Look, for real, I know you're a teacher, but fuck your calm down. If they'd done this the right way instead of springing it on all the parents at 4:00 on a fucking Friday for a change to be implemented Monday morning, I'd maybe be more okay with it.
As it stands, they've switched my kid without my or his consent, arbitrarily, and they've lied to me about it in two different ways now.
Whoa there homes!! I agree with you they handled it wrong. But your reaction in my opinion is a little over the top.
That's because you are coming at it from the school's point of view and not a parent's point of view.
They obviously went about it in a douchey, shady, underhanded way. I am probably missing a backstory here.
But how much control does the parent really get over who their teacher is? This doesn't really happen in my district since there are only 2 teachers per grade, so I am really curious. (I am talking in general terms, not about when there is an obvious problem)
You are missing a backstory. And I'm so sorry LHC it sucks so hard!
This is a really dumb question, but do you normally get to pick the kid's teachers nowadays? I just assumed kids were assigned and that was that unless there is some big issue. In which case, I don't quite understand the big issue with switching either. But maybe I don't know some sort of backstory and you picked the original teacher somehow and are now getting screwed?
DUDE, dude! I would be soo pissed about all of the lies! Why does he have to lie? I hope the first day goes ok and you don't have to take this on but I would be LIVID.
"Why would you ruin perfectly good peanuts by adding candy corn? That's like saying hey, I have these awesome nachos, guess I better add some dryer lint." - Nonny
Post by scarletbandit on Aug 16, 2013 17:22:13 GMT -5
How do you decide in just one day that you need to hire another teacher and that same day she's there setting up her room bcuz she starts on Monday. Why the fuck weren't the parents notified a week or more ago. This is bullshit and I hope things get resolved for you guys. Poor KHC.
Post by Jalapeñomel on Aug 16, 2013 17:25:56 GMT -5
It is unacceptable for the principal to flat out lie to you. I still think that his superiors need to know the way that this all went down so it doesn't happen again.
LHC...I get that you are pissed...there are probably about 16-20 other parents that are pissed too...unfortunately, if the principal or school board reverses their decision for one, they generally end up expected to reverse their decision on all of them...that can't happen, either way the new class has to be created.
The way the principal handled the switch wasn't good PR...parents should have been notified in writing a day before. That being said, it still doesn't negate the need for the switch - kids need to end up in the new class. And yes, initial teacher was great - new teacher may be great too...please don't let your child pick up on how upset you are because if he ends up having to stay in the class, it's better that he not know you were against it.
Finally, the teacher saying it was 'arbitrary' - I don't think she meant it how you interpreted it (but I could be wrong - I get that)...what she probably wanted you to understand is that she didn't pick your child to leave - it wasn't as though your child specifically was chosen. There is no way that they built a new class randomly...it makes no sense...they pick students based on academic ability and behaviour so as to ensure that the new class is as balanced as all of the original ones were...or rather, this is how it *should* be done. I can't imagine a school would just pick names out of a hat - that would inevitably lead to problems.
What insane fuckery. Neither you nor your kid deserve this. I'm still pissed about being transferred out of Mrs. Jackson's 7th grade civics class without warning via random selection one month into the year. She was my favorite. And I was 12!
I'd be raising it with the board regardless whether khc is moved permanently. The principal is an unprofessional jackwagon.
It's definitely not okay to lie, and it's definitely bothersome if your kid liked where he was.
This sort of thing happens, but you don't want to go in there on Monday and leave it to where neither teacher is thrilled at the prospect of taking KHC (and dealing with you).
Just play this out carefully. I don't think you should have promised something you don't know that you can deliver.
The new teacher may be fantastic. She might have seemed less nice because you (and other parents) stormed down there and she doesn't want the drama in addition to the stress of cultivating her classroom/curriculum on short notice, dealing with the principal, etc etc.
I am all for stomping some ass as needed, but I would really cool down and be calculating about it. Which I think it what Joenali might have been saying.
Post by sparkythelawyer on Aug 16, 2013 17:39:33 GMT -5
Also, its not like the principal woke up this morning and said, "I think I'll hire a teacher today." This hiring process has been under way for at least a few weeks, assuming they had to do things like collect portfolios, interview, do background checks, etc. Why couldn't the school have let the parents know over the summer "Hey, we're in the midst of hiring a new teacher, so we will likely have to make some classroom adjustments. Here's how they'll happen, etc." If you make people more informed about your processes, its a lot easier to get them to do what you need them to do.
