Disrespectful teacher

[ROAD WARRIOR]

I have been there - done that in our local school with my two older daughters. I started with the politically corect meeting with the teacher. I was basically informed that I was obviously lacking in education myself and that the teacher was far better equipped to decide what was and what wasn't acceptable for my children. I went to the principle, I got the basically the same reaction with the inference that since this was NOT a sporting event, it couldn't possibly be worth taking my children out of school for. I went to the superintendant and got the politically corect answer that "they would look into it".  In other words get out of my office, don't expect me to do anything for the measely $120,000 that you pay me to do anything. I go back in a few days to the supperintendants office and am told that there is nothing they can do.....at this point the western justice part of me came to life with a vengence. While IN the supperintendants office I started dialing school board representatives numbers, two of which were up for re election that year and expressed to them "in terms that they could understand" the situation and the conversations I had had up to this point, all the while pointing out that they were up for re election and that I do pay a pretty hefty chunk into the school via property taxes. I also eluded to the idea of me writing a letter to the editor addressing this in the local paper. Before I was off the phone with the last one, the superintendants phone was ringing. I excussed my self and left. By the time I was out of town my phone rang and I was informed that the situation had been taken care of and that my kids would be excussed. After graduation both of the girls recieved judging scholarships to help further their education, and amazingly enough there was not a single sports scholarship offered to any kid in either of their classes. RW

 

[chambero]

Remember, usually you can believe only about 50% of what happens at school when listening to your child.

Make sure you have a calm discussion with the teacher b/c if you were not told the "whole" story by your child, you may come out with egg on your face.

My thoughts exactly.  I was probalby guilty of exagerating a few times about how mean someone was to me when I was a kid.  A couple of points:

It actually does a kid some good to learn to have to deal with the "horses ****" of  life.  They have to learn to to not get too upset about it.  That's just the way it is.  We wish teachers all played nice, but they don't.  Giving a teacher heck over it rarely does any good.  Do whatever you have to in order to keep peace and move along.

Kids pull all kinds of crap for excuses to miss school.  You might have one that just doesn't realize what they are really doing.

However, I was a witness/participant to a priceless incident involving this issue back when I was in the 7th grade.  Me and my best friend were getting out of school for the state fair.  We told our teachers way in advance, and was already catching grief from an old crusty hag of a history teacher - known forever as "Killer Miller".  She told us she didn't care what the rules were, she would "flunk" us if we missed class for it.  My buddies dad was on the school board and his mom was a world class **tch who just loved a good argument.  Being wife of school board member, she goes to the office to pick us up.  As quick she tells them to call us out of class on the intercom, she goes marching down the hall and makes it to the classroom door just as our names were called.  She had the pleasure of getting to hear the teacher first hand just giving us hell for ignoring her threats.  Needless to say, that was one of the greatest ambushes in school history and said crusty old hag history teacher was left in tears at the end of it.  And, life was pretty much hell for us with that teacher for the rest of that year.

 

[coachmac]

I teach Agriculture and show cattle when I get a chance.  I am also a basketball Coach and do as much as I have time for in other areas of our school district.  If you do not go through the chain of command (starting by requesting a meeting with the teacher and Principal) you should not be able to get anywhere by contacting a school board member.  That being said, there are districts that have SB members that entertain phone calls from the public without the teacher, principal or superintendent knowing the problem before it is thrown in their face at a High School Baseball game.  In doing this, you put their back against the wall looking for answers to questions that they have not had a chance to look into.  I would suggest giving the system a chance to work and at each link in the chain make sure you let them know your willingness to contact the next person in that chain.  It is not at all a bad idea for the initial meeting with the teacher to include the building Principal, in fact I would suggest that.  I would also let your Agriculture instructor know what has happened.  There are many times that I can take care of miscommunication in the teacher lounge.  If anything, the said teacher will understand that absences due to showing cattle are intracurricular and the said student in representing not only the FFA Chapter but the school district in general.  Much the same as an athlete, debater or business student taking part in their contests/games.  If your young showman/woman is in 4-H those absences are excused as well and I dont have the law/statute right off hand that says that.  I would start by requesting the meeting with the teacher and principal though.  That will get you closer to a resolution in the long run.  

 

[AAOK]

This is a very interesting post, and contains many distubing comments.  I really would have thought the "Agriculture Community" to be better informed, and not so ill tempered.

