave DS to fight his own battles but this one has me really questioning her teaching ability
I freaked out when we saw Prisoner of Azkaban and Professor Trelawny came on screen. She was EXACTLY like my sophmore English teacher. Right down to the endless nervous twitching. So yeah, I totally get you questioning her teaching ability and hopefully if she doesn't shape up she won't be around too much longer. But if that's the only AP class there isn't much to be done. With my HS if you dropped AP English it could really shoot you in the foot as far as getting in next year. So we all sucked it up and wondered if her meds needed adjusting. Sounds like your DS will be just fine if he was already planning on reading the entire book. I'd still address it but would only be seriously worried if he started parroting back what she says. He'll recover just fine if he is picking up that what she instructs is bogus.
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sheilaincali
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Post by sheilaincali on Nov 26, 2013 12:44:37 GMT -5
I called from a random out going line at work (not even my listed employer).
I asked DS today if he wanted to me to complain and he said Yes. He is annoyed that she is not preparing them properly. I think he is more mad than I am.
You should have heard the rant he went off on when they cancelled mandatory reading time in school. For years they had "Scarlet Read" which was a dedicated 15 minutes every day during 4th hour (school wide) in which the kids were required to read. Then kids started complaining that it was too boring so they changed it to "Scarlet Quiet Time" and they can do any quiet activity they want so long as they don't disturb the kids that are actually reading. So 75% of the class plays on their iPhones or iPads and the rest of the class reads for 15 minutes. DS was pissed, still rants about that anytime someone mentions it. He thinks they should go back to the mandatory reading time since in his words "That's the only time some of these morons read at all"
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raeoflyte
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Post by raeoflyte on Nov 26, 2013 12:45:34 GMT -5
Is it possible there is a concept that she is trying to touch on that are highlighted in those chapters? From an academic perspective that book is too young for 10th graders (We read that in a plain old vanilla 7th grade language arts class), so I'm wondering if there is a larger topic that she needs the kids to understand so that it can be applied to the next lesson plan?
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Great
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Post by Great on Nov 26, 2013 12:46:39 GMT -5
10th grade, IMO your son should first schedule an appointment with the teacher to challenge why she believes skipping the middle of the book is appropriate. DS also needs to be prepared to share his own thoughts/feelings on this assignment. If he does not get an answer he is comfortable with from Ms. English teacher, he should proceed to talk to the principal or whoever is in charge of 10th grade English curriculum. Let your son learn to be his own advocate in his education, if that does not get him what he needs to know or is not taken seriously, then as a parent step in to help him.
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Sam_2.0
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Post by Sam_2.0 on Nov 26, 2013 12:47:03 GMT -5
Sheila - I don't think this qualifies you as a helicopter parent. It just makes you a good parent There's also a good lesson here for your DS in that not all teachers are going to be the best ever. His education is up to him. The teachers are just guides and some are better than others. It is up to him to push for what he wants to learn. That lesson will serve him well in college too, where mom can't just call up & complain about a teacher.
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NomoreDramaQ1015
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Post by NomoreDramaQ1015 on Nov 26, 2013 12:47:13 GMT -5
Do they get to do a review at the end of the year? We had to do surveys at the end of every year to rate the class/teacher. Not sure how much good it does but if enough of the kids write bad reviews it might get some attention.
Is it possible there is a concept that she is trying to touch on that are highlighted in those chapters
It's been awhile since I read the book but from what I remember if you want to grasp the concepts being addressed in the book you need to read the middle. The middle is where the trial happens and it's a big deal that Atticus, a white man, is defending a black man.
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Angel!
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Post by Angel! on Nov 26, 2013 12:48:25 GMT -5
Scarlet Quiet Time sounds like a waste of 15 minutes of the school day. Why would you dedicate 15 minutes to letting kids play on their phones?
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Post by Deleted on Nov 26, 2013 12:56:10 GMT -5
I called the Principal this morning to complain. I got as far as his secretary and shared my concerns with her. I did refuse to give her my name because I didn't want DS to be penalized by the teacher. She promised to pass my concerns on to the Principal. And you think it won't get back to her that you're posting about it on FB? I really hate it when teachers don't do their jobs and this one is not. First, teachers tend not to get fired unless they're indicted for something, and second, the kids are the victims (and are taught that it's OK to tolerate mediocrity). Get the parents who agree with you together and make the principal do his/her job and fix this.
