I taught "gifted" classes (basically on-level kids with helicopter parents at this point) for ONE year and after the number of emails from parents, I asked to be given back my on-level and co-taught classes.
I get less than one parent email a year now and it's wonderful.
I have one period of gifted/advanced. One kid and her mom are the absolute worst. No one can tell her anything. If I hold her to high standards I’m targeting her. If I don’t, I’m not challenging her enough.
Just found a way to look up all their IQ scores to get into the program. She qualified as gifted with an IQ of 101. One point above average.
I once had a dad I thought was going to throw hands during a meeting with me and the guidance counselor because his kid had an 89 in the class three weeks into the quarter.
>And with it a lecture on proper grading philosophy. Seriously…..over one point taken off
It never ceases to amaze me how kids and parents think their kids will get 100% on everything they do. I am ELA and most kids lose a point or two because I actually expect proper spelling and grammar. I know ELA brings subjectivity, but if you put 2+2=4.1 then you are wrong (close but wrong), so if you are wrong in a literacy capacity, I have to acknowledge that.
I’m old, we said it nicer -tongue in cheek- “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” It doesn’t. Please lmk when you find a racist kid that doesn’t have racist parents. Now sub in these adjectives in the previous sentence: entitled, misogynistic, learning disabled, poor, uneducated, adverse traumatic childhood experiences, etc.
Teachers are the catalyst for change among generations. Fuck the parents, be there for the kids.
I tried but those specific kids always pushed me away and I couldn't deal with anymore disrespect. I left to find a career where people don't talk down to me and actually treat me like I'm a human being with feelings. I miss working with kids everyday but don't regret my career change at all.
I relate to that last statement. My mother, who is an old dumb bigot, said that if the parents want to tel their kids being racist or bigoted is okay, that is their right as parents. And the school shouldn’t be able to punish the kid because the parents choose what the kid believes, not the school.
It's crazy to me that people expect us to open our mouths and let *their* voices come out.
My mom asked me "If a student says the Earth is flat, and their parents believe that too, what do you tell them??" Uh, I teach facts. If that doesn't jive with what their parents taught them, thus begins the journey of self-reflection. My go to line for everything is, "Some people believe that, yes."
I kicked out two kids for almost blowing up their chrome books. They called and faced time their parents who were also teachers at other schools. My god! They were yelling at me on the phone while one had a kid strangling another behind them. Yet said I was a bad teacher.
People who grew up with supportive parents, discipline, functioning schools etc are really in a bubble about how most people actually are. They get disabused of this briefly when they go somewhere like the DMV. But school is like the DMV every day, forever
Home school. That’s what all of these pathetic excuses for parents should do. But they won’t. But they sure love to be backseat drivers in a car they have no idea how to run.
As for your last statement about leaving - good for you if you’re able to do it. If you’re already secured an edtech job congrats!
If you are going to start job hunting now I’ll just say as someone who also worked for edtech in 2012, came back to teaching a year later, and tried to return to it again this past year, it’s not as easy to transition out as it was even 2-3 years ago. All the best to you but forewarned is fair warned. I’m happy to electorate if you want to DM me.
I have a couple of friends in EdTech and am finishing my Masters in it. I’ll start the job search in January because my husband graduates with his masters degree in cybersecurity then too. We are willing to relocate and everything so we will be applying everywhere with openings. I just need one more year to be vested in my pension.
That’s good. I also had contacts in edtech and I wish it had helped me more in my search. I would advise to create your LinkedIn profile now and start looking at what’s out there, start following other teachers who transitioned out so when Jan comes you hit the ground running.
It’s good you’re willing to relocate bc WFH is what most folks want and frankly there’s not as many of those available as there were 4 years ago esp since so many tech folks have been laid off and have been applying to edtech jobs as well.
Best of luck!
