@Aug2019 Changing school environments to home schooling and taking all classes at community college is the best suggestion so far — thank you very much. i just read a little bit about it, and it’s very easy to set it up in California. I’m going to look into it.
In terms of other posters — my son did have an IEP (where the expert wrote “this child has gifts beyond the ability of this test to test”), but his teachers are very resistant to incorporating his IEP, and even worse, they still grade him (like on ‘class participation’ like all the other kids in the class, ignoring his issues, so he gets a bad grade. (Ironically except his gym teacher, who has always been supportive of him).
In terms of all the teachers being “bad” — yes, pretty much they are. There were huge union problems last fall, and the teachers spent months refusing to do anything beyond ‘the minimum’, which honestly wasn’t even that much more noticeable than normal. When the union problems resolved, the attitude from the teachers was still atrocious — I’ve never seen teachers so quick to leave instantly the bell rings, then moan and complain about doing anything beyond the minimum.
Are there exceptions? Of course. And ironically my son, defends the teachers “the reason why they’re bitter and angry is because the students are bad”. The good news, is that the school district has a new superintendent, who is making many positive changes, and the new principal of the school cares a lot about both the teachers and the students, and he’s really doing everything he can to lift morale at the school.
But it will take a few years for these problems to resolve, and my son will have long moved on to another school. In the meantime; I can’t let his academic gifts — and his ability to work hard —to be overshadowed by the passive aggressive games his current teachers play.
(For example — the math department — no one is allowed to bring their quizzes or tests home, because there’s been problems with ‘cheating’ in the past and the math teachers don’t want to make new tests from year to year. But how is a student supposed to learn from their mistakes and improve if they can’t take the time to really focus and review their mistakes at home?
Do some students excel in this type of learning environment — of course. But it’s mostly the students who know how to charm their teachers and play into their passive aggressive power games. Not to mention parents and families who know how to schmooze and kiss the right a**. My son is definitely not one of them.
(Another example — a syllabus listing all the work (or at minimum the major tests and assignments) at the beginning of a semester, so the student can plan and execute a study plan? That’s too much to ask from the teachers too.)
There are literally teachers at this school whose idea of teaching is “open your books and read pages 1-20.” Next day “open your books and read pages 21-40”. This is not an exaggeration.
If you are still reading this, my son’s high school is Beverly Hills High School. Everything I have posted here is true and I have addressed these issues directly with all parties involved, from counselor to assistant principal to superintent. (The new superintendent, Dr. Bregy, has taken all of my concerns to heart and is working on numerous changes, as I am not the only parent with these concerns.) The problem with BHUSD is that the school board has spent too much time firing superintendents and principal over the last 20 years, so the teachers don’t think they have anyone to hold them accountable (or to support them when they need help). The school board is also making a commintment to fixing this problem as well, and I have no doubt in 5-10 years BHUSD will be one of the premiere district’s in the country.
(The high school already had a big jump in ranking just in the first year of the new superintendent taking over, but that’s mostly to do with the changes in academic infrastructure they’ve made, and it hasn’t trickled down to inside the classroom yet. (But it will).)
So to all of the skeptics — yes, your child can end up a bad school, that’s a bad fit for your children, and moving isn’t always a luxury all of us can afford.
The mistake I made was just reading the school ratings before I moved into the district, instead of going physically to the schools, taking to the teachers and going to a couple of pta meetings. What I would have known not to move here.
There are enormous positive changes going on, even as we speak, so whenever reads this, I think they will be blessed to live and go to school here.
But for my son? Not going to benefit. My son would tell you misbehaving students and some of the rude and entitled parents is what has caused this low morale/teachers not lifting a finger beyond the minimum culture, and as a parent I say you still have a professional ethical standard to meet as an educator, and if you can’t meet it, then you should be fired or quit. Doctors don’t get paid for research on complicated cases or phone calls to patients or families after hours — but it is an ethical and moral part of their professional responsibility.
In the end, my son will be fine, no matter where he goes to college. I had posted this question because I was hoping that there might be another way to convince colleges that there are other factors unfairly influencing grades at this particular institution, but perhaps that’s just not believable to a college.
Disappointing, but such is life. And the lessons my son has learned from all of this — especially the abusive of power lessons he’s gone through that deserve a posting all of their own — will perhaps only make him stronger in the long run throughout his life.