To my daughter's algebra teacher

[rehmwa 2]

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I am so tired of parents and students bitching about teachers failing students without out looking at one of the issues that is prevelent in many of our high school youth...an extreme apathy towards THEIR education.

real world

I am so tired of (parents, stockholders, my boss, other organizations, etc etc etc) bitching about (engineers, medics, accountants, garbage men, welders, etc etc etc) (poor results in the work they are responsible for) without out looking at (anything that happens upstream or contributes to their jobs that they have no control over or little influence over).

Teachers have real jobs, this is no different than any other job. They have to find a way to be successful despite everything lined up against it. Or else they will be replaced by someone that can figure it out.

No different than your job, or my job, or the next guy's job.

There is one difference, they get more slack because it's harder to replace them than any of these other jobs........

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[Thanatos340 1]

In general I agree with everything you say except this:

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Algebra is just not that difficult...it is NOT rocket science...it is NOT brain surgery...it is simple math.

For some it is difficult. VERY difficult. What may be very simple and plainly obvious to you is not always the same for others.

Again, I agree with your opinion about Teachers and Students, I just disagree that "Algebra is just not that difficult". For many (perhaps even MOST) kids, It is difficult and takes more study and practice than other subjects.

[Richards 0]

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My wife is an algebra teacher. She has a class where more than half are failing. She is a great teacher...as she gets many many complements from teacher, adminstrators, etc. The problem is many of these failing students are more worried about boys, out of school events, etc. than to take there education seriously. Half her class fails yet it is somehow the teachers fault??? I don't think so...Algebra is just not that difficult...it is NOT rocket science...it is NOT brain surgery...it is simple math. If you actually do some homework and LISTEN to the teacher as they teach...you can pass. PERIOD

I am so tired of parents and students bitching about teachers failing students without out looking at one of the issues that is prevelent in many of our high school youth...an extreme apathy towards THEIR education.

What you describe is all too frequently the truth, but there are also some deadweight instructors out there.

My biggest handicap is that sometimes the hole in the front of my head operates a tad bit faster than the grey matter contained within.

[Squeak 17]

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If he is a Maths TEACHER there is no such thing

I disagree. He is there to teach algebra. If he is hypothetically faced with a classroom of students who do not have the knowledge base to advance to algebra, how can he successfully teach them algebra? I'm not saying this is the case, just showing that there are other possibilities besides him being a crappy teacher.

Well I disagree with your disagreement.
I AM a teacher, and not a Maths teacher, (but maths is one subject I teach) any kid that sits with me and need to have a paricular level of proficiency in Maths will get my assistance in learning it.
If they DONT have the basics the you go back to the basics and build from there.
It it POINTLESS standing in front of a room full of kids and sprouting shit they dont understand that is not and never will be TEACHING The art of teaching requires you to actually teach not just talk giggerish to a room and expect them to absorb it (although some will).
Too many teachers do a piss poor job, and read straight from a text, or worse still tell the kids to read straight from the text.





Typing and spelling are subjects I DONT TEACH

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[Lindsey 0]

Typing and spelling are subjects I DONT TEACH

Don't forget grammar!

--
A conservative is just a liberal who's been mugged. A liberal is just a conservative who's been to jail

[Squeak 17]

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Typing and spelling are subjects I DONT TEACH

Don't forget grammar!

Thanks for your considered and thought provoking input,..here's your sign

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[jumper03 0]

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Take up the slack, let the right people know who screwed up last year, get the job done.

I don't see why teaching should be any different than other jobs.

walk a mile in our shoes dude.

what it really comes down to is that it is almost a requirement to have a crusaders attitude if you are going to make a difference. If you are there for a paycheck like most people are with jobs - it sucks.

And crusaders can only take so much

Scars remind us that the past is real

[sartre 0]

To everyone-this has gotten way out of hand, and I sincerely apologize. There's no way in hell I meant this to be attacking teachers in general. If you read my earlier post, I try to set things straight, but nobody seems to be listening.

99% of the teachers I've run into are amazing, giving people. Even the few who are just phoning it in are at least contributing. My gripe was with this teacher who has made numerous disparaging remarks directed at the class when they don't understand what he's teaching.

In no way was I encouraging people to bash teachers, and I apologize if this is how it appeared. I have said it many times before, I could not do the job you do. Plain and simple. For all the money in the world, I do not have the patience, skill set, passion to teach kids and not get completely frustrated with the troublesome ones. I admire and aspire to your characters.

In the US, teachers are underpaid, underappreciated, and underrespected. Most of them put in way more of their own resources than any of the rest of us would ever think about doing with our jobs. As well as personal time.

I think it's our job as parents to be involved and to help with our children's education by enforcing expectations of behavior and responsibility and completion of work assigned. I have had calls from teachers in the past regarding either a behavior or lack of effort on my daughter's part, and I have thanked them and we have worked together to get on top of things.

This one jackass teacher doesn't warrant all of this hostility flying around. Again, I apologize for the way my original post may have come across, and I apologize for any disrespect offered up to any teachers. That was not my intent, and I do in fact appreciate the sometimes excruciatingly hard work that you do for our kids. Thank you for doing what you do.

[jumpnjivin 0]

I think that math teachers at that level don't get enough proper training themselves. due to amount of math courses requried to teach at that level. Therefore they can't truly teach the material. It is a huge problem in america. I have talked about this with a few of my teachers and they are of the same opinion. I just finished Calc II and algebra gave me the most trouble. Americans (which I am) are almost proud of not being able to do math. how many times have you heard somebody say. Oh I can't do math or I'm not good at math? In other cultures that would be the equivalent of saying I'm illeterate. Just my opinion. I bet the teacher couldn't explain the proofs of the material and probably doesn't truly understand himself therefore can't teach. good luck you could always get tutoring for you kid or try home teaching.

[Richards 0]

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Well I disagree with your disagreement.
I AM a teacher, and not a Maths teacher, (but maths is one subject I teach) any kid that sits with me and need to have a paricular level of proficiency in Maths will get my assistance in learning it.
If they DONT have the basics the you go back to the basics and build from there.
It it POINTLESS standing in front of a room full of kids and sprouting shit they dont understand that is not and never will be TEACHING The art of teaching requires you to actually teach not just talk giggerish to a room and expect them to absorb it (although some will).
Too many teachers do a piss poor job, and read straight from a text, or worse still tell the kids to read straight from the text.

I agree and disagree with your disagreement with his disagreement.

Yes there may be a requirement to adapt the pace to the class, sometimes and therefore remedial will be required. That said there still is a requirement to meet a certain standard by the end of the semester and therefore in grade 11 math you cannot spend the entire year reviewing grade 9 and 10 without really getting into any grade 11 math material (and sometimes you can face a class where that appears to be required). If you do that then you clearly will not be teaching them much math 11 and therefore should not be giving them a credit in math 11 since that would mean passing them (and the problem you inherited from the prior instructor) onto the math 12 teacher for him to either fail them or hold them to a lower standard.

I do agree that apathetic teachers should be shown the door, but sometimes students are missing too much critical background to manage the pace of a specific course. Offer remedial yes but at some point you have to test at the required standard.

My biggest handicap is that sometimes the hole in the front of my head operates a tad bit faster than the grey matter contained within.