The school told the teacher who complained about her?

Question

We put a complait in about a teacher at a public school and the administration told the teacher where the complaint came from and basically called our daughter out. Can they do this

Answer 1

to get to the bottom of things.....and

the teacher has a right to defend herself....

Answer 2

They can only do it if they have evidence. It is in the constitution of the US.

Answer 3

If they can, then that's ridiculous. People are crazy these days. *sighs*

Answer 4

I don't think they can do that. I would talk to the adminstration.

Answer 5

Kinda asking after the fact...

Answer 6

Unfortunately the damage has been done!

But I would definitely approach the administration on your disappointment on how this problem was handled.  I would not leave the office until I had an apology, and assured that this policy of reporting to the teacher a confidential complaint would never be handled this way again - The child should have never been approached on this - this was between parents and teacher.

Answer 7

hmm...well, to play the devil's advocate, many people have posted decrying the parent-student rights. But you have to remember, the teacher has rights too and one of those rights is the right to confront your accuser which means the teacher had the right to know what you were being accused of and who is accusing you of it so that you might properly defend yourself. It keeps teachers from maliciously being attacked and slandered by parents and students, who would possibly being willing to work the system and destroy someone's career knowing that they would be allowed to hide behind the cloak of anonymity (not that I think that is what you or your are doing/ have done).

Be vigilant in making sure that there is no retribution (grade or otherwise) and if you feel completely uncomfortable you can ask that your child be removed from her class. Just like they tell us teachers, document, document, document. Homework grades, test grades, project grades, interactions between your daughter and the teacher that you object to, any contact you have with the teacher (phone or e-mail). That way if you feel like an impropriety has occurred, you have indisputable proof.

However, I can assure you that somewhere that teacher is going "How could anyone accuse me of XYZ?! I love kids! Why woud I single out that child?" Remember, while your first job is to protect your child, there are two sides to every story.

Answer 8

Yes, the school should tell the teacher who complained. You are complaining behind the teacher's back! As a teacher, I think I have a right to know who is complaining about me and possibly interferring with my reputation. The teacher deserves a chance to defend him or herself! How would you like one of your co-workers to complain about YOU behind your back to the boss? If you have a problem with the teacher, you should go see the teacher in person and try to work out the problem first. The next step is to meet with the principal and the teacher and to talk respectfully to come to a solution. Unless you've already tried those things, I think you are being unfair expecting to talk about someone without their defense. Teachers are human too and deserve some rights. We take care of a room (sometimes several rooms) full of kids! Cut us some slack! We're already paying for all these supplies and raising some of our students that the irresponsible parents haven't bothered to raise!

Answer 9

I supposed it depends on the school and it's location...I hope all matters are resolved, and your child has the best of education!

Answer 10

If they already did it I guess they can but it doesn't sound like they should be able to do that....

Answer 11

i think they can do it but it is a pretty lame thing to do

Answer 12

no thats soo wrong. it totally goes against student-parent privacy rights!!!!!!

i bet you can find something on this sitehttp://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/f...

good luck! =]

Answer 13

Yes, unless they promised you that your complaint would be confidential and not shared with the teacher.  They can't reprimand a teacher without telling him/her from where the complaint came, because that would not give him/her any ability to respond.

Answer 14

I think they might be able to, especially if they want to clearly address the situation with the teacher so that he/she knows what is going on. If you feel strongly about it, though, I'd go back and have another conversation about confidentiality.

Answer 15

Are you really sure the administration told the teacher the name of the student or do you think that it is possible that when the administration confronted the teacher about the complaint, they guessed who it was?

This is a really tough situation because obviously you have not shared the entire story and so we cannot know exactly what is going on. Obviously there is some sort of situation going on between the teacher and student. It is also quite possible that your daughter misinterpreted the 'calling out'.

As one of the respondents said, there are two sides to every story. I would hope that before going to the administration you tried to resolve whatever issue your daughter had with the teacher. That should ALWAYS be the first line of defense. Then go to the administration when nothing is resolved.

Before going further, take a step back and really analyze the situation in your mind, reworking all the details leading up to the current situation. Make sure you have handled it in the best possible way. Remember, it is the job of the administration to make sure their teaching staff is acting/teaching appropriately in the classroom so they had to talk to the teacher about the situation.

If you truly believe that the administration told the teacher the students name - talk to them again and make it known that it caused a further problem in the class and you felt they betrayed your trust.

Good luck and I hope you get your issue resolved.

Answer 16

oh wowww.w not good NO NO NO! i dont believe they can.

Answer 17

i would go to the principal, and complain. This is highly unprofessional. You can also ask for a review of your daughter's grade, should this seemingly affect her grade in the class, and keep written copies of assignments and reports in case the teacher said that the she didn't turn something in, hope this helps.