Friday, January 12, 2007
"Useless" Math Teacher
Dear Guidance Guy,I've emailed you before (lots before) and you've helped me out most of those times then and I hope you can help me now. I am horrible at math. Awful awful awful awful. I just don't get it. Last year I seemed to be making some headway in the class with a teacher who was really cool. This year as a sophomore taking geometry things have started to go downhill. My teacher is not very good at what she does. (putting it in the most respectable terms possible).
At first I thought it was just me, but my entire class is feeling the exact same way. She'll do silly things like give us a
study guide and tell us to complete the four or five examples that are on it for homework, and then take it up the next day. She takes up our study guides and our notes. And then she won't give them back until after the quiz or test! It's really hard to study without study guides or notes. She also feels like she has to teach us something new every single day. She won't take just one day to go over the things or review and most of the time she just assumes we know something when we don't. It's almost as though she wants us to read her mind.
To be quite frank about it, I can't deal with a useless teacher. I'm taking an AP class which I'm doing well in, but it's sucking up a good portion of my time. I am utterly lost concerning what to do. Please help!
Sincerely,
Not A Mind Reader
*** *** ***
Dear Not A Mind Reader,
I see two problems here. The first one is that your teacher seems to have some behaviors that aren't helpful to your class. It doesn't seem like a good idea to collect notes and study guides before a test and then expect you to use them. If the purpose of the study guide is to study, it certainly makes sense to use it before the test. And many teachers will teach too many topics without knowing whether or not the students understand. There is a certain amount of material teachers have to cover. This is especially true in an AP class, where there will be certain material on the test whether it's covered or not.
The second problem is the way you are dealing with this teacher. I'm sure you aren't calling her "useless" to her face, but you think of her in those terms. Please consider the possibility you may not be getting what you need from her because you aren't asking for it. And it's possible you may not be asking for it because you don't have respect for her as a teacher.
What I'd encourage you to do is schedule an after school meeting with her. Let her know how you feel about her taking the study guides and the speed with which she's teaching. Ask if she would let the class hang onto the study guides and notes a little while longer.
And the most important part of this: think of her as a competent teacher who likes kids...and is making a mistake (or two) in some of the things she's doing. If you see her as useless, it will affect the way you talk with her and nothing good is likely to happen. If you see her as a partner in your learning who needs an adjustment, it will open up the door to a better experience for both of you.
Best of Luck,
The Guidance Guy
At first I thought it was just me, but my entire class is feeling the exact same way. She'll do silly things like give us a
study guide and tell us to complete the four or five examples that are on it for homework, and then take it up the next day. She takes up our study guides and our notes. And then she won't give them back until after the quiz or test! It's really hard to study without study guides or notes. She also feels like she has to teach us something new every single day. She won't take just one day to go over the things or review and most of the time she just assumes we know something when we don't. It's almost as though she wants us to read her mind.
To be quite frank about it, I can't deal with a useless teacher. I'm taking an AP class which I'm doing well in, but it's sucking up a good portion of my time. I am utterly lost concerning what to do. Please help!
Sincerely,
Not A Mind Reader
*** *** ***
Dear Not A Mind Reader,
I see two problems here. The first one is that your teacher seems to have some behaviors that aren't helpful to your class. It doesn't seem like a good idea to collect notes and study guides before a test and then expect you to use them. If the purpose of the study guide is to study, it certainly makes sense to use it before the test. And many teachers will teach too many topics without knowing whether or not the students understand. There is a certain amount of material teachers have to cover. This is especially true in an AP class, where there will be certain material on the test whether it's covered or not.
The second problem is the way you are dealing with this teacher. I'm sure you aren't calling her "useless" to her face, but you think of her in those terms. Please consider the possibility you may not be getting what you need from her because you aren't asking for it. And it's possible you may not be asking for it because you don't have respect for her as a teacher.
What I'd encourage you to do is schedule an after school meeting with her. Let her know how you feel about her taking the study guides and the speed with which she's teaching. Ask if she would let the class hang onto the study guides and notes a little while longer.
And the most important part of this: think of her as a competent teacher who likes kids...and is making a mistake (or two) in some of the things she's doing. If you see her as useless, it will affect the way you talk with her and nothing good is likely to happen. If you see her as a partner in your learning who needs an adjustment, it will open up the door to a better experience for both of you.
Best of Luck,
The Guidance Guy
# posted by Larry Hochman : 2:52 PM