I'm sorry they lied to you- I can see being pissed about that.
But, I also see this as a positive in that they are trying to make smaller classroom sizes. Try and be positive about it for KHC and hopefully he'll love this new teacher, too and all of this will be water under the bridge soon.
Look my parents were 100% grin and bear it ppl w teachers growing up. I remember them only getting involved once when I was 16. It took that long and not all my teachers were awesome.
But fuck after what KHC went through even THEY of a million little lessons would react like Lucy. And lord knows I would storm the fucking castle too.
Calm down my ass. How they did it was horrrrrible!!!!
document, document, document. There is no excuse in the world for the lies the principal told you. If the principal, or the school board doesn't deal with this I would take all of the documented evidence to the media. You do not lie to parents about a sudden switch in teachers/classrooms. They should have known on the first day there would be an issue with class size and started the dialog with parents then
Look my parents were 100% grin and bear it ppl w teachers growing up. I remember them only getting involved once when I was 16. It took that long and not all my teachers were awesome.
But fuck after what KHC went through even THEY of a million little lessons would react like Lucy. And lord knows I would storm the fucking castle too.
Calm down my ass. How they did it was horrrrrible!!!!
Exactly. My 1st grade teacher sucked. My parents didn't breathe a word to me how much they despised her. But there is "I dislike my teacher" and then there's fuckery like random transfers accompanied by outright lies.
This is a really dumb question, but do you normally get to pick the kid's teachers nowadays? I just assumed kids were assigned and that was that unless there is some big issue. In which case, I don't quite understand the big issue with switching either. But maybe I don't know some sort of backstory and you picked the original teacher somehow and are now getting screwed?
At my school, parents absolutely do not get to choose their child's teacher. In fact, a family requested me for their child's teacher this year (I already had a good relationship with the student and understood some health issues etc) and he is not in my class.
But this situation would not have happened like this at my school. Changing a child's teacher once the child has been told who their teacher is would be a very big deal, and it would be an even bigger deal if it happened after the school year had begun. This principal screwed up and is totally bumbling his way through this mess. He should expect furious parents. I feel terrible for this new teacher as well as the kids.
Also, its not like the principal woke up this morning and said, "I think I'll hire a teacher today." This hiring process has been under way for at least a few weeks, assuming they had to do things like collect portfolios, interview, do background checks, etc. Why couldn't the school have let the parents know over the summer "Hey, we're in the midst of hiring a new teacher, so we will likely have to make some classroom adjustments. Here's how they'll happen, etc." If you make people more informed about your processes, its a lot easier to get them to do what you need them to do.
Last year we sent home the class assignments to some parents that said "4th grade teacher, to be named later" We knew we needed another one, but finding one was hard and the parents were waiting. Unless this principal had 20 move ins, in 2nd grade alone, in the first week of school, she knew it was coming, maybe for years (some years people have a lot of sex ), and had it in the budget.
We have a date, 3 weeks after school starts, where based on current enrolment, we may have to reduce our number of classes or increase it. There is usually a three day period over which we have to hire and class build.
Last year my 4/5 class was scheduled to have 29 students. On the first day of school I had 32. My class was reorganized on the 10th school day of the year. Parent were made aware on a Wednesday and the new class started Friday.
But how much control does the parent really get over who their teacher is? This doesn't really happen in my district since there are only 2 teachers per grade, so I am really curious. (I am talking in general terms, not about when there is an obvious problem)
Our parents used to get to request and the requests were honored as best we could. As one can imagine, that was a cluster. Now the teachers meet as a grade level team with placement cards that list assessment scores and if there is an IEP. They they divide the cards up by boy/girl and then high, middle, low scores and then deal them out in a pile for each next year's teacher. This creates balanced classrooms, then you check and make sure the students with an IEP are not all in the same pile, and make small adjustment based on knowing who shouldn't be together. In the end, you have nice class lists that are for teacher A,B,C,D. The principal takes the lists and assigns a teacher to the top of it.
We have a date, 3 weeks after school starts, where based on current enrolment, we may have to reduce our number of classes or increase it. There is usually a three day period over which we have to hire and class build.
Last year my 4/5 class was scheduled to have 29 students. On the first day of school I had 32. My class was reorganized on the 10th school day of the year. Parent were made aware on a Wednesday and the new class started Friday.
