Posts Tagged middle school

Cole was out sick first of the week and didn’t catch the homework assignment posted on the day he went back, but did get for the two days he missed. Teacher gets a tude today when he turned in the make-up work but not yesterday’s assignment; wants to know how he thinks he’s going to pass the test she’s preparing to hand out. When he just looked at her, not really knowing what he was expected to say, she cocked her head and said, “Good luck with that!”

He said he gave her the same smirk right back when she passed out the graded tests at the end of class and his was a big fat A, then proceeded to tell him that she was giving him a zero on the assignment. His question to me, “Why does a teacher who teaches advanced math treat kids like their idiots?!”

Good question…

My immediate response is to fire off an email requesting an impromptu tête-à-tête; and had this been elementary school, I would have done just that. However, we’re in middle school now and everything has changed. He asked that I please just let it go because it’s not worth her excluding him from class and taking it out on him because she’s mad at me for confronting her.

I want to respect his wishes, but the thought of that uppity witch giving my son grief for no good reason and getting away with it, is gnawing at my insides! That’s the one thing I’ve always done; make certain that his teachers know me, and know that his academic career is something I [we] take very seriously. He’s been an honor roll student since first grade, and the thought of him having to put up with nonsensical bullshit from someone whose job it is to educate and prepare him for college, for whatever reason, absolutely chaps my ass!

It’s almost as if they look at middle-school aged kids as a bunch of rowdy heathens that have no interest whatsoever in learning, and that couldn’t be farther from the truth in our case. Cole loves learning; reads anything non-fiction he can get his hands on, filling himself with all the knowledge and information he can contain. And just because he wears the same size shoe as his father doesn’t mean he has an adult sized mind! He’s still a child and while I certainly don’t expect him to be coddled and pampered, I do expect him to be treated with the respect his age and intelligence warrants.

Thought I would feel better after venting, but all I’ve managed to do is raise my blood pressure. Must meditate….

Fold the paper in half. Pinch the tip. Open it back up. Write your name next to the pinch mark. Write the date underneath your name. Write your class period under the date. Student number in top right corner. Index cards folded on the left corner by height; exactly half an inch wide. Run your nail along the fold to crease it good and tight. Open back up. Bullet point your vocabulary words along the crease. DO NOT SKIP A LINE!

She’s an old crotchety teacher and my son is fed up. Said she is too anal and he can’t take much more of her micro-managing! He also said half the time she makes no sense when she’s teaching the class. This is a child in advanced classes. Honor Roll student throughout his academic career, so I have no doubt that he knows what he’s talking about.

Pissed beyond belief that he brought home an A- due the fact that he did not perfectly align the date underneath his name, along the pinch, made by the fold, instructed by the teacher, who taught the class, that one day drove my baby mad!

He also voiced his concern over the fact that she yells; incessantly. Said he thinks she’s been teaching too long and she believes the only way to communicate and get the attention of the class is to stand up front and yell; even when all eyes are on her and she has their total attention.

What does one do in a case like this? Do you go to the school with your petty complaints? Fretting over whether or not it will get back to the teacher that you were the one who complained and then hope like hell she doesn’t take it out on your child? Do you make excuses and urge your child to overlook these issues that could potentially damage his class performance, in a subject that he once considered his favorite? He certainly isn’t going to say anything, he has too much respect for her to do that. Besides, that’s a parent’s job.

Though I don’t really believe he wants me to do anything; he’s simply making normal conversation, telling me about his day. But I see the frustration on his face and hear it in his voice. But still, I believe this is something he needs to deal with on his own. Or perhaps just grow accustomed to her ways and demands, and make certain he follows them to a T; lest he continue brining home A-’s.

We’ve all had crotchety teachers, coaches, co-workers and bosses; at least I have. And while I might have hated every minute of it, I sucked it up and did what I had to do. I believe it’s the little things like this that builds character and prepares a child for some of the not so niceties of the real world.

I could, however, do without the 8th graders dropping F-bombs and throwing around sexual innuendoes at every turn. But that’s another story for another time.

We’re not in elementary anymore, Toto!