wanderingbadger44 said:When you ask a fifth grader to write a sentence on the chalkboard, you aren't testing their knowledge.
I realize it’s apparently a massive stretch for some people here to accept the idea that by fifth grade, children are expected to have mastered reading and writing—usually well before they even step foot in an elementary school classroom—and that those basic skills aren't subject to grading. It's just a given.
I think I've already explained this once before.
I couldn't agree more. If only we had the luxury of skipping over those parents who insist, "Oh, grades don't matter to us!"
Usually, when someone says that, you have to read it as "...as long as it's an A."
Experienced, wise teachers definitely pick up on that subtext immediately. 😉
For any reasonable parent, grades matter. And for the child, they matter too.
And if the kid doesn't write that sentence correctly, then obviously it's assumed they're either dim or just acting dumb. And you really need to let the kid know that. ☕
Quinn:
I agree. If only we could just pick and choose which parents to skip—you know, the ones who say, "Grades don't matter to me!"
Usually, you have to read that as "...as long as it's an A."
Wise, veteran teachers definitely know that. 😉
For a normal parent, grades matter. And they matter to the kid, too.
For a teacher, you either have reading comprehension issues or you're pretending you do just to get your own way. 🥳
No, I don't care about my kid's PE grade, and honestly, I don't care if you believe me or what you think about it. As for the other grades, I didn't say they weren't important; I said I want them to be based on actual knowledge. Because one day, my kid is going to move on from that teacher. And we all know what happens when kids are handed easy grades. I don't want that for my child.
Look, being an educator involves cooperation and communication—whatever you want to call it—not just with students, but with parents too. You can't have one without the other. Teachers who don't realize that, or don't want to, or expect parents to just be a bunch of yes-men who cheer or clap at every single thing a teacher does... well, they clearly haven't thought about whether they actually want to deal with that kind of life.
melloworca6 said:Jason Ortiz5, why on earth do you think she didn't earn that A? Back in my day at public school, PE grades were based on effort. If someone couldn't sprint a mile in under a certain time, but they actually showed up and gave it their all three or four times, they still walked away with an A. I wasn't exactly an athlete growing up—honestly, I’m still not much of an athlete 😁—but I always pulled straight As in PE regardless of which teacher I had. It wasn't a handout; I just worked as hard as I possibly could, and teachers recognized that grit and rewarded it. 🤷
Math is something you can practice and eventually master. If someone isn't born with the talent to sing, run fast, or paint like a pro, no amount of drilling is going to change that. But any average, intelligent kid can learn math. Some will pick it up instantly without trying, while others will grind for hours, but they'll get there.
You really can't compare math to PE, music, or art.
It’s honestly just because her teacher spent the whole year drilling it into my head that she wasn't exactly crushing it. There was zero mention of how hard she was actually trying. It was always stuff like, "The candle isn't at the right angle," or "Her form is slightly off," or "This part isn't quite right," or "She got a C on this and a B on that..." And honestly, I have no clue what the actual grading criteria are for PE (I'm basically all thumbs myself and nobody ever gave me a trophy—getting a C felt like winning the lottery 😁). So, after a full year of hearing "she's struggling," I definitely wasn't expecting an A. :cofused:
Kate Cox2 said:Honestly, I am completely lost as to what you are getting at, I swear! 🤷 Do you truly harbor such a low opinion of educators that you believe every single one of them is just sitting there waiting for a child to make one tiny mistake so they can start retaliating against them?? 😕 You simply walk up to the woman, say good morning, and mention, "Excuse me, I think there might be a clerical error on the report card; my daughter isn't signed up for that after-school program. Also, while I have you, I was a bit surprised by this 'A' in PE, as we were expecting a 'C' or a 'B'... How did that happen?" Then you listen to her explanation... Perhaps everyone else in the class got an 'A' in PE, and since your daughter has straight 'As' otherwise, the teacher just defaulted to giving her top marks everywhere. Perhaps she has her own reasoning... It doesn't really matter... Seriously, I genuinely cannot fathom why you didn't just ask her. At the end of the day, a report card is an official legal document, and every single piece of data entered into it must be perfectly accurate, down to the last decimal point... Good grief, instead of being bewildered and seeking counsel from a bunch of strangers on a web forum, you should just sit down with the teacher and find out what occurred. After all, you've been perfectly honest with her up until now, so why change that pattern now? 🤷
It’s not that I have anything against teachers in general. I respect people based on how they act, just like anyone else. And let's be real, there are definitely people out there who love to hold a grudge, whether they admit it or not.