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sheilaincali
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Post by sheilaincali on Nov 26, 2013 12:59:26 GMT -5
Athena- that's true. I am planning on emailing the principal so that I can start my opinions clearly in writing so there is no confusion.
raeoflyte- I doubt there is a deeper meaning she is trying to teach them. So far she hasn't really done much of anything with the class. DS claims it's his easiest class and they don't learn anything new.
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HoneyBBQ
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Post by HoneyBBQ on Nov 26, 2013 13:16:09 GMT -5
He thinks they should go back to the mandatory reading time since in his words "That's the only time some of these morons read at all" I think I love your son.
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sheilaincali
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Post by sheilaincali on Nov 26, 2013 13:20:38 GMT -5
honey- he is the greatest kid. He babysits for friends of our (she is a surgeon and he is a SAHD). He was watching the kids because she had a late meeting and then was on call and the Dad was out with my DH. DH drops the husband off and goes in with him to get DS. DS and my friend are sitting at the dining room table, each drinking a cup of tea and discussing education reform and what changes need to be made. She said it was the most adult and serious conversation she'd had all day
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Lizard Queen
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Post by Lizard Queen on Nov 26, 2013 13:31:43 GMT -5
Sheila - I don't think this qualifies you as a helicopter parent. It just makes you a good parent There's also a good lesson here for your DS in that not all teachers are going to be the best ever. His education is up to him. The teachers are just guides and some are better than others. It is up to him to push for what he wants to learn. That lesson will serve him well in college too, where mom can't just call up & complain about a teacher. This is an excellent point. How about viewing this as an opportunity for him to learn how to learn on his own? Going back to college myself, I discovered how much easier it is nowadays with the internet to find more information on, well, just about anything. I would encourage him to take his learning further by googling the books he's reading, and seeing what others have to say on the subject. Of course, you'd have to make sure he knows how to discern a good source, but being a bright kid, he probably already has an idea of that.
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sheilaincali
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Post by sheilaincali on Nov 26, 2013 13:43:21 GMT -5
I don't think I can get him moved in the middle of the school year. I could ask but he schedule is really tight. His electives are all "one of" classes so he can't do a lot of class juggling without screwing that up. As it was this Enriched English kept him out of the Principles of Engineering class he wanted. However, that teacher is amazing and offered to let DS come in during his opinion period (which he only has next semester) and will let him do Independent Study of that course work and has worked with the counseling center to get him credit for that class.
His main plan/goal is to do PSEO next year. He was eligible this year but he won't get his license until end of April/beginning of May and I couldn't drive him from high school to college every day for class so I had to say No. He'd love to be able to do better than 50% of his high school classes at the local university. He thinks it will put him ahead for when he goes to college as he plans to double major.
We printed off the school's honor reading list (which was pretty pathetic) and he has been reading through those. I found a couple of other recommended reading lists for college bound students and will have him start on those too. He is an avid reader. Loves to read.
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alabamagal
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Post by alabamagal on Nov 26, 2013 14:01:07 GMT -5
I think complaining to the administration is fine. Seems like it is a problem teacher. But I wouldn't get too helicpoptery about it.
Everyone has had bad teachers and most of us survive. Part of life is learning to deal with problem people. When you get to college it can get even worse.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 26, 2013 14:06:39 GMT -5
Sheila, you just answered one of my questions. Usually, teachers don't choose their own books to teach in the classroom. All of our students read the same book if they are in the same grade level. Pre-AP read these plus a few more. We even have a pacing guide that says we should be teaching the same books at the same time at both high schools.
My other comment is that Common Core may mean that more books are read in less than their entirety. We no longer teach a "book." We teach skills such as providing evidence and making inferences. Those do not require reading the entire book although that is nice if time permits. There is also a shift in emphasis away from fiction. More nonfiction is required
I'm not defending the teacher. I just thought you may not know that the English Language standards have shifted rather dramatically . . . at least for Alabama. So the classroom may not resemble the one you remember if Common Core is new to your state or district.
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swamp
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Post by swamp on Nov 26, 2013 14:10:28 GMT -5
A perfect real world lesson that sometimes the person in charge is an idiot.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 26, 2013 14:21:51 GMT -5
Fwiw, I actually think ALL kids benefit from hearing the written word, at all ages. That said, Of Mice and Men is not what I would choose to have a gifted 10th grader listen to... Nor as a significant part of class time.
I think you are right to question. Also question who the mentor teacher is. It sounds like the first year needs some guidance...
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Post by Deleted on Nov 26, 2013 14:22:39 GMT -5
Just wondering, how does your state classify gifted? Is the teacher actually an English teacher? Or a special education teacher?
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