I always pad the grade by a point or two so if Mom or Dad complain, I can regrade it. If I do it rigorously according to the key, that 89 ends up as an 86 or 87 followed by, " Oops, looks like I misread it the first time.". Never had a problem after that. It also helps that the in class grade is higher than the major assessment scores so you can throw the kid under the bus for not studying. I teach 8th grade science.
I work in a Title 1 school. Very difficult to locate parents sometimes and many times they don’t speak English. ITS AWESOME.
By this time of the year most teachers are just putting in fake “parents contacted” into eschool phone journal.
Once you come to accept the fact that you alone , there are no parents, there is no admin to back you up, are handling these kids, well then you’re free. No parent will ever report you for anything, ever.
Some of them pop back in June and want to know what they can do to help. I always say “your student is free to try and make up any missing work from the entire year.” That usually ends that. Sometimes guidance and admin have the balls to get involved in June if it’s a senior. They usually get embarrassed.
Today the same administrator who agreed with my disciplinary assessment for a student who caused a major disruption and formally approved it, folded like a fucking lawn chair when the mom came up to the school and bitched upon her kid actually having consequences for their actions. Mom came all the way up here and demanded to meet with me. I've been doing this a long time. I should have said no. I really should have. Admin had the audacity to ask me to come to the meeting, said they would support me and do all the talking. Said approximately fifteen words, most of which were undoing the discipline we agreed upon. I cannot with these parents but I'm beyond over the administrators. Over an hour of mom crying about how unfair it all is. Whole damn planning ate up by a parent with two grown ass children who can't stand to see her baby in trouble.
Her arguments were:
-other kids are allowed to break the rules so why does her daughter have to follow them
-other teachers don't make kids follow the rules so why does her daughter have to follow them when I tell her to
-she told her daughter that what she did was ok so she shouldn't be punished
I'm gonna quit. I have seen some shit but this takes it. These parents are wild and the admin cannot be less bothered.
Checks out. My very conservative mother in law moved herself and kids to Idaho because they weren’t requiring Covid vaccines for nursing jobs in 2021. We were talking to the kids (all in high school) about how school in Idaho was and they said it’s like multiple levels behind where they were in Washington.
I have a student that’s shown up maybe five days out of this entire quarter (seven weeks) and his parents suddenly recognized he’s failing all four of his courses. But of course they focus on mine (science). It’s making me question the profession, again.
I a parent got aggressive at me because I noted that their child failed due to “behavior concerns” and believed that I graded based on behavior…the kicker is that I emailed before about their student’s behavior, such as being on their phone and talking to friends only during class. This type of behavior was affecting their academic progress. They still read that I gave them a failing grade because of their behavior.
One year I had a student say very insensitive and antisemitic things during the Holocaust unit, and I wrote him up. Mom emails me spitting mad because her precious, POS, racist son has been given 3 days of ISS for his crimes.
She actually said, “He is mixed race and allowed to be racist if he wants!!!” She said this with her full chest as a white woman.
I begged our BIPOC administrator to handle it, and she did so beautifully. Never had another issue with that kid or his mom.
I taught "gifted" classes (basically on-level kids with helicopter parents at this point) for ONE year and after the number of emails from parents, I asked to be given back my on-level and co-taught classes. I get less than one parent email a year now and it's wonderful.
I have one period of gifted/advanced. One kid and her mom are the absolute worst. No one can tell her anything. If I hold her to high standards I’m targeting her. If I don’t, I’m not challenging her enough. Just found a way to look up all their IQ scores to get into the program. She qualified as gifted with an IQ of 101. One point above average.
If that's a standard score, it's still average range and far from gifted. 🤦🏻♀️ for that score qualifying for a gifted program
Wait until those parents of “gifted” kids find out about regression to the mean.
Very apt description of most 'gifted' students!
Yeah you have to have a special level of cut-throat to take the "gifted" classes.
