Teacher vent - Update

[fivechickens]

Oct 29, 2024 15:22:38 GMT -5 meanie said:

I am still fuzzy on the exact process she was outlining but it sounds like they get a study guide to do on their own, then it's reviewed in class and they are supposed to correct it and then use that material to study - I have no problem with any of that

This is exactly how my kids study guide goes before a BA (baseline assessment… basically the big test of chapters/marking periods).

This teacher reminds me of a math teacher my kids had. They are A students and do well with tests. They had a math teacher last year that would not teach them anything (and this wasn’t just students complaining but parents and other teachers complained about her teaching). They would fail test after test but end up with an A in the class. It was bananas. She also very rarely responded to parents emails. Thankfully she left half way through the year.

[livinitup]

I have an 11th grader and looking back on 6th, I will give you advice that is a little different (but based on my experience).

I would use this teacher and the anxiety & negative self-talk you mentioned as an opportunity to lean hard into the message “let’s take a step back & not focus on the grade. Sure, let’s build some good study skills with hard-to-follow-teachers but let’s not get upset at the grade.”

I say this as a grade-focused Gen-xer but since it’s 6th and not going on her college transcript, you a have a real opportunity to teach some resilience skills. It’s not so easy when grades DO count, so it’s actually valuable to have a few of these experiences and conversations in your back pocket.

[meanie]

@livinitup totally agree, when we talk to our kids the focus is on learning the material and not on the grade. Missing something on a test just shows that they need help understanding the material and is an opportunity to get some extra help.