Are you telling me there's a chance two different mistakes happened on a single report card covering maybe 5 or 6 subjects? That seems pretty hard to swallow. But hey, I'm still waiting for some pedagogical reason why an unearned grade would be handed out... Because that's basically what you're doing by justifying it. If parents and kids start thinking, "Oh, she just hands out easy grades, I want that too," then things could get messy fast.
By the way, I happen to know that not everyone gets an A in PE (that would be super weird). As for being honest, I can only speak for myself. And like I said, since things can easily blow up on a kid, I'd much rather just keep a low profile.
crimsongull20 said:If you get a choice next time, just skip the ones who spend all their time bragging about themselves.
She wasn't actually bragging about herself, though. We actually heard it from the other parents first, and it wasn't even a compliment. 🙂 Knowing how those families operate, we just figured they’d be right up our alley.
Not extreme at all—I didn't even bring it up. I’m really not one to go looking for trouble unless there’s a serious reason to. We haven't even officially withdrawn her from the school registry yet, and the little one tells me she hasn't even heard anything about that specific activity. As for the idea that she was given a passing PE grade just because she's scared of how my parents or I might react? That doesn't fly with me. I told the teacher point-blank that grades only matter to me if they’re actually backed by performance. Honestly, I even told her directly that I don't care about the PE grade as long as it's a pass. In my book, PE should be a bigger part of the curriculum, but I don't see the point in grading it, and I'm certainly not going to stress out over it.
On top of all that, our teacher definitely doesn't come across as some poor, terrified woman. If anything, she loves bragging about how tough, ruthless, and demanding she is... that’s just her whole vibe. That’s actually why we wanted her in our daughter's class in the first place! But then, out of nowhere... 🤷
By the way, isn't giving a bad grade actually a fair response to just not knowing the material? I mean, setting aside the dyslexia issue for a second, is this teacher experiencing student ignorance for the very first time? Probably not. Yet, every single time a kid doesn't know an answer, she asks if they're just being dim or if they're playing dumb.
Maybe teaching just isn't her calling after all. She should probably just pivot careers and become another Jason Betts. :coffee
I’m going to go on a bit of a rant here, but honestly, this feels like it’s all tied back to how teachers view their students...
Back during the first parent-teacher meeting in first grade, I made my stance crystal clear to the teacher: I don't care about the grades; I care about actual learning. My reason? Well, she started nitpicking during PE; like, "she’s trying hard, but some moves aren't quite there," or "her form could be better," or "that candle pose needs work..." I told her straight up that as long as my daughter is putting in the effort, the PE grade is secondary to me, provided it stays at a C or better. We talked about other subjects too, and I reiterated that I want my kid to actually absorb the material—I’m not looking for any coddling or empty praise. We had similar chats during subsequent meetings.
Throughout the year, she mostly pulled A's. There were a few B's here and there, but overall, the grades were totally fine. For PE, we were expecting a C or maybe a B if we were being generous, and nobody was sweating it. But when the report card finally came home, I was floored. My girl had straight A's (which, let's be honest, she would have earned anyway, minus the PE thing), but there was also an elective listed that she hasn't even heard of, let alone attended. 😲 So, there I was, having to explain to my little one that I have no clue why that showed up, that it wasn't right, and that she shouldn't have been signed up for something without being asked. I don't even dare say anything to the teacher because my daughter still has three years of elementary school left to get through. And believe me, I have plenty to say. ☕
So, I’m asking any educators out there to please explain the motivation and the logic behind this teacher's actions. Aside from the fact that nobody asked for this, I think it could actually be harmful. At best, it just makes zero sense to me. 🤷
No one ever asked the teacher to inflate any grades. I truly thought the teacher and I were on the same page regarding the balance of knowledge, effort, and grading. Our talks were always pleasant; we’d even share a laugh. I genuinely felt our communication was constructive and that we were working well together. Instead, I ended up having to sit my child down and explain that her teacher made a mistake. 😵
hiddenseal14 said:Seriously, can you imagine how nightmareish it must be to work in a place where teachers are actually treated with respect?
What a bunch of backward primitives. Absolutely disgusting.
