My 13 year old son has an LD in written expression, is dyslexic, and has had a variety of other health problems this year. Consequently, he’s missed several days of school, in particular most of the last week. Most of his teachers have given him ample time to make up his work (he’s in regular ed, and typically getting B’s). However, his language arts teacher has been extremely hard nosed. On Monday, she apparently handed out a worksheet on verbs, and told the kids they had a test on Wednesday. He was at school for half the day on Tuesday, and she gave him the worksheet, and told him he had to take the test the next day. He went home early that day (he’s got bronchitus), and on Wednesday (where he still only went half a day), she still made him take the test, even though he told her he was sick, and hadn’t been able to study because of that. He failed the test and is completely demoralized (for about the 100th time this year). What should I do? Is it worth talking to her about it, or do we just forget it and move on? My other complaint with her is she does nothing to help his LD. He just gets back papers with a percentage written on the top (typically between 50 and 70%) , and absolutely no comments on how he could have done better. I’d also like to talk to her about that, but am unsure whether it will help or hurt him.
I’d like advice from the teachers in this group. Are my complaints unreasonable? Will it just make her be meaner to my son if I talk to her?
Thanks.
Re: need advice about a teacher
Your complaints would be reasonable but whether they would be well-received is another matter. Does the teacher have a reputation for being this way? Or is this unusual given what you’ve heard about her?
Her demands are an increasingly common one in education. Absences from schooldue to illness used to be taken into account but my own school sadly and inappropriately, I think, expects all work to be handed in the day a student returns. It also expects students to be able to take a test or to accept the consequences of their absence in a poor grade if they are not.
Does your son have an advisor? Is there a guidance counselor you could call and ask for guidance? I would certainly at the same time ask about accomodations for his LD. Does he have an IEP in place?
I certainly wouldn’t hesitate to talk to this Language Arts teacher or any other about improving writing and trying to find out what he needs to do differently in his writing. If you call her start with that question and then if you want, move on to the harder one of asking for a retest for the test on verbs.
Good luck.
I am not a teacher, but just pulled my daughter out of school because of a hard nosed teacher, who has a masters in Special Education! I absolutely know she thought she was doing the right thing by forcing my daughter to conform with the rest of the kids, but she was so off the mark. She once took a math paper out of my daughter’s hands and said ” this is not a TEN minute math exercise, it’s a FIVE minute exercise” (which was the title of the paper so it was clearly sarcastic. My daughter’s bookbag was filled with scattered loose leaf papers for science and math, an organizational nightmare for an ADD kid. When she was tested for LD she missed school days and fell farther behind in school.
The last straw was when that teacher gave my daughter, and more than likely the other “stragglers” in her class, detention because they forgot to get their science project sheets signed by the parents. Giving an ADD kid detention for forgetting is unforgivable.
You need to bring this issue up with that teacher and possibly go over her head. And remember, there are probably other parents irritated by her behavior toward their children and when you realize you are not alone, you’ll get really mad!