Topic : School Issues

Have you ever had a teacher in school that you absolutely despised?  I do.  It was my fifth grade teacher.  She yelled at her students and seemed to be in a perpetual PMS state.  The big thing that made her the "worst teacher I've ever had" was the following account.

I was enrolled in a year-round program.  It was the middle of July in south Texas and 100 degrees at 90% humidity.  The portable we'd been using was being serviced for the day, so we couldn't stay there.  What does the teacher do?  We stayed OUTSIDE in the 100 degree heat for THE ENTIRE DAY!!!! 

One student collapsed from heat stroke at one point during the day, and being fair-skinned, I received a deep sunburn, increasing the chances of basal cell carcinoma later in life.   The stupid woman exposed the entire class to heat stroke and dehydration, which can KILL you, btw- an electrolyte imbalance can stop your heart, which is why it's SO important to stay hydrated (there was NO cooler full of bottled water, her answer was to "find a water fountain").  10-year-olds HAD NO BUSINESS being outside the ENTIRE DAY in 100 degree heat, no clouds in the sky, slowly dying of dehydration.

There are many different alternatives to the torture she exuded on her students.  She SHOULD HAVE called everyone's parents for permission to take us to the library or other air-conditioned building.  Then tried to get a bus from Transportation to come out.  If she was too stupid to keep a list of parents, take them anyway.  If I were a parent in the situation, I would want the teacher to exercise COMMON SENSE and choose the air-conditioned building over an Auschwitz-like oven in the event that I couldn't be contacted.  She wouldve gotten in less trouble with me keeping the children SAFE than having a student COLLAPSE!!!

If she couldn't have gotten a bus, then call up a few room mothers, they would have been glad to offer transportation to the Public Library.  The safety of those kids should have been her primary concern and I hope she got in trouble for it.  I think the parents would have been more forgiving if she had bothered to take everyone out of that dangerous situation and actually took care of her students. 

Congratulations, the criminal negligence she displayed nominates her for "THE WORST TEACHER I"VE EVER HAD".

Our oldest son's 5th grade teacher, and the 5th grade para-pro tie for the "worst teacher" award...the 5th grade teacher singled out our son every day for being the slowest to get his things together and in his backpack at the end of the day, making the whole class wait for him...

And the 5th grade para-pro (not a teacher, but a "helper") was running a program called "Young Astronauts", for the higher achieving students (they didn't have a real program for the kids who were ahead of the rest academically).  The program was supposed to be a fun way to learn about astronauts and space...well, she pretty much wanted the high achievers to know what it feels like to "fail"...she said so herself...she would send home impossible worksheets...our son managed to get them done, with a little help...as they were the kind of riddles that a kid wouldn't "get" on their own...he "failed" because he admitted that he got help from his parents...the rest of the kids "failed" that assignment because they couldn't answer the riddle questions...and this is the way the class went, until we pulled our son out...it was totally counter-productive and did NOTHING to build self-confidence and self-esteem...she was there to tear the kids down...

It wouldn't be fair to mention the worst teachers without mentioning some of the best teachers...

My 5th grade teacher (she was also my 4th grade teacher) was the best I ever had.  During 5th grade, one of my older brothers was killed in a snow skiing accident...she was there for me to get me through it...and the kids told me that she would be "mean"...she was strict, but in a good way...she got me to do my best...and all of the kids...

Our youngest son's 3rd grade teacher (who was also our middle son's 1st grade teacher) is so wonderful...she makes the kids really want to learn...she has them make a list of what they already know (collective as a class) about a subject, and then a list of what they want to learn...and then the lessons include the things that they want to know...along with the curiculum out of the book...I think that is a really good way to teach...we love her...

Our youngest son just finished 4th grade, and his 4th grade teacher is on the list of the best too...she retired at the end of the school year, and she gave our son a bunch of science experiment books, and a field microscope (she was cleaning out her inventory)...she had drawings where the kids could put their name in a bowl for the items that they wanted...she drew the names, and the kid got the item...she really encouraged our son to want to learn more than what they were learning in class...

Wow, Becky, you & gwarrior have some pretty compelling "worst" nominees! I don't have anything THAT bad from grade school. The only thing that comes close is the alcoholic who allegedly taught me in 2nd grade. I say "allegedly" b/c she wasn't there much of the time.

However, I present this nominee on behalf of my younger sister. Her 4th-grade teacher was, to put it bluntly, a b***h. My sister, a bright kid, suddenly started failing EVERYTHING, and was ALWAYS bringing home nastygrams from the teacher about how her behavior was AWFUL -- talking in class, making all kinds of trouble, you name it. Now, this was NOT the way to start off one's career in a new Catholic school. Mother was beside herself, we were the new people on the block, etc., etc. We even called up a psychologist, who happened to be a family friend in another state, for ideas. The psychologist sent a report to the school; the teacher behaved as though it never existed.

It took until about 2/3 of the way through the school year, when Mother went in for a conference with the teacher, that the lightbulb came on. Mother was waiting in the hall for the appointment, when one of the other little girls in the class walked up: Aren't you T---'s mom? T--- is just sooo quiet in class, never makes trouble --- a TOTALLY different picture than that of the troublemaker that this woman was sending home!

The nightmare ended when the school year did. interestingly enough, that teacher did not return the next year.

"Best" nominee to follow.

Prof

My 4th grade teacher was the best -- I don't know this for certain, but the rumor was that the more "gifted" students were put in her class. There was no official "gifted" track at that place and time.

That year, we put on a science fair, put out a literary magazine (I think Mother may even still have a copy of it!), and nearly put on a play (it had to be scrapped, though, when we ran short of rehearsal time. =(  ).

For my daughter, I'd have to put it at a tie between her 4th & 5th grade reading/language arts teachers. They were both good at helping Anne get through her losses, first of my MIL (fall of 4th grade), and then my dad (fall 5th grade).

Becky, I like the way your son's 4th grade teacher handled the disposal of surplus!

Prof

We got the report card, the one that was allegedly mailed the 18th, had a postmark of yesterday, the 23rd.

Anne did make the Honor Roll again, although I'm less than thrilled with a C+ in math for the quarter. It still worked out to all As & Bs for the semester. Can't complain too loudly. The FCAT scores were in the envelope, too, OK, but not great -- "On grade level" for the Sunshine State Standards, and 59th and 79th percentiles for the "Norm-referenced" tests in Reading and Math, respectively.

All done with that until August. Family vaca up next.

=)

Prof