<p>He should be reprimanded and/or disciplined for using the term “mentally ■■■■■■■■” as an insult to a class of students. That behavior is totally inappropriate and offensive on top of whatever his other deficiencies as a math teacher may be.</p>
<p>I agree. We’ll have a teacher conference with him early next week to discuss our daughter’s grade, then talk to the adminstration about his off the wall behavior.</p>
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<p>This reminds me of a story…</p>
<p>My D had a very nice German teacher in high school, but she was one who insisted on NO TALKING during a test. She told the kids that anyone found talking would have their test ripped up and would have to call their parents right then and there (there is a phone in the classroom) so that the teacher could explain the situation to the parents.</p>
<p>There was one young man who talked during the test. She ripped up his test and he called his mother on the phone. “Good luck,” he told the teacher. “My mother only speaks Spanish.”</p>
<p>The teacher went to the phone and started speaking fluent Spanish to the mother. Turns out that the teacher’s parents were high school Spanish teachers! After she talked to the mother on the phone for a while, she handed the receiver to the kid. “Your mother wants to speak to you.”</p>
<p>Harsh–sure. But you only need to make an example of one kid to get the point across. And it’s not like the kids don’t know the score–they choose to believe that the teacher is bluffing.</p>
<p>Sometimes their assumptions can get them into trouble.</p>
<p>Any chance you could get your daughter out of this class? He sounds really toxic. I’m not sure the problem is fixable, but I do encourage you to follow the suggestions you’ve been given.</p>
<p>ellemenope,</p>
<p>I love your story (post 43), and you are so right! When I questioned my S about the situation further, he fessed up that the teacher had given them a warning before he was punished. Better to learn the lessons as a freshman in HS than later in life!</p>
<p>If a teacher with 13 years of experience repeatedly tells his class that they are “mentally ■■■■■■■■” I would be concerned that he is mentally ill, and possibly in the process of having a breakdown. Calling a classroom of students “mentally ■■■■■■■■” - repeatedly? - is so far beyond the bounds of acceptable teacher behavior that I have a hard time believing that this is his normal pedagogical behavior. Is this a public school?</p>
<p>The man is odd and I think that quite a few parents have complained about him, and he knows it. I’m hearing all kinds of stories about his behavior, both from my daughter and from other kids. I’m trying to take all of the stories about his behavior with a grain of salt since the kids can get going and try to top each other with their “Mr. Geometry Teacher” stories. But I totally believe the “mentally ■■■■■■■■” story, because my daughter doesn’t use that phrase and school personnel don’t use that phrase when talking about mentally challenged kids; that is not a story my daughter would have made up.</p>
<p>once he starts calling his kids names like that, an a very offensive term to boot, time to stop wasting time with conferences and all that stuff…being nice at this point is useless</p>
<p>Go above his head NOW…and get other parents to go with you…</p>
<p>I support teachers and think they have a tough job and most are very good, however, there is the odd one that just shouldn’t be in the classroom, and you D has found him</p>
<p>So, how long you going to wait?</p>
<p>Sadly, as long as tenure protects teachers, there is not much that actually IS beyond the bounds of acceptable teacher behavior.</p>
<p>Actually, when my son was in 9th grade, one of his tenured teachers was asked to “retire”…quite suddenly. My son has Asperger’s, so a lot of things go over his head. She was just gone one day, never to return, and my son was quite upset. </p>
<p>When we started asking other parents, boy did we get an earful. The parents’ vocal concern had caused the sudden “retirement.” Seems the teacher did things like combing her hands through a student’s rather large Afro, because “that’s where they hide their weed.” So, if a teacher comes unhinged enough, they do take action! </p>
<p>What is more problematic here is that another math teacher has just been placed on bed rest this week, so they are already down one teacher.</p>
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<p>Curiousmother, best to learn the lessons of life from someone else’s mistakes!</p>
<p>can you get a few parents together and get a tutor the kids can share? it is not fair, but sometimes you need to just take care of business</p>
<p>as well, there are teachers around, and don’t ltet the school get away with the excuse of one teacher being down, they can pull it together and get someone in who can teach</p>
<p>So true Ellemenope! I’m sure a lot of boys have learned small but valuable lessons from my S’s mistakes over the years!</p>
<p>That’s what I would do (post # 52), get a tutor if you can afford it, because in the end, Math is the one subject where any missing puzzle pieces will dog you for years.</p>
<p>OK, it sounds quite unlikely that this teacher is going to undergo a pedagogic (sp?) makeover even if the administration encourages him to start teaching math with the use of math problems; give tests that test the material he has actually taught; stop calling the children ugly, insulting names that are grossly inappropriate for anyone to say ever; and seek mental health counseling. Also, unless he goes diving into some child’s hair in search of contraband or commits a felony in front of the class, the liklihood of the district being able to fire him anytime soon is nil. </p>
<p>This said, how old is this guy, and is there any chance the district could somehow induce him to retire or buy out his contract or put him on some face-saving equivalent of administrative leave? Probably not. So the next question would be: How can you get your kid out of his class? If your child is otherwise taking a sufficient number of units to fulfill the district’s minimum requirements without Geometry, could she take the class online through an accredited home school program? There are many of these available, some quite good. Also, does your school district offer an independent study program for students who might otherwise drop out? If such a program exists, maybe your D could take Geometry as an external student, meeting the same requirements as one of the district’s independent study Geometry students. If it is very clear to the powers that be a) that you are right about this dreadful teacher and b) you are very nice but are not going to shut up about the problem if your child remains in this teacher’s class, which will ultimately be very annoying and time consuming for them to have to deal with, perhaps they will be a bit flexible in helping you get your D to get out of there. </p>