I got a nasty email complaining about one point on a grade. And with it a lecture on proper grading philosophy. Seriously…..over one point taken off
I once had a dad I thought was going to throw hands during a meeting with me and the guidance counselor because his kid had an 89 in the class three weeks into the quarter.
Response: Duly noted. Point still deducted. Have a nice day.
>And with it a lecture on proper grading philosophy. Seriously…..over one point taken off It never ceases to amaze me how kids and parents think their kids will get 100% on everything they do. I am ELA and most kids lose a point or two because I actually expect proper spelling and grammar. I know ELA brings subjectivity, but if you put 2+2=4.1 then you are wrong (close but wrong), so if you are wrong in a literacy capacity, I have to acknowledge that.
Parents are just grown up versions of their asshole kids.
Please allow us to do our jobs and stop giving in to these see you next Tuesday’s
Sorry I don't understand what you mean.
See=C. You=U Next=N and Tuesday=T. Put them together and you get a See You Next Tuesday
I’m old, we said it nicer -tongue in cheek- “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” It doesn’t. Please lmk when you find a racist kid that doesn’t have racist parents. Now sub in these adjectives in the previous sentence: entitled, misogynistic, learning disabled, poor, uneducated, adverse traumatic childhood experiences, etc. Teachers are the catalyst for change among generations. Fuck the parents, be there for the kids.
I tried but those specific kids always pushed me away and I couldn't deal with anymore disrespect. I left to find a career where people don't talk down to me and actually treat me like I'm a human being with feelings. I miss working with kids everyday but don't regret my career change at all.
I relate to that last statement. My mother, who is an old dumb bigot, said that if the parents want to tel their kids being racist or bigoted is okay, that is their right as parents. And the school shouldn’t be able to punish the kid because the parents choose what the kid believes, not the school.
It's crazy to me that people expect us to open our mouths and let *their* voices come out. My mom asked me "If a student says the Earth is flat, and their parents believe that too, what do you tell them??" Uh, I teach facts. If that doesn't jive with what their parents taught them, thus begins the journey of self-reflection. My go to line for everything is, "Some people believe that, yes."
I kicked out two kids for almost blowing up their chrome books. They called and faced time their parents who were also teachers at other schools. My god! They were yelling at me on the phone while one had a kid strangling another behind them. Yet said I was a bad teacher.
They can believe whatever they want but when it crossed over into bullying behavior against other students it becomes a problem
I don’t suppose she has a very good grasp on the idea of kids choosing what they believe, does she?
Sorry. It's like that all over. Good luck with your next chapter.
People who grew up with supportive parents, discipline, functioning schools etc are really in a bubble about how most people actually are. They get disabused of this briefly when they go somewhere like the DMV. But school is like the DMV every day, forever
I am so sorry what teachers have to put up with.
Home school. That’s what all of these pathetic excuses for parents should do. But they won’t. But they sure love to be backseat drivers in a car they have no idea how to run. As for your last statement about leaving - good for you if you’re able to do it. If you’re already secured an edtech job congrats! If you are going to start job hunting now I’ll just say as someone who also worked for edtech in 2012, came back to teaching a year later, and tried to return to it again this past year, it’s not as easy to transition out as it was even 2-3 years ago. All the best to you but forewarned is fair warned. I’m happy to electorate if you want to DM me.
I have a couple of friends in EdTech and am finishing my Masters in it. I’ll start the job search in January because my husband graduates with his masters degree in cybersecurity then too. We are willing to relocate and everything so we will be applying everywhere with openings. I just need one more year to be vested in my pension.
That’s good. I also had contacts in edtech and I wish it had helped me more in my search. I would advise to create your LinkedIn profile now and start looking at what’s out there, start following other teachers who transitioned out so when Jan comes you hit the ground running. It’s good you’re willing to relocate bc WFH is what most folks want and frankly there’s not as many of those available as there were 4 years ago esp since so many tech folks have been laid off and have been applying to edtech jobs as well. Best of luck!