First, I am not a Teacher, but I have been a School Board member.  However, my wife has been in Public Education for 24 years, the last 19 as a Guidance Counselor.  She believes the primary problem with education today is "Entitlement"; that parents feel they are entitled to Do and Say whatever they want, whenever they want, and to whomever they want.  And, to make matters worse, these parents are raising their children with that same belief - "I don't have to come to class"," I don't have to do Homework", "I can too wear this, my Mom gave it to me", "You can't take my Cell Phone".  "You can't tell me what to do".  The list goes on and on.  If you disagree, you haven't been in the halls of a Jr. or Sr. High lately.  There is zero respect for authority, plus Alcohol, Drugs and Sex are rampant.  The students act exactly the way they do at home.  In an average class of 100, the top 10% are the kids without parent issues, and things fall apart rapidly from there.

As to protocol, most public schools are the same.  If a Student has an issue, the parent schedules an appointment after school with the Teacher.  If they cannot reach resolution, an appointment is scheduled with the Principal.  If still no resolve, an appointment with the Superintendent.  Rarely does this ever happen.  If a parent wishes an audience with the School Board, they must file to appear on the agenda of an upcoming Board Meeting.  This almost never happens, because the Board can stall for months by having a full agenda.  

Now, about the teachers.  #1, they are all under paid and over worked.  They have a job to teach a room full of kids with only a few who care anything about anything.  Teachers also get extremely frustrated by all the "Activities" which take students out of their classes.  When do you think the Teacher finds time to update each of these AWOL student?  After school, when they are NOT getting any extra pay!  I'm sure they take it personal when any activity interferes with their class.  Wouldn't you?    LLBUX is correct that the Ag Teacher is to blame in the case of this Science Teacher's displeasure.  The Student should NEVER have to notify a teacher about a school activity.  All of those absences should already be on the School Calendar.

Neither Parents nor Students are entitled to anything except a good education.  That's all most Teachers and Administrators are trying their best to do.  Most often, it's a thankless task.  Give 'em a break!

 

[chambero]

This is a very interesting post, and contains many distubing comments.  I really would have thought the "Agriculture Community" to be better informed, and not so ill tempered.

First, I am not a Teacher, but I have been a School Board member.  However, my wife has been in Public Education for 24 years, the last 19 as a Guidance Counselor.  She believes the primary problem with education today is "Entitlement"; that parents feel they are entitled to Do and Say whatever they want, whenever they want, and to whomever they want.  And, to make matters worse, these parents are raising their children with that same belief - "I don't have to come to class"," I don't have to do Homework", "I can too wear this, my Mom gave it to me", "You can't take my Cell Phone".  "You can't tell me what to do".  The list goes on and on.  If you disagree, you haven't been in the halls of a Jr. or Sr. High lately.  There is zero respect for authority, plus Alcohol, Drugs and Sex are rampant.  The students act exactly the way they do at home.  In an average class of 100, the top 10% are the kids without parent issues, and things fall apart rapidly from there.

As to protocol, most public schools are the same.  If a Student has an issue, the parent schedules an appointment after school with the Teacher.  If they cannot reach resolution, an appointment is scheduled with the Principal.  If still no resolve, an appointment with the Superintendent.  Rarely does this ever happen.  If a parent wishes an audience with the School Board, they must file to appear on the agenda of an upcoming Board Meeting.  This almost never happens, because the Board can stall for months by having a full agenda.  

Now, about the teachers.  #1, they are all under paid and over worked.  They have a job to teach a room full of kids with only a few who care anything about anything.  Teachers also get extremely frustrated by all the "Activities" which take students out of their classes.  When do you think the Teacher finds time to update each of these AWOL student?  After school, when they are NOT getting any extra pay!  I'm sure they take it personal when any activity interferes with their class.  Wouldn't you?    LLBUX is correct that the Ag Teacher is to blame in the case of this Science Teacher's displeasure.  The Student should NEVER have to notify a teacher about a school activity.  All of those absences should already be on the School Calendar.

Neither Parents nor Students are entitled to anything except a good education.  That's all most Teachers and Administrators are trying their best to do.  Most often, it's a thankless task.  Give 'em a break!

Both our county agents and Ag Teachers do all the arrangments for absences.  My wife follows up with every teacher by email to confirm they already know about them.

Our kids do get the brunt sometimes of having to deal with the renegades all the time.  I wouldn't want the job.

That being said, teachers aren't as underpaid as some think.  Most teachers in Texas make as much as entry level jobs in most other professional fields, often more.  I'm not sure if that is true in other states.  The difference is that older teachers do not make as much as careers in other fields though.  If you do factor in time off, teacher pay is at least not off the charts bad. 