<p>Finally, is there another teacher teaching this particular class at a time that works in your D’s schedule? Even if there is a policy that prevents transfers, it seems important for the school to know that putting an adult who is such a poor role model for children, and the sort of person to whom parents do not want their children exposed, leaves the school with very nice but unhappy parents who correctly want an alternative. If this is the case, do get your D in the front of the line for the different teacher.</p>
<p>Finally, IMHO, failing Geometry because the teacher has the array of interesting problems you describe, is not a useful life lesson. Don’t let anyone accuse you of being a helicopter parent or not letting your child learn to cope and solve problems for herself, or suggest that you’re underestimating how resilient D can be or that quitters never win… I think that a better life lesson might be that it is wise to advocate on your own behalf and use whatever resources are available to leave an untenable situation and find a more enriching situation.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>I’m agreeing with CCSUrfer for this reason: as a teacher I saw that the principal would rather switch a student to a new class than deal with anything else, because it takes the least time from the principal and doesn’t require changing or confronting the teacher. So sad but true.</p>
<p>What I found unjust was how fast a principal would change a student for silly or unseemly reasons (“parent says too many black children in the class,” and I’m not making this up, and it happend in the l990’s not l950). So lucky me, I was the recipient of that student. </p>
<p>I pointed out to principal that the demography of my class (First Graders) was exactly the same, and I regretted hearing that she was honoring such racism. Principal said, “sometimes the easiest thing to do is just switch the kid.” Indeed.</p>
<p>Then I had to endure hearing the happy parent say how much “better” my class was. I pointed to my top reading group, where she was sure her child belonged (actually, he did). Top group was mostly brown and black students that particular year. I enjoyed watching that worried look cross her brow as he walked over to join his new reading group. Nuts to her.</p>
<p>A week later, she asked me if mine was the lower of the two First Grade classes, and I knew she believed that because how else could it be explained that the top group was brown and black. Do you wonder why kids grow up with racist attitudes? </p>
<p>Obviously, race is NO ISSUE in the OP’s situation!! I’m just saying that it could be the easiest answer to insist on a switch OUT of MR. Geometry teacher. Maybe ask for a switch and see if the principal surprises you with an easy “Yes.” If, however, many other parents have already complained to her, then she might not change yours, knowing they’ll all be asking for the same switch next week.</p>
<p>I know I have a chip on my shoulder about principals, I’m sorry about my bias there.
I’ve heard of some great ones, but our school just was miserable in that regard (great teachers, mostly); and there were 5 principals in 6 years there. For awhile, the kids thought the custodian was the principal “because he got on ladders and changed light bulbs.” At least he did something they could see was helpful to the school.</p>
<p>It all depends on the school. At d’s school, there was a pretty hard and fast rule that kids could not switch classes. Period. (Although they’d probably make an exception for physical or sexual abuse!) D had a first-year teacher for Honors World History. The teacher taught the class as if it were a remedial class. Very slow paced, very superficial. D was getting A’s in the class but was bored out of her skull. Loved history, so she was coming home literally in tears about this teacher.</p>
<p>At the same time period, a fabulous teacher was teaching the same course, same level. All the kids in d’s prior year history class were assigned to this fabulous teacher, except d and 2 others. No matter how much I complained, or how far up the chain I went, they would do nothing. And we obviously weren’t complaining due to poor grades - d ended the year with an A. But there were no options for independent study, on-line learning, or moving into the other classroom.</p>
<p>I sure hope that the OP’s school is more flexible than my d’s!</p>
<p>^^Me too, Chedva. Here your D is flourishing at college and it’s still a bad memory. A lousy teacher does a lot of harm. Have you figured out why your D was so resilient even after that negative experience, daily for l0 months!
She must have spunk (is it the dancing?).</p>
<p>DId it kill her love of History or could she confine it to that one teacher?
Math has that issue of foundation work, year to year. I still recall how a crazed alcoholic 11th grade math teacher (yelled at students daily) so confused me I dropped math the following year, and then never picked it up in college when it was optional. That bit me 20 years later, trying to get certified to teach elementary school. The state Dept. of Ed made me return to Community College for a college algebra course, and I managed it. But I never pursued math after that bad year in llth grade.</p>
<p>Thanks again, everyone. There is a geometry class that meets at the same hour as my daughter’s, so she could switch without any disruption to her schedule. I know that other kids have tried to transfer and have been turned down, but I don’t know how involved the parents were.</p>
<p>What is so sad is that after spending middle school convincing my daughter that she IS good at math, her math confidence is totally gone. She’s already talking about taking Algebra III as a junior rather than Pre-Cal!</p>
<p>We meet with the teacher Monday morning. Once we have taken that apparently required step, we’ll proceed further.</p>
<p>p3t - yes, she’s at URochester - good memory (and sorry, missypie, for the brief hijack)! </p>
<p>D still enjoys history, since she got a wonderful AP US teacher (same as her 9th grade teacher). Of course she got a lousy one again for AP Euro - teacher’s idea of teaching about the art of the Renaissance was to watch “Da Vinci Code” - but we already knew better than complain (and there was only one AP Euro class anyway). And she’s taking Art History this semester, so I guess the teachers didn’t kill her interest!</p>
<p>Yes, it is definitely harder to pick up the pieces in math, and I’m so glad it didn’t happen in that class. D dropped out of honors after 9th grade (too fast), was put in regular math, including regular calculus and was bored silly (way too slow). Luckily for her, Rochester doesn’t require math, and she’s not choosing a major that will require math other than perhaps Stats.</p>
<p>missypie, I can’t tell you how sorry I am for your situation. If you don’t get satisfaction from the school (although with that “mentally ■■■■■■■■” nonsense, you should), perhaps a tutor is the way to go.</p>
<p>Good luck - we’ll be pulling for you!</p>