Have you ever had one of those days as a parent when you just want to take your kids and run? Have you had one of those days, weeks, or months, when it seems like everyone around you has lost all common sense and sense of logic?
Below are 12 things commonly seen and done in schools that drive parents insane:
- When your child gets the correct answer to a problem, but the teacher marks it wrong because it wasn’t done using the method they wanted
We’re all for being exposed to multiple ways of getting the right answer, but shouldn’t you have the freedom to pick the one that’s easiest for you? After all, in the real world, nobody cares what method you used to get to the solution. They just care that you figured it out!
2. When you voice concerns that your child is behind other kids his age and the teacher tells you that “He’s still young. Just give him some time.”
All the research points to the effectiveness of early intervention. The younger kids are, the quicker they can catch up. The longer they wait, the worse it is. It also destroys self-esteem as they get older. In addition, those with learning disabilities are still going to have those disabilities later so it doesn’t make any sense to ignore them now!
3. When the teacher assigns homework over break
Breaks were intended so everyone could get a BREAK! With the exception of summer break, where students should be left with a short review of what they learned during the year, there is no reason why homework or projects should be assigned. Kids need time to decompress just as much as adults do. Not to mention that most parents are forced to plan their vacations around school breaks. Nobody wants to shell out money for a vacation to have to make their kids do their homework in paradise.
4. When teachers pretend they know the answer and they don’t
Let’s be honest. Nobody knows everything. In a field like education, things are constantly changing. One person can’t know everything about everything. Parents and students alike would rather hear that the teacher doesn’t know the answer but will find out for you in a timely manner, rather than be blatantly lied to. Ego causes so many unnecessary problems!
5. When teachers assign work and don’t give clear expectations
Has your kid ever come home with that paper or project that they spent hours doing and trying to perfect only to get a bad grade on it? Parents are furious when this happens especially when the kids aren’t given a rubric or clear expectations in the first place. Even if it was “explained in class,” how are parents supposed to make sure the kids are on the right track if they don’t have something to reference?
6. When teachers call on the kid who didn’t raise their hand
Usually when students aren’t raising their hand, it’s not because they’re being lazy. It’s because they don’t understand what is going on and they’re embarrassed that someone will find out. It could also be because they are thinking about more important problems going on in their lives.
7. When teachers consistently ignore the IEP
After hours spent in meetings with the schools and a ton of money spent on outside testing and service providers, it’s heartbreaking to find out that the IEP isn’t being enforced. This is the number one cause of lawsuits against schools.
8. When the teacher tells you that your child is lazy or has a bad attitude
Students are in school the majority of the day. A HUGE part of a teacher’s job is classroom management. If the teacher finds that a child is not engaged or is resistant, it is literally their job to find a way to teach in a way that the child wants to learn.
9. When a teacher says practice makes perfect
If a student is struggling with a concept, more practice isn’t going to change anything. They need to have the concept retaught in a way that they understand.
10. When students are instructed to guess a word by looking at the picture
Growing readers should not be focusing on the pictures. They need to be working with the text! Guessing what the word is by looking at the pictures is NOT an effective decoding strategy. This isn’t something we do as adults so why are we asking kids to do it?
11. When parents ask how they can help their child move up reading levels and help them become better readers and the teacher says to read more
Reading more literally does nothing for a student who is behind. The teacher needs to find out where the student’s issues are in decoding, fluency, and comprehension. Once they pinpoint those, they need to come up with a plan to explicitly teach and practice those skills. That is how reading is improved!
What things do school personnel do and say that drive you crazy?
If you like this post, please share it!
