teacher trouble

That is a lazy school teacher. Rosie's teacher is responsible for re-warming all of the children's soup or porridge in the winter. I would be furious if she didn't do it.

yea, this may sound nasty but i really dont care if you have time to eat, have a sandwhich while you grade papers.

teaching is a crappy job, but it's not like it suddenly became crappy and demanding. it has ALWAYS been crappy and demanding. if you dont want to open lunch containers, hell if you want to be able to finish your own lunch, then dont becomes a 1st grade teacher. i have one child and i cant eat a granola bar uninterupted.

what really ticked me off about the whole thing is that his is the first time she had not been able to open a container herself.  it took more time to tell her "hey , do it yourself " than it would have to open the container. and then she tried to tell me that she showed gigi how to open it at the end of lunch and she was able to do it on her own. like"oh if you'd just show her how to do it."

B.S. these are air tight containers with a very stiff silicone lip around the edge of the lid designed so you have to stretch it to fit. I have to give them the heave ho to open them. i'm not stupid.

That happened to my son in first grade.....he had a broken  right arm in a cast.  He is right handed.      I was livid.     The teacher's answer when I asked about it was that she had to eat her lunch.   Okay.     What are the jobs of the lunch lady supervisors?

I started going to the school at lunch time....with my toddler in tow.    I explained to the lunch staff why I was there and never had a problem again.    They started going table to table asking if any of the kids needed help preparing their lunch.      They were still practicing that years later when my toddler started school.

My son who is now almost 9 was treated terribly by his second grade teacher. I have always know there was something diffrent about him. When I took him to the doctor they told me its a phase, lets see what happens in school blah blah blahWhen I asked for help from the school they told me he was just a bad kid and I needed to deal with him. This year we have changed schools and he is getting the help he needs. He has been diagnosed with at least 2 learning dissabilities and is presumed autistic. I wish I would have fought harder for him when I knew something was wrong. Dont let the school bully you and when they do, call the county on them and move your kid to a diffrent school. My son is doing 10 times better and I dont really like his teacher this year either but that has more to do with a personality clash then her being mean to my kid cause hes got some issues. I think she is actually really good with him. Go stand at the door to your kids classroom and try not to let anyone see you. I do this all the time to all my kids teachers. We deserve to know what they are doing with our kids when they think they are bnot being watched. 

 as if i didnt write enough of a novel, now my husband's all annoyed and unhappy b/c he's SURE they're going to tell us she has ADHD/ bipolar/ autism b/c there is a family history of it on his side, he himself has adult ADD (or whatever they're calling it these days). heck she might, she does have some features, but it isnt her biggest problem but now he's very concerned that they are going to latch on to that a ignore the other more serious stuff like her extremely high pain tolerance and her motor skill delay.

i did, she was very surprised to hear the teacher had refused to open the container, it's NOT a school rule apparently or even one the principal was aware some teachers enforced. when i talked to her i focused mainly ont he issue of my child trying to get help with a bully and being told it wasnt an emergency.

i think the other issues might be due to Gigi's quirks and the teacher simply not knowing what to do about it. for the entire school there is only one special needs teacher so they arent really set up to handle kids who are different. i have been informed by a few friends today (very nicely and not mean at ALL) that to some kids Gigi's boisterous nature and her inability to pick up on certain social cues is off putting. i have to admit i have seen her make shy kids REALLY uncomfortable. she might just have a class full of kids who perfer a less "WHOA!" playmate.

the principal agreed that even though the teacher ocassionally corrected the boy that the she should never have ignored Gigi's attempts to report the behavior and that it is unacceptable that Gigi was made to feel like the teacher didnt take it seriously. The principal said she is going to look into the matter and see what she can do to make sure it never happens again. it helps that The principal actually knows Gigi very well, so she's aware that sometimes Gigi requires a different approach or a little extra time.

we've decided to go ahead and start the ball rolling looking for a ped who is good with developmental disorders in ohio and talking ot the school district about having her evaluated so she can get whatever she needs.

Did you hear back from the principal yet?

well, it looks like i'm going to have to talk to the principal.

this morning Gigi told me there is a boy who sits at the table with her who is constantly picking on her and unfortunately often when Gigi raises her hand to report the behavior, the teacher simply ignores her, back to the whole blood snake or fire thing. Gigi is not a complainer, infact most of the time she lets things go that she shouldnt, so forher to mention it at all means it's a problem.

Gigi also told me that the children in class won't sit with her at lunch or play with her at the playground. only her friends from last year (who arent in her class) play/sit with her. this is a DRASTIC change from last year when the kids fought over who got to sit with her.  i've also noticed at home when we play with the neighborhood kids Gigi isnt interacting with them like she used to. often she goes off and sits by herself or will play with one of the kids much younger than her. she'll say things like "i'm not a day dreamer any more, i want to be a hard worker."  which would be fine on it's own, but taken with everything else, i feel like this woan has just torpedoed my kid's confidence.

waiting for a call back from the principal now.

i've never heard of that one.

the  physical delay seems to be specifically with fine motor skills. she walked and talked very early and has always had surprisingly good balance for her age. however she never held her own bottle.  when we switched to sippy cups @ 1 yr she had a VERY difficult time figuring out how to work it. she had a hard time with a fork and spoon. potty training took nearly two years.

she also has a myriad of behavioral oddities. since she does well academically and behaves well in school most professionals shrug off my concerns and write the behaviors off as me spoiling my child. sorry, spoiling a child does not lead to a life long sensitivity to sound.