But how much control does the parent really get over who their teacher is? This doesn't really happen in my district since there are only 2 teachers per grade, so I am really curious. (I am talking in general terms, not about when there is an obvious problem)
Our parents used to get to request and the requests were honored as best we could. As one can imagine, that was a cluster. Now the teachers meet as a grade level team with placement cards that list assessment scores and if there is an IEP. They they divide the cards up by boy/girl and then high, middle, low scores and then deal them out in a pile for each next year's teacher. This creates balanced classrooms, then you check and make sure the students with an IEP are not all in the same pile, and make small adjustment based on knowing who shouldn't be together. In the end, you have nice class lists that are for teacher A,B,C,D. The principal takes the lists and assigns a teacher to the top of it.
That is exactly how we do it too. Parents can request, but we tell them that their request can't always be honored based on what you said above.
How do you decide in just one day that you need to hire another teacher and that same day she's there setting up her room bcuz she starts on Monday. Why the fuck weren't the parents notified a week or more ago. This is bullshit and I hope things get resolved for you guys. Poor KHC.
I was that teacher a few years ago. They came into my classroom during 2nd period, told me I was transferring tomorrow, made me pack up my classroom, and I had to report to another school the next day. The parents (who I got to meet at Back to School Night the next day) were super pissed at me. The kids accused me of "stealing" them from their teachers. All because the last minute enrollment rates were higher at one school than the other.
It's total bullshit but it happens all the time. I know it's different in elementary, but in middle/high school they often don't assign books or major projects for several weeks because the kids' schedules could change several times over.
It's a good move to fight it, but honestly it might not help. The school board is not unaware of the situation and, like other posters said, if they accommodate you then they have to accommodate everyone. I don't know what the classroom caps are there but they legally can't go over a certain number.
Also, its not like the principal woke up this morning and said, "I think I'll hire a teacher today." This hiring process has been under way for at least a few weeks, assuming they had to do things like collect portfolios, interview, do background checks, etc. Why couldn't the school have let the parents know over the summer "Hey, we're in the midst of hiring a new teacher, so we will likely have to make some classroom adjustments. Here's how they'll happen, etc." If you make people more informed about your processes, its a lot easier to get them to do what you need them to do.
Last year we sent home the class assignments to some parents that said "4th grade teacher, to be named later" We knew we needed another one, but finding one was hard and the parents were waiting. Unless this principal had 20 move ins, in 2nd grade alone, in the first week of school, she knew it was coming, maybe for years (some years people have a lot of sex ), and had it in the budget.
The number of classes is typically based on the total enrollment of the school. It's quite possible that the principal didn't know until that morning that he could go ahead and hire another. The principal could have had someone in mind to hire, but not been able to do so with any certainty until getting the okay from above. We've had new hires the day before school starts; it totally just depends on how the numbers play out.
That said, I do think it was sucky that the principal didn't tell LHC until after talking to the kid, and then lied about it. We typically talk to the parents first and let them talk to the kid about it before the move happens.
But know that this new teacher might just be amazing. She will more than likely work her ass off this year to ensure she has a job somewhere in the district next year. She'll have lots of new ideas, tons of energy and the enthusiasm a first year teacher brings is unbelievable. So if he has to stay in her class know that it really could turn out wonderfully.
That being said, if you're still set on him being in Mrs. Sullivan's class then I would go to the principal and remind him/her of the issues you had last year and that you are not okay with Thomas moving. He was placed in Mrs. Sullivan's class for a reason and that is where he should stay.
I don't care if she's god's gift to education, you do not spring that on a parent's lap at 4:59:59 on Friday. Principal was trying to pull a fast one in the hopes he could pull it off. Since LHC has already had to deal with troublesome teachers at that school, I think she's right to fight here.
I'm a teacher and so I understand how all of this works. I was trying to help Lucy and show her the potential positive. While I know a little back story with this principal, I don't know him/her. S/he may or may not have been trying to pull a fast one. The truth is sometimes crap like this happens in schools. You have too many kids and have to move quickly to get another section going. Do I think this was handled well? No, but again, I was just trying to help Lucy see some positive.
Yeah, I get that, joenali. And I'm saying that "just calm down" isn't possible after someone lies to me and makes arbitrary decisions about my kid without my consent.
I am saying this nicely, I think you need to sleep on this. While I don't think it will change your mind on wanting your son to have Mrs. Sullivan, I do think you will be able to calm down. The school makes lots of decisions about your child without your consent. Heck, they made the decision to put him in Mrs. Sullivan's class without your consent! The more I read from you the more I don't understand why you are still sending your child to this school. If you don't trust them and seem to have this many problems with them I think it's time to open enroll him in another public school, charter school or private school.