What do I do about my son's unfriendly Art teacher?

Question

My son is in Kindergarten and i want to first say i LOVE his actual teacher how ever i have noticed that his art teacher has to be the most un friendly woman in the entire school. i have talked with other parents who are having the same problem with this particular teacher. I have talked with my son and all he says is she yells allot considering he is 6 i haven't gotten much more detales from there. everyday i feal guilty about having to send him to school, because he has to deal with this woman who seems to be going for the un-friendliest woman of the year award. I have heard about and seen this woman yelling at students and parents and i have a MAJOR problem with other people yelling at my children also keep in mind i choose not to yell and scream at my children. I don't know how to approach this subject with the school, or who i am supposed to talk to, if i should at all.

Answer 1

If your son doesn't seem to be bothered by her and doesn't complain, I would do nothing.  Kids have to learn to deal with some things on their own.  I'm sure we all had a horrible teacher growing up and survived to complain to each other years later.  My opinion is that we parents get way to worked up these days...think of what our parents would have done, nothing.  

If she's causing him to not want to go to school, or affecting his work in anyway, I would go to the principal first....maybe with another parent...and then go up the chain of command if needed.  It may be that the school is aware of the problem, and are taking steps to correct it, or are planning on not renewing her contract anyway.

Good luck!

Answer 2

Definitely approach the prinicipal, and tell him/ her of your concerns. Keep in mind that the principal is this teacher's employer, and therefore would need to know if parents are unhappy.

However, I would suggest approaching it very sensitively and from the angle of a concerned parent, to give you credibility in the principals eyes. Sometimes a parent can have a genuine concern, but if they approach the principal yelling and ranting and raving, it may lead the principal to believe that it is the parents problem, not the teachers!

Another tip is that your child will have to learn to deal with unfriendly people. You shouldn't feel guilty about that, as that is life. He is going to have to learn to deal with unfriendly people in his life.

Answer 3

You have to be very careful, My son had the same problem with an art teacher and he stated that she yelled alot and before the year ended we found out that she was cusing at the children yelling names at them and calling them really bad ethnicity names like, spiks, good for nothing, and morons.  My son was only 6 years old so he did not quite undertand what the words meant.  One child had to be taken out of school and into sometype of therapy because he used to act very violently and was having nightmares.

I'm telling you this becasue it happened to my son and I did not know about it untill at the end of the school year, I feel really bad for not knowing and not doing anything about it.  The teacher was eventually taken out of the school, but is still working within the School system.  I don't know how to spell her name but her name was Ms. Lambardy!

Ask your child what kind of words she is using on them or just send a tape recorder in his backpack.

Ask the school for a parent teacher meeting and ask parents to join you and talk about what you want for your children.  You have the power to take her out!  Not all teachers deserve to be teachers.

Good luck, and do something about it, you have the power, you are the parent.

Answer 4

You and other parents can sign a petition to get her fired and give it to the principle or whoevers in charge

Answer 5

EAT HER!

Answer 6

If the art teacher is an actual artist then she's bound to be temperamental. As most artists are. I myself am an artist and I have cranky moments. But still yelling at a 6 year old is just going to frighten him. I'd confront her on the issue. If she becomes unreasonable and aggressive towards yourself then I would see the person in charge and talk to them about it. If He/She won't listen then pursue the issue further until someone does listen to you. That's what my mum did when I was little when having to deal with problem teachers.

Answer 7

If she's the art teacher, I can't imagine that he has to see her more than once a week for a brief period.    If it were his classroom teacher, I would certainly be upset about it, and try to meet with the principal on getting his classroom changed.  But since she's an "extra," he really doesn't have to deal with her on a daily basis.

I would tell your son that when Mrs. Meanypants yells at him, not to get upset because she yells at EVERYONE, and that is just how she talks.  At some point during his school years, he may have a classroom teacher who is also not the nicest.  It happens to every child at least once.  His limited exposure to this nasty woman will help prepare him for dealing with a difficult teacher sometime in the future.

Answer 8

This happened to me with my daughters music teacher. I called her and I told her that my daughter came home and told me that she yelled at her, and I know other kids in the class and they are saying the same thing ( I didn't mention the other kids by name), and I said if MY child does anything when you EVER feel like you have to yell at her, call me, and I'll do it.