 

[PaFFA Proud]

I have been there and done that especially my sr. year. One teacher got really mad at me and said AG was a waste of time and then I shook my head smiled at her and asked her if she liked that milk in her coffee that some farmer works hard everyday to ship it to her and to make sure everything is in check that it is safe for people like her just to pull  a carton out of the fridge and enjoy it with peace in mind. Then stunned she said it affects my grades and I pulled out my recent test which was a 101 ;D and was like yeahhhh well got to go do uneducated stuff while she reads the Scarlet Letter (lol) Most of my life lessons and things I need to know I learned from FFA and AG! Lol honor econ students had know idea where to start to file farm taxes ;D

 

[ROAD WARRIOR]

We are actually dealing with our little school and it's budget problems right now. I was shocked to learn that we are paying a kindergarten teacher in excess of $55,000. Entry level in our school is $26,000 and we are an extremely small school. a graduating class will have an average of 60 + or - students. To say that all teachers are underpaid is a blanket statement that is debatable at best. Teaching is the same as any other profession, the good ones are under paid and the bad ones are way over paid. The teachers union in our system is so strong that it is nearly impossible to get rid of a bad one once they are hired, this is another problem we are faced with. RW

 

[CPL]

We are actually dealing with our little school and it's budget problems right now. I was shocked to learn that we are paying a kindergarten teacher in excess of $55,000. Entry level in our school is $26,000 and we are an extremely small school. a graduating class will have an average of 60 + or - students. To say that all teachers are underpaid is a blanket statement that is debatable at best. Teaching is the same as any other profession, the good ones are under paid and the bad ones are way over paid. The teachers union in our system is so strong that it is nearly impossible to get rid of a bad one once they are hired, this is another problem we are faced with. RW

I have just about had it with Teacher Unions.

 

[BrechtCattleCo]

If I told one of my teachers I was going to a cattle show or FFA and I would be missing school and they told me I dont learn anything in the show cattle industry , lets just say I would be susspended for a few days..... I wouldnt take it to easy..... I dont know how old your daughter is but thats is pathetic of a teacher to do such a thing!  JMO

 

[texas111]

Linnettejane, I understand that you do not agree with my comments on this topic.  they are my comments.  When i read this post this morning it got me a little rattled as you can tell. I will be the first to admit that i can be a bit gruff sometimes and i was this morning.  the person posting this topic didnt ask your opinion on whos info was right or wrong.  they simply asked for comments on the situation.  If it were my child i would be extreamly upset with the teacher.  I understand that you did not agree with my post, but so what i didnt agree with yours.  it seems to me that you are trying to start drama.  I was obviously upset about what the teacher said to the student.  i dont care who you are you never should bash a students dreams.  i may have said some out of line things but who are you to judge me?  The person who posted this was obviously upset.  it made me upset.  im sorry that i was ready to defend the very thing that makes our country what it is.  I do not need your two cents worth of judgement.  if you disagree simply state what you would have done and let it be.  Yes i believe that the majority of teachers that teach science do not have any other skill or trade.  they couldnt make it in med school or anywhere else so they settled on being a teacher.  this just somehting that i believe.  it does not make it right or wrong its jmo.  you do not have to agree with me but i feel that you have called me out as to say im wrong for feeling the way i feel.  well, i think your wrong for trying to call me out for feeling a certain way. i admit that it might have been a harsh reaction, and that you can catch more flies with honey.  if you lay down to get run over then you will.  i can see that a person could try to take my words and manipulate them into somthing that they were not meant to be, like you.  or they can simply think that guy is passionate about agriculture and he wont let anyone stand in the way of it.  i defend my program to simple minded teachers ervery day and im sick of it.  where would we be without agriculture?  naked and hungry.  for some reason it is ok to miss school for athletics but not ag.  why?  the majority of students will never play ball for a living, does that make it a waste of a time?  for lack of better words i just simply did not care for your comment and wish you would keep your judgement to yourself.   

 

[jlingle]

Something similar happened to my buddies and I while we were in high school.  Our ag teacher handled it.  It was a new basketball coach who wanted to run a bunch of us for missing 15 minutes of practice, in order to go take care of some FFA duties.  No big deal, we got right back to work on our basketball skills...... but at the end of practice, he made us run extra.  Not that big of deal, but it was disrespectful towards our ag program and showed that he was miffed that we put FFA before basketball.  My buddies and I still talk about the "talk" that we witnessed between the ag teacher and the coach the next day in practice. 

I don't know how many basketball coaches have come & gone since then, but the ag teacher is probably going on 30+ years at the same school.  I'm not saying he's always Mr. Congeniality, but if you jack with his ag kids..... may God have mercy on your soul.  He knows who does their work, he knows who tries hard, and he has his kids' backs when the going gets tough. 