Have you heard of developmental dyspraxia?  I don't like to throw specific things out there because I know how annoyed doctors get when the patient or parent comes in with a diagnosis in mind and if you are looking at a specific disorder, it is easy to make it fit, you know? (Like all the active kids with ADHD)  But, if there has always been a delay combined with some other things you have said, it is something I would research especially if you have talked to the doctor about motor delays and no real follow up was done.

thanks for all the lunch box ideas. i'll definately add those to my "to check out" list

we've tried and everyone (teachers and doctors) keep telling us it's just a slight delay and it's no big deal. "she's fine there's nothing wrong with her." her cousin has what is known as "pervassive developmental disorder other wise unspecified", no i'm not making that up! and it seems to me that Gigi has a less severe manifestation of this.

for example she CAN zip a zipper, it just seems like it's more difficult for her than other kids her age. like all the other kids are lined up ready to go and she's still standing there trying to get it to hook. she CAN do a snap (just started being able to do it w/ in the last month) but some times she has a hard time with it friday she came home from school and told me she had tried to button a button (regular through the hole button) all day and had not been able to do it. honestly i havent even TRIED shoe tying b/c i felt like giving the difficulty she had with other tasks that take less finess i would be setting her up for frustration.

This is not any sort of defense of the teacher. My family says I have a male brain and go at things more as a problem solver so while I understand you are probably posting for emotional support and to vent, I am not good at that,  ignore this if it is unhelpful.

I find the best way to solve these sorts of problems is to focus on what I can control. This teacher wants the children in her class to be independent. I am not sure there is any way to change that, those are her expections. You cannot control the teacher.  You can help your child to be physically independent.

You have already decided to try and provide easier opening containers. I am all about alternatives to lunch boxes and sandwiches so some  lunch container systems that looked like they had good reviews are laptop lunches, goodbyns and the yubo lunch systems. One thing that bothers me about all of them is that they, like most lunch boxes, are carried so that it is turned on its side so the food is tossed a bit. They do have separated food so it probably doesn't matter much unless you are weird about it like I am. There are now so many different types of lunch systems that are not lunchboxes and tupperware.  Those are three we looked at when we were searching. I am sure there are some that will work perfectly for you.

I personally use a single tier bento box,  we very rarely use a two tiered bento, she only has a snack time so she eats maybe a rice ball and some cucumbers or a half sandwich and carrots. The bento system we use seals easily and is held together with an elastic band. She is able to open and close it easily and it has never leaked. She will play lazy and helpless occasionally and ask for help but she is four and able to do it on her own. To keep cool things cool, we use reusable ice cubes,(the kind put in drinks).  To keep things separated we use silicone cup cake liners or just paper ones and we have little containers for the sauces and dips. It goes flat in a bag with a handle on top so that the food doesn't get all tossed around. I also like tiffins for lunches for the same reason. They are carried in the same position that the food will be eaten.

You mentioned that some of the homework was practicing tying shoes and other such tasks. If these are really too difficult, she should be evaluated. There are conditions that can cause that level of  limitation and having her diagnosed would require the school to provide her with assistance that she needs to do things like zippers, snaps and opening containers. There may also be therapies that improve her coordination so that she may not have to live life wearing mostly elastic and velcro or relying on others.

I'm pretty peace and love, but this is just unacceptable! You need to complain about it with the principal. I know many people live by "oh it'll only be worse for your child because the teacher will hold a grudge!" Not me, my girls have had awesome teachers and all willing to help but I have had a chat more than once. First I go to the teacher and calmly confront the issue, if it happens again or nothing is done I have talked to the principal and don't worry it seems like your daughter speaks up so she will tell you if the teacher gets better or not. Are you kidding me? She only got a couple of bites because the teacher only does something if there's a fire, blood, or snake? Sound like she's lazy and unwilling. Shouldn't be a teacher!

i would love to home school her but she would be CRUSHED to be taken out of school. she absolutely loves it. she's really popular and has SO many friends. she also has a few behavioral issues and personality ticks that have greatly improved since she began school. plus we're about to move and the best way for her to make new friends quickly is going to be at school. the schools there are MUCH better and i plan to have a talk with the school aobut what kind of teacher she should be placed with.

Did you time-warp to my life last year or something? Seriously, with a few details about the incident tweaked, this could have been written about my DD's experience in public school.