If you're talking about parents asking why they didn't just give their kid a smack when they misbehaved, then I think you might be mixing up "respect" with being totally old-school and backward.🥳
shadowrider28 said:I find myself in complete agreement😉 because, quite frankly, the School Board shouldn't be handing out "mercy" when it comes to disciplinary actions or other academic interventions. If parents decide to complain or start pleading their case, let them; it is a consequence of such inconsistency. 🥳
This might surprise you, but I am 100% with you on this one. 😉
I say let everyone try out whatever plan they’ve cooked up. As long as the punishment actually fits the crime, rather than just being a power trip or someone acting out of spite. 😁
amberskipper3 said:I’m sitting here reading this and honestly, I’m just baffled by how quick everyone is to pull the trigger when it comes to firing someone. It’s wild how those same parents can turn around and have completely different standards when they're looking at their own kids in high school, for example. There’s just no such thing as consistency around here.
You think we're being too aggressive, but from where I'm standing, we just don't believe in double standards or giving people special treatment. 🤷
I'm not really sure what you mean about those different criteria for high schoolers.
Sorry, I don't have the multiquote feature on my old Reddit app...
Kajpernija, look, most people are working jobs where you could get fired just for not keeping your mouth shut while sitting in the boss's office, let alone calling a client an idiot. People are out there hunting for new gigs, but they're still grateful to have their current paycheck. Honestly, no employer who actually gives a damn about their reputation or brand identity is going to tolerate an employee with such zero professionalism that they’d dare insult a customer. And then the boss ends up having to apologize for their own staff? Man, that's just the reality of the world right now.
You’re talking about how students are aggressive or how they don't respect their teachers and all that. But do you honestly think we can teach them manners, courtesy, or basic decency when the society around them thinks it's totally fine—or even funny—to treat these kids without any respect at all?
Kids learn from the adults, and then they grow up to be those same adults...
And yeah... there are mistakes, and then there are *mistakes*. If someone accidentally entered the wrong grade and then fixed it, sure, I'd be right there with you. But calling another human being stupid? Whether it's a kid or not, there's no "it was just a human error" excuse for that.
shadowrider28 said:The moment I caught sight of this thread's title, I knew exactly which direction this conversation was headed 🙄
It seems absolutely nobody cares about how the child actually felt; instead, everyone is just waiting for a chance to launch a crusade against the teachers. Is it really any wonder? This is just the way things are in America ☕
If the kid had actually loved the professor's little meltdown, they probably wouldn't have complained to their parents in the first place. 🤷
I mean, honestly, who cares about a child's feelings? If we did, we'd have to deal with that whole "kids need discipline" crowd. And apparently, according to some folks here, showing empathy is just totally unacceptable. Period.
Since Susan James mentioned she actually likes me as a fellow member, I’ve gotta ask—why is she even on this thread titled "The teacher told my son he's stupid"? Adding that little extra bit at the end, "-teacher's attitude toward kids," pretty much killed any chance we had of talking about corporal punishment by educators. It basically forced the whole conversation to stay strictly in the modern era.
I get where she might be headed with the whole "old school discipline was better" vibe, but that really comes down to an individual's personal taste. If people want to act out, let them get warned or have their rude posts deleted; don't try to shield the entire topic from scrutiny. I know that in the US, hitting kids in school is illegal, but that’s just what’s on paper. In the real world, a huge number of people—including some actual teachers—still think physical punishment is a perfectly fine way to raise a kid. Honestly, it feels like we're just playing pretend; if we refuse to talk about it or look the other way, we can act like it isn't happening.
And let's be real: physical punishment definitely falls under how adults treat children. ☕
Larry Walker24 said:And what about back in the day, when teachers used to beat kids regularly with a full blessing from the parents?
"The good old days... yeah, right."
Anyway, I know there are people out there who actually miss those times. Honestly, it scares me to think there are parents who would genuinely want that kind of treatment for their own kids.
amberskipper3 said:I think we’ve gone a little off track here... Look, every single profession has its own set of unwritten rules and standards. Working in education is incredibly demanding and exhausting, even if most people have no clue what they're actually dealing with day-to-day. In any serious career, you take responsibility for your mistakes, and there are definitely lines you just don't cross. I’m completely certain the principal sat down with the teacher to hash this out. She knows she dropped the ball big time, and I’m sure she’ll be way more careful about how she handles students moving forward. People don't just hand out terminations like candy, especially in fields where you can't just "jump ship" and find a new gig on a whim tomorrow.
