This Teacher Just Plain Sucks...I'm Out!

Published on January 6, 2005 By LeapingLizard In Misc

Yesterday, after taking a break from the fifth grade class I am teaching in, I decided to go back. I thought, maybe my cooperating teacher would have had a wonderful holiday and that she'd come back here with a fresh attitude. I thought, maybe she'll be nice to me and acknowledge me when I come into the classroom...maybe she won't be so cruel and unpleasable to thte children.

No such luck.

I've decided that she must be losing it, in all seriousness. Her teaching has taken a nose dive since the beginning of the year. I witnessed the worst literacy lesson I have ever seen in my own student experience and teacher experience.

Over 1 hour and 25 minutes, the kids took turns reading aloud. Four of them are in the ELL program. One of them is a strong reader that this teacher insists isn't. The rest reading below grade level for a total of 12.

She stood at the front of the room, stopping ever few lines to explain which reading strategies the students should be using and why and what the author meant by this and that. She should have been letting them use the damn strategies. She read directly from the teachers manual, not swaying from it once, and making sure that every single thing that was in the manual got discussed (they are freaking suggestions!). I don't think she noticed that she wasn't doing the activities on the right pages either!

So after 1 hour and 25 minutes, the class had successfully read 6 pages. 6! That's it! And they were read in broken english, soft voices, with incorrect words. The girl that is actually a strong reader was bored out of her mind and started daydreaming after about a half hour. So, she got yelled at a bunch of times and had to stay in for recess and read the stupid story again.

The story sucked, besides that. I had to struggle to stay awake. It was the worst teaching I have ever seen, seriously.

Another thing is that she gets pleasure out of the critisizing the kids. Here is only one of a zillion examples. If a kid needs their pencil sharpened, and asks her to sharpen it, she says loudly "Take initiative! You're not a baby. I'm not mama. (she really says mama!?) Do it. Take responsibility for yourself!" So, the next time the student needs to sharpen their pencil, they just do it, right? Not quite. Upon taking responsibility for themselves she yells, "Sit back down. I didn't say you could get up. You should have done that this morning. You're wasting everyones time."

Actually she is wasting everyone's time. She spends the majority of her time talking about the whys and the hows of learning instead of letting kids do it. The rest of her time is spent ridiculing the kids. I can't be with this teacher anymore. I grabbed all of my things when I left yesterday. I am talking to the head of the education department. It's not fair to me, the university, or future kids for me to be with this teacher.

I've had it. I have a pretty high tolerance for crap, but this is it. Thanks for reading my rant...

Comments

Gideon MacLeish

on Jan 06, 2005

Reminds me of my high school years. My dad, the ever present A--hole of my childhood years, decided after my sophomore year not to allow me to take G/T classes anymore (I discovered much later in life that it had a good deal to do with the fact that I was consistently outperforming my brother, his oft stated favorite son), and as a result I wound up in the "average" English class my junior year.

The second day of the class, the teacher separated the class according to her own seating method. Those from our side of town (the wrong side of the tracks) were in one area, the wealthy students in another. She then stated, "I have separated the students who will get something out of this class from those who will not". From then on until graduation day, I strove for a "C" grade in every class, nothing more, nothing less (from being a straight A student all of my academic career prior).

I do hope you can make a change where this teacher is concerned. The students deserve it.

iamheather

on Jan 06, 2005

How sad. That woman needs to either retire or take a vacation in a mental hospital. I am so sorry that you have to put up with that, LL.

new-age nomad

on Jan 06, 2005

Bad teachers can definately ruin it for a lot of people, but what are you supposed to do? I mean, I know there's the occasionaly "sit-in" that's pre-planned and the teacher rehearses with her children, but what else? State tests? My ass....

There's got to be a better way. I loved school while I was learning. After elementary school, though, it seemed the teachers just thought we should relearn everything. I got bored, and school became just something else that was stealing the hours in my day.

Hmmm, I hope you're an addition to the rare good teachers out there that balance it out. I've had a few.

Trinitie

p.s. I, myself, am going to teach, but it's a little unconventional. I want to teach highschool inmates....hmmm...

You should read "True Notebooks" by Mark Salzman, it's amazing.

LeapingLizard

on Jan 06, 2005

Nomad:
Yeeeeaaahhh! I'm glad to hear. I've thought about teaching girls in reform school or prison. I can't imagine a more enriching experience for both parties. A friend of mine taught boys (11 of them) ages 13-19 at through this reform school. They were in the mountains in swamp lands in cabins. It was a work together and survive or be divided and nearly die thing. An intense 13 month thing as a last chance to get back into society. How that sound??!!

Heather:
I am not going to put up with it ever again. I am meeting with the head of the Education Department on Monday. Seriously, I want more and the University is an advocate for me (or so they say), so they should want more for me too.

WildLooseComma

on Jan 07, 2005

Good for you LL--

Maybe now the school will realize what a horrible teacher this woman really is.
She should be ashamed of herself.
And on top of that, she has definate bad karma...
she should definately watch out for buses....especially in a foreign country.

You and those students deserve better, and I'm glad you finally put your foot down.

Cheers, love.
--WLC

InBloom

on Jan 07, 2005

How sad for those kids...what kind of attitude are they going to have about school if their own teacher has a bad attitude about things... I so completely believe in making students comfortable with me....I don't know if people would interpret that as being "soft"...I do discipline my students and they know what is expected of them, but not to the point where they are intimidated of me and are constantly criticized....

it's too bad that you have decided to leave...the kids probably enjoy having you there for a change; your reasons for leaving are understandable, though.

Myrrander

on Jan 07, 2005

ah, yeah, this sucks

I hope you can stick it out, though, just so you don't have to do it all again.

Good luck!

LeapingLizard

on Jan 07, 2005

I'm so torn. The only reason I have stayed there this long is because of the kids. IT's all about the kids, kids, kids. I feel bad for them, and worse leaving them there with that woman. On the other hand, I am not getting what I need to out of this experience. In the future, for all the other kids, I will be a better teacher if I have a mentor that is, at least, enthusiastic about teaching.

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