It has never happened again!

Answer 9

To be fair, you should talk to the teacher first. Schedule a conference, be polite, tell her about your concerns. If she is a first year teacher, she might not have learned how to control a class without yelling. But chances are if the situation is as bad as you say, you will then need to go further and schedule a conferece with the principal. Don't go in with a bad attitude, yelling at the principal or teacher, demanding your rights, threatening to pull your kid out, etc. Just politely and quietly express your concerns, and let them know that it is a very important issue to you. I wouldn't mention "other parents," that often seems like an exageration or attempt to make an issue bigger than it is. Encourage the other parents to go to the teacher/principal themselves, but don't try to be their spokesperson.

Good luck.

Answer 10

I am sorry to hear you are having to undergo such an ordeal with your son's teacher. Considering he is only six years old, you are quite right.. the "screaming 'til you're blue in the face approach" really isn't the best tactic to adopt when dealing with behaviour. Is this Art teacher aged/ mature? A lot of first generation teachers are unfortunately stuck in a rut when it comes to discipline and working with children pro-actively rather than reactively. Seeing as her specialism is associated with creativity, this is most bizarre!

In schools, from a teacher's point of view, there will always be colleagues who react differently to controlling/ managing children. Please be aware that the monitoring regulations placed upon all school teachers is extremely regulative and strict, so much so that usually such behaviour would have been picked up on by now if it is cause for concern, generally. Teachers are observed as a matter of course in their teaching classes, although the fact that you [as a parent] aren't satisfied with your son's education is a pressing issue.

Please don't hesitate in contacting the head teacher. He/she is the one who holds true power in enforcing changes in such circumstances. Approach him/her as a neutral beginning to this situation, perhaps arrange an after-school meeting and bring another parent along for some support to back up your claims if you feel this may be beneficial. The next step from here will be further observation of this teacher, whereby her lessons shall be monitored / tracked as a matter of urgency. I have seen this in practice in my own schools and often helps resolve problems like this, where the teacher begins to see the error of their ways.

I wish you luck, this is a problem that will not be eradicated completely for a while, such processes usually take a bit of time as a matter of 'formality'. Parents have no real impact in the 'hiring and firing' of teachers, but your say counts. Some schools have better home-school links than others, but have your voice heard and you are sure to see improvements.

Answer 11

ignore her

Answer 12

Yes you should definately speak up.  You need to make an appointment with the Principal and let him/her know of your concern.  If you can get another parent to come with you and ask others to write a short letter of complaint and bring them with you to the meeting.  A  substitute teacher at my daughters school was just 'suspended' for the same thing.  He was a big guy and used to yell at the kids and talk to them very unkindly.  He was filling in for Grade 3, 4, 5 kids.  By saying nothing you are only letting the big bully get away with it.  Don't let her intimidate you or the kids.  Stick up for your son!

Answer 13

You simply can not change a persons personality, this woman is a shrew & will not become friendly for any reason.  But the yelling is a problem you can get fixed.  First go to the principal. If that doesn't help go to the school board. If that doesn't work contact your attorney.

Answer 14

Write a letter to the principal stating your concerns about the art teacher and add into the letter that she is crushing the childrens love for creativity and art and that by yelling at pre adolecent children diminishes their love for any activity.  If you've noticed your son not wanting to go to school on days that he has art, put that in your letter also.  Explain that she is disrespectful not only to the students, but to parents as well and that you and other parents have discussed your concerns with this teacher and you feel that some disciplinary action must be taken to ensure the safety, natural creativity, and developing minds of the students.  Follow up your letter with a phone call and/or conference with the principal.  If the principal chooses to ignore your letter and requests, follow up with a letter to the superintendant AND the school board.

Answer 15

Situations like this can be tricky.  I understand you not wanting your child yelled at, but honestly, in public schools it will happen.

Since you really get along well with your child's teacher, why don't you schedule a conference with her, not the art teacher, and voice your concerns, and see what she has to say.  She may have some good advice.

Answer 16

The principal, it will be in their duty to help you out. Ask a few parents to come along with you and help explain to the principal how uncomfortable this art teacher is making you and your children feel.