 

[linnettejane]

Linnettejane, I understand that you do not agree with my comments on this topic.  they are my comments.  When i read this post this morning it got me a little rattled as you can tell. I will be the first to admit that i can be a bit gruff sometimes and i was this morning.  the person posting this topic didnt ask your opinion on whos info was right or wrong.  they simply asked for comments on the situation.  If it were my child i would be extreamly upset with the teacher.  I understand that you did not agree with my post, but so what i didnt agree with yours.  it seems to me that you are trying to start drama.  I was obviously upset about what the teacher said to the student.  i dont care who you are you never should bash a students dreams.  i may have said some out of line things but who are you to judge me?  The person who posted this was obviously upset.  it made me upset.  im sorry that i was ready to defend the very thing that makes our country what it is.  I do not need your two cents worth of judgement.  if you disagree simply state what you would have done and let it be.  Yes i believe that the majority of teachers that teach science do not have any other skill or trade.  they couldnt make it in med school or anywhere else so they settled on being a teacher.  this just somehting that i believe.  it does not make it right or wrong its jmo.  you do not have to agree with me but i feel that you have called me out as to say im wrong for feeling the way i feel.  well, i think your wrong for trying to call me out for feeling a certain way. i admit that it might have been a harsh reaction, and that you can catch more flies with honey.  if you lay down to get run over then you will.  i can see that a person could try to take my words and manipulate them into somthing that they were not meant to be, like you.  or they can simply think that guy is passionate about agriculture and he wont let anyone stand in the way of it.  i defend my program to simple minded teachers ervery day and im sick of it.  where would we be without agriculture?  naked and hungry.  for some reason it is ok to miss school for athletics but not ag.  why?  the majority of students will never play ball for a living, does that make it a waste of a time?  for lack of better words i just simply did not care for your comment and wish you would keep your judgement to yourself.   

...my post is modified...
ill refrain from further comment, and not because im laying down to get run over........................

 

[ba]

Mom and wife are teachers so I am familiar with what goes on . Around here if it is not ball you are nothing as far as the school is concerned.
Had one 5th grade pile on home work most nights because kids now days will not feed the dog or take out the trash.She only lives half mile away and she should of been able to hear me when i got that news.I laid the law down to the principle after several communications,hand book says 1 /12
hour of home work and when said time is up  child is done as I am concerned.

Start  at the top because you know what runs down hill and when you get done you need to be on top.

Am I wrong that Ag has earth science , biology and chemistry?

One of my kids did not have a chemistry book for 8 of the 9 weeks starting school and the school tried to tell me that wouldn't affect grade at
all. Lets just say that by the time I got done but that asst. principle got that Oh ------- Look that was about to be let loose
{and his dad  is the sheriff} .My wife over heard and got the low down and they were going to shave some expense at on my child's  future.

Did the educational Field trip at the national machinery show. He was doing a report on tobacco and we picked up all pamphlets we could


Tried to steer them away from Ag a little but one wants to be like Cowboy and the other like DL. who would have ever thought!

 

[dfm]

I have watched the topics on Steer Planet for quite some time but never felt compelled to offer an opinion until this topic.  I was an Ag Ed teacher for over 18 years then moved to the Superintendents position.  I have an opinion on how you can approach your situation to the benefit of your child, the science instructor, the Ag Teacher and the POOR OL OVERWORKED SUPT.!  Call the school and request a conf. with the teacher and do not go into the meeting mad or upset.  While this may be difficult, the goal is the education of your daughter and you are trying to (a) explain how Ag is an integral part of your children's education, and (b) the teacher shall never chastise your child in the presence of other students.  Do this in a clear, calm manner. and you do not feel satisfied say "thank you" and head to the principals office.  Tell the principal you want a conference with the instructor/ principal and repeat the process.  After that, come see me if you need to. When you come to my office have written down on a piece of paper " I (name) request to address the board of education concerning the derogatory comments made by (instructor) on (date).  If you give me this piece of paper I really do not want to have this go any further however, I bet you will not even have to come see me anyway.  Remember, this is not a fight so stay cool , calm and professional in your dealings and you will get much more accomplished.

 

[AAOK]

You hit the nail on the head when you said he was uneducated.  I am an Ag teacher and i understand how other teachers can be.  They do not have a problem reaping the benefits of our labor.  You should tell the teacher that this teaches the students leadership qualities, responsibility, genetics, and gives them an understanding of economics.  This teacher seems to be a huge a$$.  If i were you i would go directly to the school board and make a complaint at the next meeting.  Ask the teacher where we would be without agriculture.  Ask him how many things he can produce and eat in his science lab.  ask him if he can produce textiles to cloth our nation and others.  Ask him if he can come up with a concoction that instantly makes bedding furniture.  The simple fact of the matter is he cant.  He is a simple minded idiot that needs to learn his place in life.  He is a science teacher because he couldn't do anything else.  Hope it all works out for ya.  Good luck and give um hell!!!