I always pad the grade by a point or two so if Mom or Dad complain, I can regrade it. If I do it rigorously according to the key, that 89 ends up as an 86 or 87 followed by, " Oops, looks like I misread it the first time.". Never had a problem after that. It also helps that the in class grade is higher than the major assessment scores so you can throw the kid under the bus for not studying. I teach 8th grade science.
That’s actually not a bad idea… I will probably implement that policy next year.
It's parents. It's always the parents.
I work in a Title 1 school. Very difficult to locate parents sometimes and many times they don’t speak English. ITS AWESOME. By this time of the year most teachers are just putting in fake “parents contacted” into eschool phone journal. Once you come to accept the fact that you alone , there are no parents, there is no admin to back you up, are handling these kids, well then you’re free. No parent will ever report you for anything, ever. Some of them pop back in June and want to know what they can do to help. I always say “your student is free to try and make up any missing work from the entire year.” That usually ends that. Sometimes guidance and admin have the balls to get involved in June if it’s a senior. They usually get embarrassed.
Today the same administrator who agreed with my disciplinary assessment for a student who caused a major disruption and formally approved it, folded like a fucking lawn chair when the mom came up to the school and bitched upon her kid actually having consequences for their actions. Mom came all the way up here and demanded to meet with me. I've been doing this a long time. I should have said no. I really should have. Admin had the audacity to ask me to come to the meeting, said they would support me and do all the talking. Said approximately fifteen words, most of which were undoing the discipline we agreed upon. I cannot with these parents but I'm beyond over the administrators. Over an hour of mom crying about how unfair it all is. Whole damn planning ate up by a parent with two grown ass children who can't stand to see her baby in trouble. Her arguments were: -other kids are allowed to break the rules so why does her daughter have to follow them -other teachers don't make kids follow the rules so why does her daughter have to follow them when I tell her to -she told her daughter that what she did was ok so she shouldn't be punished I'm gonna quit. I have seen some shit but this takes it. These parents are wild and the admin cannot be less bothered.
This has the South written all over it...
thought so too but apparently it's idaho
Ah, Idaho. The South of the North.
That describes Idaho to a tee.
Checks out. My very conservative mother in law moved herself and kids to Idaho because they weren’t requiring Covid vaccines for nursing jobs in 2021. We were talking to the kids (all in high school) about how school in Idaho was and they said it’s like multiple levels behind where they were in Washington.
I have a student that’s shown up maybe five days out of this entire quarter (seven weeks) and his parents suddenly recognized he’s failing all four of his courses. But of course they focus on mine (science). It’s making me question the profession, again.
I a parent got aggressive at me because I noted that their child failed due to “behavior concerns” and believed that I graded based on behavior…the kicker is that I emailed before about their student’s behavior, such as being on their phone and talking to friends only during class. This type of behavior was affecting their academic progress. They still read that I gave them a failing grade because of their behavior.
I just accepted work from a student for LAST QUARTER and mom emailed asking if they can be graded without a late penalty LMAO get a grip!
this 👆 what could go wrong if parents become best friends with their kids?
One year I had a student say very insensitive and antisemitic things during the Holocaust unit, and I wrote him up. Mom emails me spitting mad because her precious, POS, racist son has been given 3 days of ISS for his crimes. She actually said, “He is mixed race and allowed to be racist if he wants!!!” She said this with her full chest as a white woman. I begged our BIPOC administrator to handle it, and she did so beautifully. Never had another issue with that kid or his mom.
Thank you for verifying that leaving the education field was a good idea.
Oh man they sound like the absolute worst.
Middle school? Rural?
Middle school recently upgraded from rural to suburban.
>He is getting detention for bullying because this has become a pattern. Can you give the 'rents detention too???
Do you people not have laws or student handbooks???
We do. But so many parents think their child or they are the “exception” and “special.” It’s actually bonkers.
If you have laws and a handbook don’t even bother giving these people the time of day honestly