Parents do have a instinct when it comes to their children. The principal spoke to the teacher. She did not understand why my child was overwhelmed. She said that my daughter was doing wonderful in the class.She is not having any problems.Then the big question….Why such a poor report card?
She gave that report card to 95 percent of the class.She feels that it was a excellant report card.Her standards are very high. My concern is children shutting down. My daughter will be seen by the school psychologist and evaluated by a team of teachers.The team will look at ways to make her feel comfortable in the room. The teacher is trying very hard to correct this situation..Basically sucking up to my child. I will be called in within the next two weeks. I have to say that so far, the school has worked with me. They do not want to see my child develop anxiety or academics problems.I asked if she thought my child had LD.The report card looked like a child with severe LD.She said no..I taught inclusion and your daughter is average. Again..I asked then why the poor report card? I gave a report card of a average student.
The twin sister in another room had a very positive report card and a wonderful verbal report.The teacher that gave the poor report card..gave me the same verbal report on thursday.I know that it does not make sense to get a poor report card but wonderful verbal report. My daughter does like the class and teacher. I have talked to other parents. I always hear..the children like her but the parents do not. I found her set in her ways and very hard exterior. She is not the lovable teacher type. She is not a warm teacher.On friday..she was warm to my daughter.
Re: met the teacher
Well, in 2nd grade we had the flipside of your teacher -the happy talk teacher. Great verbal reports, good report cards but no progress in reading and no alternative methods of teaching, just pass’em on.
Warning- there is also a silent but prevalent school of thought in education that gives a tough grade 1st report with a gradual easing off. Rising grades indicate more learning, more effort and, to these people, indicate good teaching. This is sometimes disguised as ‘giving the kids something to work toward’.
I agree with Beth-we downplay grades. I look primarily at effort grades, especially in the elementary years. Primary grades will always be very subjective whereas higher grades will have formulas such as 25% homework, 50% tests,etc Then it is very easy to see where grades come from and where problems lie.
Comparing teachers, methods, grades and kids is a problem for all parents. I do not have twins, which must make it a special challenge.
Before you really engage this teacher ask yourself if your child is making academic progress-Do you see your child tackling more difficult concepts, more difficult literature?, is your child psychologically comfortable in this class or does your child resist going to school or express frustration?
If things in the classroom are satisfactory then that’s what counts. Forcing the teacher to lower her standards is the cause of grade inflation. But you might want to engage the principal in a discussion of assessment methods. In my experience, assessment methods drives the whole shebang. If assessment methods is a big-stakes test, then the teacher will teach to the test. I personally like a detailed rubric given out in the planning stages of a project. I like study guides for tests. Many elementary personnel like the continuum. But you want to see a VARIETY of assessment methods (a variety of teaching??) A strong principal will have lead his grade level teams in discussions of detailed expectations so that everyone is clear about what constitutes a satisfactory grade or a high average grade etc. This is particularly important with subjective grading.
Cheers
Re: met the teacher
I think it speaks highly of the teacher that she is trying to rectify the situation. You must have handled it well for her not to have taken the situation personally.
Let your daughter’s feelings guide you as much as possible, also watch to make sure she is progressing and learning.
I moved my son because he was not progressing and not happy. Sounds like you have the situation well in hand.
Re: met the teacher
It’s a piece of paper. THe classroom — that’s what your daughter has to deal with every day. Just, exactly, how horrible was this report card? It would have to be pretty awful for it to honestly rule out a wonderful verbal report making sense. However, you may ask her to put some of her positive thoughts in writing, too, so you can show your daughter if she gets discouraged (and *if* decisions were to be made based on this report card, which they probably won’t be, especially if the teacher is telling hte truth and is a tough grader all around).
Some of the best educators aren’t the warm fuzzy types. It sounds like this teacher does understand that there is a *whole* lot more to learning than grades.
Well, I would downplay report cards to start with—and emphasize to your twins that the teachers grade differently and both are doing well. And my daughter had a teacher she loved, as did all the kids, but none of the parents. I found her very prickly and lacking in social grace. But she pushed my child out of her shell because she just didn’t tolerate her unwillingness to speak up in class.
Beth