Wow!  This post and your second both make me wonder why you are an Ag Teacher.  Did you settle, or is it because you couldn't do anything else?  No, I'm not being serious, rather just in hopes you will look closely at your statements.  As a teacher, you should know a parent cannot go register a complaint to the School Board.  Have you never gone off on a rant? I know I have, and I'm about as resilient as they come.  Covey's Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, then to be understood.

 

[AAOK]

I have watched the topics on Steer Planet for quite some time but never felt compelled to offer an opinion until this topic.  I was an Ag Ed teacher for over 18 years then moved to the Superintendents position.  I have an opinion on how you can approach your situation to the benefit of your child, the science instructor, the Ag Teacher and the POOR OL OVERWORKED SUPT.!  Call the school and request a conf. with the teacher and do not go into the meeting mad or upset.  While this may be difficult, the goal is the education of your daughter and you are trying to (a) explain how Ag is an integral part of your children's education, and (b) the teacher shall never chastise your child in the presence of other students.  Do this in a clear, calm manner. and you do not feel satisfied say "thank you" and head to the principals office.  Tell the principal you want a conference with the instructor/ principal and repeat the process.  After that, come see me if you need to. When you come to my office have written down on a piece of paper " I (name) request to address the board of education concerning the derogatory comments made by (instructor) on (date).  If you give me this piece of paper I really do not want to have this go any further however, I bet you will not even have to come see me anyway.  Remember, this is not a fight so stay cool , calm and professional in your dealings and you will get much more accomplished.

Sounds familiar.Good job.

 

[MCC]

Is it wonderful being a parent? I have put up with issues like this as a student and as a parent. We live in a small Ag area that you think would understand 4H and FFA. We use to have to sign my boy's up for school after we got back from state fair because we would be gone for the first week of school and if we didn't they wouldn't have any excused absences left. Funny thing is when I was in school the FFA kids were looked down on but when the school needed a student to do any speaking in public who did they come to? You guessed it the Ag students because we were able to speak in public, get our point across, and not embarass the school or our teachers. I have to many stories to ramble on here, but I would talk to the Ag teacher first it should of been his responsibility to inform the school about the kids being gone. If that don't work I would talk to the principle that usually works but if it don't then I would go see the superintendent. Above all DON"T go in to confront that teacher to show them another use for a show stick!  (argue)

 

[afhm]

Most of the time its the spanish teachers that have problems with the ag kids and their extracurricular activities.

 

[squirt71]

Before my family moved to a more rural community, I went to a school where I was the only kid who had livestock. I went to the State Fair, Ak-Sar-Ben, and Denver every year since 4th grade to show. I was met with resistance in Junior High and my Freshman year of High School (moved after freshman year) with several teachers asking why I was being pulled from school to go to a 'stupid fair' (and other comments such as 'no one else gets to leave for that') when I should be in school learning. The first time I heard that, I went home and talked to my parents, and they advised me to do the following:  The next day after the teacher(s) said something about me being gone, I went in to their rooms in the morning before school. I asked them if I could speak with them at a time convenient for them. At the scheduled time, I went in with a friend (or another teacher) and told the teacher that the other person was there to just observe the conversation. I then told the teacher about why I show cattle and the values I learn doing it (I went over this with my parents the night before). After calmly explaining this to the teacher, I never had problems with them again. I had to do this with a few teachers, and only had to have my parents intervene once.  The first time talking to a teacher was nerve racking, but I think talking with them one on one gained some respect from them for what I enjoyed doing and they found out that showing cattle really did teach kids things that couldn't be learned in school.

 

[pjkjr4]

First of all having been married to a teacher that also is the sponsor of extra-curricular activities, it seems as if the FFA advisor dropped the ball on this. When he turned in his request for the trip, at that time he should have communicated with EVERY teacher in the school as to whom was going to be gone, and the days that the students would be out. That's where my problem lies. An apology to the student as well as the other teachers involved is warranted.

I'm a real big fan of the chain of command. If a student/ parent has a problem with a teacher, they start by talking to that teacher. If nothing comes of that confernce, go to the principal, then superintendent, board members. If nothing gets done there, get it put on the next BOE meeting's agenda. In my opinion, that is the best (and only) way to handle an issue.

Just my 2 cents