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Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Primary education

Issues with next year's teacher (yr6) What would you do?

19 replies

roisin · 29/06/2007 21:55

Oh dear
DS1's current teacher (NQT) lovely, but inexperienced has made a mistake. Normally the children get told in the very last week of term who is their teacher for next year, and it's kept a big secret, until their first 'class visit' where the teacher obviously puts on a show to "wow" the kids. But the NQT has let it slip.

The other yr6 teacher is the G&T co-ordinator, and ds1 has had some positive contact with her in the past. But the teacher he is going to have is one of the Deputy Heads, and the only contact ds1 has had with her is tellings off - his own, other people, and collectively.

He came home earlier in the week storming about her, and had clearly been brooding over it for some time.

I've talked to him about new starts, making a good impression, etc. etc.; but I am a bit worried that he could have an awful year if he is determined to not get on with her.

Should I:
a) Talk to him some more about it
b) Drop it completely unless he raises it
c) Speak to the new teacher to warn her of potential conflict
d) Anything else?

OP posts:

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Bink · 29/06/2007 21:58

Is it her in particular, or is there an element of disappointment about not getting the other teacher?

frascati · 29/06/2007 21:59

Sorry your ds told the teacher off? Confused slightly.

roisin · 29/06/2007 22:04

Frascati ! No, the teacher has told him off, and told other children in the class off, and told the whole class/whole school off ... typical Deputy Head role, I guess.

I don't know the woman at all: ds1 clearly hasn't warmed to her. I know 90% certain he will get on with her, as he has done tremendously with all his teachers from yr1 onwards.

But he does have the capacity to have a complete personality conflict with occasional individuals, and it is disastrous if he does.

Bink, I think there is definitely an element of both.

OP posts:

Bink · 29/06/2007 22:07

Next question: how does he deal with setbacks/disappointments usually? Does he brood & then bring you the broodings to sort out? Or do you need to defuse things before they fester?

roisin · 29/06/2007 22:14

No, he doesn't bring me the broodings to sort out.
Usually these days he will work things out logically for himself, and 'get over it'.
But sometimes something will fester.

It's just a long time until September if he's determined to feel negatively about this poor woman. And he has quite a strong influence over his peers atm, and could stir them all up against her

Then again, she's an experienced teacher, she must have seen it all before ...?

OP posts:

RTKangaMummy · 29/06/2007 22:14

I think you should talk to him about the situation and try to find a positive slant on it

Good luck

Bink · 29/06/2007 22:25

Has he had a recent run-in with her? - something you haven't heard about? (What was it exactly he was storming about?)

I would think that maybe a good angle (given that your ds1 is quite sophisticated) is how different people can be in different roles - that someone who seems arbitrary and unreasonable in a formal telling-off situation can have a completely different manner as a class teacher - & that he should wait & see, without prejudging? Thus - if there has been a recent flashpoint - he can see that that mightn't have been the whole story about who she is?

If he likes to be logical, that is the logical approach I think.

lilolilmanchester · 30/06/2007 12:14

I agree entirely with Bink. Do you know anyone whose children this teacher has taught, so you can find out what she's like as a class teacher, rather than "disciplinarian deputy head"? At least you'll know whether a) she's different as a class teacher b) as bad as you fear - so you'll know what you're dealing with?
It's also good preparation for when he goes to secondary school next year and he'll have lots of different teachers, and as you'll know some secondary teachers have dreadful reputations amongst the kids but turn out not to be so bad after all.

saggarmakersbottomknocker · 30/06/2007 12:18

I can empathise with the brooding over the summer roisin. Ds2 was in a similar situation. His teacher turned out to be the better of the two and he was fine but he was a PITA that summer.

Is there a way to 'engineer' a positive experience between him and the teacher before the end of the term?

Blandmum · 30/06/2007 12:19

I would onlt talk about it if he raises it.

He may well find that having the deputy Head as a classroom teacher is very different to her role as DepHead.