I too was only putting up with it because she liked school. Things just kept adding to my displeasure, and eventually, her own. She got a really nasty/flaky/just plain weird teacher last year for 3rd grade, and was finally miserable enough to ask to not go any more when the teacher sent her to the art room (down the hall from their classroom, same module) for saying, "That's not fair! They didn't do anything!" when two boys were kicked out and sent to the principal for something some older kids did. Teacher left her there all day and over the next few weeks continually sent her there for minor things or even non-things (forgetting to write her name on a math exercise, talking, asking for help on a project).

I knew none of this, but she finally told me and it was confirmed by a number of other kids and parents, and she was out of there by week's end.

Now she says she would rather jump off a bridge than go back to school. She didn't realize how miserable it was making her until she got away from it; she's a generally positive kid, she only reported the happy things, and I think rationalized away the bad because she didn't want to leave her friends and was scared of the "unknown" of homeschooling.

I say if you have any desire to homeschool at all, do it. Pull her out. She might be mad or uncertain for a while, but if you fill her day up with fun activities and she still gets to have a steady group of friends, she should be fine. The older she gets and the more peer-oriented she gets, the harder a transition away from school and the group mentality inherent in it will be. You can always go back if homeschool doesn't work out, but pulling her away from it will become harder as the years go on.

Considering the nutrition issues you described, and the teacher that clearly does not understand or care, if this keeps going on, it could become not only an emotionally taxing situation for you (and her), but a health issue as well. It's probably not helping her food issues, at any rate.

Good luck, I'm sorry you're going through this, and your DD too. Hope you find a solution that makes both of you happy.

i'll def be wathcing her alot closer from now on.if we werent moving in a couple of months i'd probably be down there demanding Gigi be moved to a different class. i've looked back over her daily behavior reports and she's been getting scolded for not finishing her work in the time alotted, not talking during the lesson, not getting out of her seat ( the teacher will write that when it's the case), simply not finishing it when the teacher says she should be finished. is this a problem? sure it's something she needs to work on, but i dont think it's something that should be being handled through the class discipline system she she hasnt actually broken any rules

i think she just doesnt like me and she's taking it out on my kid. there have been a few times when i simply didnt do the "homework" with Gigi b/c it was things that i deemed she wasnt ready for (like tying her shoes. she can barely button a snap button, i'm not pushing my luck) or simply unneccesary (like memorizing her student ID that is only used for purchasing school lunch which she doesnt get EVER b/c she wont eat it.) my personal favortie was when she mentioned that memorizing your parent's phone number was part of the homework and Gigi said we didnt do it. "i asked her what her mommy's phone number was so i could call you and she didnt know it b/c you hadnt practiced it with her." she got hissy when we explained that Gigi doesnt ever call me and we wont have that phone much longer anyway, but if she needed to call to simply ask Gigi to call her Dad. then my husband laughed and said. "she's been picking up the phone and dialing Me and her Nanny in MS since she was 3. that's why we didnt bother with the home work." the look on this woman's face... ugh so snotty.

I'd be super pissed. If it happens again, tell the principal for sure. That is completely unacceptable, and possibly illegal as well.

I would be furious! My little guy (4)  goes three days a week, but it's a private school not just a preschool, so he eats lunch in the cafeteria with the older grades (K-2). They have lunch monitors who are there specifically to help the kids open containers, open milk cartons, condiments, etc. I would pitch a royal fit if his teacher or lunch monitor deliberatly ignored him and made him go hungry. First grade is hardly the time to be demanding all food and containers be opened by themselves. I could see maybe fifth grade, but frankly, if a kid needs help why not take the minute to help them?! I would be pissed.

i'm even more upset after talking to the teacher. she said she doesnt have time to each her lunch and help everyone open their lunches. aparently the teacher DID know what Gigi needed and chose to ignore it. she says thier class rule is that they dont get help opening their containers (funny, never got a note and it's NOT listed on the rules) then she back tracked and said it was a school wide 1st grade rule. she then tells me that they are supposed to ask the other kids for help and there were several children at the table Gigi did NOT ask for help 9there were a couple she DID) and Gigi wouldnt eat the rest of her lunch b/c she was so focused on that. theo nly other thing she had was yougart adn tortilla chips that she was supposed to put the co filling on. so she let my kid sit there, hungry for 25 minutes b/c why? the teacher knows her motor akills arent the best and that she has some OCD (for lack of a better term) tendencies. i dont think lunch time is the right time to try to work on that.

i explained that sometimes the stuff i send requires a container she's not going to be able to open so it doesnt leak everywhere. this is only b/c Gigi is SO picky and wierd about food. believe me i would be thrilled to send a pbj, some gold fish and a fruit cup. i would LOVE to not have to send hand made pizzas and baked chicken and nachos.

she did promise to try to be more mindful of Gigi in the future though she made it clear she didnt think she should have to. i said i would make an effort to send containers that are easier to open but if something like this happens again i'm taking it to the prinicpal. i cant imagine any decent teacher letting a 6 yo sit and go hungry to prove a point.