Poor little educators... 😢 It’s not easy for them, and nobody understands them. Buhuh!
It never occurs to anyone that little Ivica's mom—who works the register at the local corner store—spent eight hours that day being blamed for everything from the price of sugar going up to the aisles being too narrow. On top of the actual work, she has to maintain this massive grin, listening to every lonely senior citizen who just needs a chat, all while her hands are flying and her focus is pinned because her boss is lurking, waiting for one tiny slip-up. And honestly? If she had any empathy left to give, she used it all up by noon. And did anyone think about how little Marica's dad spends his day? He’s an associate at some massive corporation, grinding away for peanuts just to cover his mortgage and credit card bills. He’s pulling overtime, swallowing insults from his boss—who happens to be the owner's son and couldn't wipe his own butt to save his life—while the boss takes all the credit. Meanwhile, Maricin's dad is left feeling completely screwed. You could write stories like this about pretty much everyone in this broken country.
Nobody is saying teaching is easy. But it isn't harder than any other profession; everyone has their own struggle. Sometimes, it’s actually tougher.
As for that "jumping off the street" comment, it’s really sad to see other professions being looked down upon like that.
silverraven14, you ever think about jumping over to the private sector for a bit? 😁
Man, people really do burn themselves out at work. It’s just that at places like FedEx, everything is scheduled out decades in advance, so you basically just have to chill out before your shift and grit your teeth through it...
amberskipper3 said:You don't just kick people out of their jobs like that—it's not like they hand out yellow cards and warnings like it's some soccer match. If a teacher is struggling with communication, you deal with it by sitting down with a counselor, a psychologist, or the principal. You track their progress and work, and things usually get better if everyone actually gives a damn. But honestly, all too often, especially in smaller towns, principals lack any real pedagogical training, making it incredibly hard to even flag these issues in the first place. Plus, if a kid grew up in a supportive home where their self-esteem was actually nurtured, these kinds of outbursts won't do much damage. But a child who's already struggling? They absolutely need to be shielded from these verbal attacks.
I mostly agree with that, but honestly, that's not even my main concern here. Think about it—if you're working a service job, like a cashier at Target or someone behind a counter at Starbucks, and you start asking customers, "Are you an idiot?" there wouldn't be any debate. You mess up once like that, and you're fired on the spot. Boom, gone. But when it comes to public school teachers and students, it's a whole different story, right? It's never that simple. Suddenly it's all excuses, stories, and "well, they meant well..." People don't just get handed pink slips in other industries, but in education, it feels like there's this massive cushion. I just can't wrap my head around why we have such double standards...🤷
Larry Walker24 said:Listen, the teacher just apologized in front of the whole class! As far as I'm concerned, case closed.
But man, it blows my mind that there's zero mention of her having dyslexia anywhere! That's a massive oversight.
at least for this time. ☕
Who knows how many times she’s snapped like that at kids before? Honestly, I find it hard to believe this was some one-off thing (and sadly, probably won't be the last). It's just that kids get used to it, so they don't even bother telling their parents. And if they do mention it? Most parents barely blink an eye. I remember back in high school, we were the troublemakers—total outcasts, lazy slackers, and according to some teachers, just plain idiots. We were basically destined for a life of crime, or so they thought! I never breathed a word to my folks, and neither did anyone else. If a teacher was having a bad day or was just in a foul mood, they'd blow up, and we’d just move on. Besides, if parents actually made a scene, it usually just ended up blowing up in our faces. Easier to just keep the peace... 🤷
If it were up to me, I’d send teachers like that to a mandatory course on child psychology and applied pedagogy. One more comment like that to a student and she’d be looking for a new job in a totally different field.
Douglas Cox4 said:Didn't you mention during the enrollment process at that school that your child has dyslexia? While I am certainly not attempting to excuse the teacher's behavior in any way, shouldn't educators be thoroughly briefed on their students' specific needs?
And if they happen to be out of the loop, does that give them the right to just go rogue and ask kids if they're being "stupid" to find out? 😵
Honestly, this is one of those situations where I personally have to just step back and let things settle for a few days. I usually have to lay low because if I don't, I end up reacting way too emotionally and doing stuff that isn't exactly the smartest move. Just take a second to think about how to handle this with the least amount of fallout for the kid. You know the vibe at your school better than anyone, but definitely say something.