171
votes
The teacher erased 3 pages of my 5 year old's completed homework
I am a retired teacher and I am shocked that this teacher felt that was appropriate.
I'd start by talking to the teacher -- but you hang on to the papers. IMO, and probably the vast majority of ...
- 17.4k
161
votes
Accepted
The teacher erased 3 pages of my 5 year old's completed homework
This teacher is carefully producing a future math-hater. I've worked with enough high school students to know.
I've also worked with enough people in personal counseling to know that whether you ...
- 1,904
80
votes
Accepted
What can I tell and what can I ask of a 2nd grade teacher, about my child's health?
Ask yourself:
If you were the teacher, would you rather be warned or find yourself suddenly facing a 2nd grader with a full-blown asthma attack?
I don't think your request is unreasonable. And you ...
- 18.3k
60
votes
The teacher erased 3 pages of my 5 year old's completed homework
I agree with the other answers. This was not an appropriate way to correct the child's homework. From just this example, I would guess that the teacher was more interested in obedience than initiative,...
- 72.2k
43
votes
The teacher erased 3 pages of my 5 year old's completed homework
When your child is at school the teacher is in loco parentis (literally "in the place of parents"): meaning that they should treat each and every child as if they were the parent, nurturing ...
- 579
39
votes
The teacher erased 3 pages of my 5 year old's completed homework
I'd like to add a different perspective:
I assume that the red writing was done by the teacher. This would make the entire page a form that your child was supposed to fill in in a very specific ...
- 515
36
votes
The teacher erased 3 pages of my 5 year old's completed homework
I think a large concern here that has not been brought up is the destruction of evidence of progress. Even if your child should do it again, and even if they do do better, they will have no way of ...
- 657
36
votes
How do you as teacher deal with children who like to hug you?
I liked @Willow Rex's answer quite a bit, and I think it can solve your problem. However, there's another aspect to your question that I think can be addressed if you so desire. Since you already told ...
- 72.2k
31
votes
Accepted
Teacher asking my 5 year old daughter to take a boy student to toilet
The best way I've found to approach teachers about things they do in the classroom (which they presumably think are okay) and you disagree with, is to approach them from the point of view that they're ...
- 63.5k
27
votes
What can I tell and what can I ask of a 2nd grade teacher, about my child's health?
Pretty much what you said here. "Please keep an extra close eye on Johnny right now. He has asthma which is usually well controlled, but a cold or flu seems to exacerbate his symptoms. If you notice ...
- 1,612
18
votes
Teacher asking my 5 year old daughter to take a boy student to toilet
I think this is inappropriate for whatever reasons
In my opinion, you need to be clear why you think it is inappropriate. I can think of three possible reasons, (1) they are of a different gender, (2)...
- 1,402
17
votes
The teacher erased 3 pages of my 5 year old's completed homework
I would agree with you that this is not the right way of checking homework of a 5 year old. It can be very discouraging to the child. I do not think the teacher should erase the homework even if the ...
- 646
14
votes
The teacher erased 3 pages of my 5 year old's completed homework
If this is pre-school, his teacher may not be an actual teacher that completed an elementary education, or early learning course. Many pre-school teachers that work in day care centers are very well ...
- 241
12
votes
How do you as teacher deal with children who like to hug you?
Your body is yours. Unless you expressly consent to a hug on each and every occasion it's de jure harrassment. However, you've not given express consent each time, so what now? If you want a legal ...
- 474
10
votes
How do you as teacher deal with children who like to hug you?
I am a retired special ed teacher and hugs do seem to come with the job, don't they?! Not only can it be awkward due to the size of the child and where they might touch, but often times hugs came with ...
- 17.4k
10
votes
The teacher erased 3 pages of my 5 year old's completed homework
Your kid has a better handwriting than I and many fellow software engineers I know.
Furthermore, the instructions are unnecessarily terse and hard to decipher.
Not to mention the abysmal handwriting ...
- 209
10
votes
What can I tell and what can I ask of a 2nd grade teacher, about my child's health?
What is okay to ask of from my child's teacher regarding his physical health?
It's often not OK to ask the school to give medicine or other medical care (or it may be OK but only if you give them the ...
- 1,000
9
votes
The teacher erased 3 pages of my 5 year old's completed homework
While I don't think that the erasing by the teacher is the best policy, I feel that you are overreacting. It would be enough to explain your kid that sometimes disagreements happen, and that although ...
- 987
9
votes
How do you as teacher deal with children who like to hug you?
I'd like to address this:
The boss of the project then told me that I should under no circumstances talk about it with the mother. She said the girls probably come from a family where hugs are ...
- 291
7
votes
My daughter tells me her teacher slapped her. How should I proceed?
First off, when it involves your children being physically assaulted, always believe them. Children (especially so young) don't tend to have a strong concept of consequences. Because of this, it is ...
- 2,532
6
votes
Accepted
What to do when the school principal breaks our confidence?
I am a retired teacher, so you should know that before you read my answer.
I think a parent should always go to the teacher first with a concern. If you think it is truly serious -- then ask for a ...
- 17.4k
6
votes
What can a parent do when his child has an incompetent teacher?
Teach your kid on how to deal with incompetent superiors. In a manner which is acceptable to the other side, of course.
Unfortunately, this is not really easy to learn for young people - especially ...
- 161
5
votes
How do you as teacher deal with children who like to hug you?
Beware of cutting down the affection of youth.
Bart Doe's suggestion is simple and likely workable: transition them into shaking hands instead. You could also do high fives, or fist bumps.
I ...
- 1,904
5
votes
How do you as teacher deal with children who like to hug you?
I agree that it's better with a 10-year-old to speak directly, and in advance. What about adding the word "yet" to soften any potential embarrassment for the child? Something like, "Actually, I haven'...
- 51
5
votes
Is school punishment for mediocre test results reasonable?
You're not over-reacting, at your daughter's age all you want to be doing is encouraging a love for learning. I was getting those kind of results in high school and neither my parents nor my teachers ...
- 2,796
5
votes
Is school punishment for mediocre test results reasonable?
Yesterday I got an email from our daughter's new teacher saying that some of the children performed poorly on a geography quiz and it was "not reflective of their true potential." As punishment she ...
- 8,755
5
votes
Accepted
Is this normal behavior for a kindergarten teacher?
I have never encountered this, and find it to be inappropriate unless there is a lot of detail you are leaving out. This statement just strains relations, and warrants a frank but respectful ...
- 1,151
5
votes
How to stop my child's teacher from disciplining my child without my consent?
It can be so painful to see your child suffer at the hands of school staff.
Are you in the U.S.? There is a list of regional parent centers which have training programs that help parents advocate for ...
- 5,067
5
votes
Accepted
Teacher appoints child to register who isn't silent when he is gone for 10 minutes (4th grade, 9 years old)
"Is it ok...?" depends on opinion and interpretation (it's certainly not illegal), but if you ask, "What are the downsides of...", that's easier to answer. I'll address that if ...
- 72.2k
4
votes
How do you as teacher deal with children who like to hug you?
Why not replace it with a handshake?
Tell them that you like shaking their hand much more, and make it into a ritual when they arrive and leave. Be sure to time it before they usually start hugging.
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