First, push play on the video above to get the full effect as you read this!
Ok……. deep breath……. the meeting with Eason’s teacher is over, as is his time in her classroom, I think. I have to say, I was not a wimp at all!!!! I stood my ground, however shaky my legs, and said what needed to be said!
A few key points that sealed the deal for me:
1) She stood Eason up in front of the whole class yesterday and made him admit to something he hadn’t done, then called him a liar…. yes, in front of the whole class.
2) She has expressed to me the fact that he doesn’t get his work done during class, then refuses to help him learn how to do better at that. She says, “It simply takes too much time”. How hard is it to walk past a child and remind him to keep working? Aparently too hard for this teacher.
Merritt and I were both very calm. We approached our concerns very calmly and dignified, but as soon as we brought up the incident yesterday, she asked her aid to go get the principal. She then proceeded to tell us we were being agressive and she didn’t like how we made her “public enemy #1” as she put it. I was glad she got the principal so he could see how she was acting!
After an hour’s discussion, I finally wrapped it up by saying: “Ok, so the main thing is Eason needs to learn how to focus on his work. He needs a little prodding in this. Are you willing to do your part to help him learn to be more self-motivated?” When she answered, “I simply do not have the time to do that”, the meeting was over.
We will be meeting with the principal to find him a new teacher better suited to his needs. I do have to say, I handled myself very well, even better than Merritt! He even admitted it! HA! I Can be brave!!!! Yay for me!!!!! Ok, you can finish enjoying the video! (sidenote: I used to listen to this CD before all my dates in college! Yes, it was an oldie then, too! I’m not that old! It was great!)
Life...How Hard Can It Be? 
Heidi said,
February 14, 2008 at 11:03 pm
That is AWESOME!
I totally know how scary that can be… Taylor has a new teacher this year too, did you know that? We gave his “assigned” teacher a good 2 months into the school year to “prove” herself. In my opinion, it was 2 months too long… but the principal asked us to give it a good honest effort. Taylor is doing FANTASTIC now that we’ve switched teachers!
I know your school is close to you, but if you want some great 1st and especially 2nd grade teachers, bring Mr. Eason up to our school! 😉
Erin Evans Taylor said,
February 14, 2008 at 11:23 pm
Heidi,
I didn’t know that! I wish we had done this sooner. I wasn’t really certain what the actual problem with Eason not getting his work done was, I thought he was just goofing off. But when I went in to observe his class, I saw it was the teacher, not Eason! Today’s meeting only solidified it in my mind.
I may consider your school…… thanks for the suggestion!
loralee said,
February 14, 2008 at 11:35 pm
This teacher sucks so much it is making my blood boil. I cannot believe that she still has a job.
I do NOT rail on teachers lightly. Not at ALL. I have worked so closely with the teachers in my sons schools (I helped find and hire many of them) and know what teachers go through. I have seen overly demanding parents and this is NOT the case her?
First? The open ridicule? The accusation in front of everyone? Sickening. He is freaking SIX YEARS OLD.
Can you tell I am pissed? That steam is coming from my ears? One of the reasons that Jon and I went to a charter school is the fact that bad teachers and administrators just keep circulating in this valley. Nothing is ever done about them. If a teacher like this had slipped through the cracks in our school, her contract would not be renewed.
I just want to barf.
I hope that the principal is cooperative and works with you. Your son will b e SO much better off out of her classroom. :S
Shantell said,
February 15, 2008 at 2:54 am
Erin we are trying to get London into Canyon Rim Academy which is a charter school at about 2800 E. and 2800 S. They are starting to accept applications in the next few weeks. Maybe Eason would like it up there? It is a service based school so they do a lot of service projects in the communtity and they focus a lot on the arts. Here is their website if you are interested in checking it out for next year.
http://www.canyonrimacademy.org/index.html