FWIW, I know that kids groan when they hear that they have me as a teacher, as I have a reputation for being tough and strict. However, once they realise that the boundaries are set and conform to them, we actually have quite a good time. I'm teaching 44 kids in the upper sixth who all groaned when thet were told I was teaching them for GCSE, so we must have learned to get on somehow

Ironically he may well get to do a wider range of 'stuff' that kids in other classes will not get, as the dep Head will be very confident in her classroom managemnet, and will be able to do 'riskier' things.

Fauve · 30/06/2007 12:26

As MB says, 'strict' is actually good for the kids, esp the brighter ones, because there's far less messing about and disruptive behaviour. My kids grudgingly admit that. Maybe your ds needs help understanding that telling off is part of maintaining control, which is a Good Thing. My ds has had to learn that sometimes he gets told off quite unfairly in the interests of the school maintaining order. Shit happens, etc.

NineUnlikelyTales · 30/06/2007 12:30

If she is the deputy head she will have seen it all before. And if you DS builds himself up into a big dislike of the woman, and even tries to turn his peers against her, I don't fancy his chances Seriously though, I am sure she will be able to manage the situation well and your DS might feel more 'grown up' for having a supposedly stricter teacher in Y6. It will be a good learning experience for him to go into a class where he is obviously feeling anxious and yet it will be okay.

I wouldn't say anything to him about it unless he brings it up. Be really positive about the maturity thing if he does. You could explain about how part of her role as a manager is the bigger 'tellings off' but how this is probably not how she is in her own classroom, where she is just a teacher like all the others.

If there is a problem next year, that is the time to deal with it.

Fauve · 30/06/2007 12:30

Every sympathy, though. Good practice for secondary school...

SueW · 30/06/2007 12:35

I go with the positive slant on it. We've had almost exactly the same situation this morning.

We got our 'end of year' envelope this morning and found out this morning who DD's teacher for next year - Y6 - is. She's horrified as 'he's always shouting at people'. Well, I said, he's not likely to shout at you - look at your report - and you know those boys (looking at the new class list and picking out two of the liveliest) need someone who is firm with them so you can all get on with your work properly.

DD gets over it but there's definitely an element of 'change management' required

roisin · 30/06/2007 14:10

Thanks all! Some really helpful responses here, which I will take on board.

I don't think he's had a recent run-in with her, just a very long memory

I have no worries about her at all btw, it is a fantastic primary school, and there is no way the HT would have a deputy who's not brill.

The DH in question has 1 day per wk management duties, plus 0.5 day PP time; so he will have another teacher as well for quite a bit of the time.

Thanks especially to lilolilmanchester; I hadn't thought of asking students who'd had her before - that is so obvious, and we know quite a lot of course.

Finally, apologies for the delay in replying - I tripped over dh's dumbells last night, and my toe was badly swollen and extraordinarily painful. It was no better this morning, so I've been up to casualty to get it checked out! Fortunately it's not broken, so should mend quickly. But it hurts a lot

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lilolilmanchester · 30/06/2007 14:25

ooh, painful....hope it doesn't take too long to stop hurting.

lilolilmanchester · 10/09/2007 22:07

Hi Roisin, remembered this thread from before the summer... I know it's early days, but how's it going with the new teacher?

roisin · 12/09/2007 20:09

Ha ha! This is very funny. I saw this thread, and thought I'd jump in and say don't worry ... then I realised it was mine

Thanks for asking lil.

DS1 absolutely adores yr6. They are set for literacy and numeracy (first time), so he's with most of his mates from both classes. He has the 'other' teacher for literacy every morning, which he loves, especially Shakespeare. But is getting on well with class teacher too.

He has been coming home utterly exhausted, but I think he is maybe a bit under-the-weather/fighting-off-a-virus. But school at least, as always, is fab.

I will cry buckets when he leaves

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lilolilmanchester · 13/09/2007 14:11

lol!

oh yes, the dreaded year 6 leaving assembly... I was in pieces. Glad it's going well for him, must be a weight off your mind.

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