Monday, October 02, 2006
Teacher Criticizes Student Unfairly
Dear Guidance Guy,
I feel that my teacher picks on me. He tells me that my ideas are from Cliff notes and show that I have not heard a thing he says, when that is not even close to the truth. I did ask him one day after school if I could do something to improve my answers. He said that I should just go deeper with them.
I dread this class; I have a knot in my stomach every time I say something for fear of the embarrassment of being put down. I have never had this situation before; I am a good student and very nice. What do you suggest? My mother is ready to go defend me, but I'd like to take a more mature approach.
Thanks,
Kay
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Dear Kay,
How you decide to handle this depends in part on whether or not you teacher puts you down in front of the class. If he embarrasses you in front of other students, this is the part you might want to deal with first. You can ask for an after school meeting and let him know how you feel when he does this. My experience with this kind of teacher though, is that it's a hard habit to break. You may need to involve your mother or a guidance counselor and/or principal.
If he's criticizing your work (as opposed to you personally) or if he's criticizing you in private, ask him to cite a specific example of where your work falls short. If he brings up the Cliff Note comment again, you could directly refute it.
In either case, telling him how you feel is a good idea. It seems as if you've been handling things with a great deal of maturity and there's a good chance he will respond. Few teachers like the idea of kids who dread being in their class.
You did say something interesting though, Kay. Your teacher complained you "haven't heard a thing he said." If those were his words, it seems like he's very sensitive to not being taken seriously himself. Complimenting him on how well he teaches and communicating how seriously you take his class will probably go a long way toward making him feel good. And then there's a really good chance he'll want to help you. (Don't pour it on too strong or he'll feel patronized.)
Something tells me you'll do just fine communicating with this teacher. But if not, you have the option of bringing in some help.
Thanks for an interesting letter,
The Guidance Guy
I feel that my teacher picks on me. He tells me that my ideas are from Cliff notes and show that I have not heard a thing he says, when that is not even close to the truth. I did ask him one day after school if I could do something to improve my answers. He said that I should just go deeper with them.
I dread this class; I have a knot in my stomach every time I say something for fear of the embarrassment of being put down. I have never had this situation before; I am a good student and very nice. What do you suggest? My mother is ready to go defend me, but I'd like to take a more mature approach.
Thanks,
Kay
*** *** ***
Dear Kay,
How you decide to handle this depends in part on whether or not you teacher puts you down in front of the class. If he embarrasses you in front of other students, this is the part you might want to deal with first. You can ask for an after school meeting and let him know how you feel when he does this. My experience with this kind of teacher though, is that it's a hard habit to break. You may need to involve your mother or a guidance counselor and/or principal.
If he's criticizing your work (as opposed to you personally) or if he's criticizing you in private, ask him to cite a specific example of where your work falls short. If he brings up the Cliff Note comment again, you could directly refute it.
In either case, telling him how you feel is a good idea. It seems as if you've been handling things with a great deal of maturity and there's a good chance he will respond. Few teachers like the idea of kids who dread being in their class.
You did say something interesting though, Kay. Your teacher complained you "haven't heard a thing he said." If those were his words, it seems like he's very sensitive to not being taken seriously himself. Complimenting him on how well he teaches and communicating how seriously you take his class will probably go a long way toward making him feel good. And then there's a really good chance he'll want to help you. (Don't pour it on too strong or he'll feel patronized.)
Something tells me you'll do just fine communicating with this teacher. But if not, you have the option of bringing in some help.
Thanks for an interesting letter,
The Guidance Guy
# posted by Larry Hochman : 6:03 AM
