What do you do when your child complains about his/her teacher?

Question

Do you believe everything your child tells you?

Do you call the teacher directly or go to the school administration?

Do you try to work with the teacher to create a solution?

Just wondering what everyone's approach would be......

Answer 1

Well some kdis have big imaginations adn always thinks the teachers don't liek them or they are mena to tehm just because they call on them alot or make them do more work. But first off I woudl set up a teacher's conference with the teacher and find out what's happening. Then if it keeps going go to teh principle and have a talk with him and if that fails to make things right go to teh school board and tell tehmw hat's going on. And that's the way I woudl do it.

Answer 2

I would call the teacher and, unless it was an extreme situation, I would side with the teacher.

Answer 3

I would call the teacher. I defintely wouldn't go over her head to the administration. Teachers and parents are a team of sorts and should work together as much as they can. The teacher is the person who spends all day with my kid so that's who I'd want to talk to if something was bothering my son. Not much sense in adressing someone else who isn't even in the classroom. I wouldn't involve the administration unless something horrible happened like the teacher recently who stood her autistic kindergartener in front of the class and had everyone say what they didn't like about him...

Answer 4

I would first just call the teacher and try to find out what happened. Just be polite so you don't cause more trouble. If that doesn't work, then go to the principal.

Answer 5

Talk to your child,the teacher,and class mates.If they problem is so big.

Answer 6

Listen and ask for enough details so you know. If someone is fibbing they usually slip up. See if other kids say the same.

Make sure the kid knows to tell fibs is serious, but if the teacher is doing wrong a kid needs to be believed.

Answer 7

I would suggest first calling the teacher and hearing that side of the story.  Don't speak to them in an angry manner or accusing, but really listen.  You can set up a meeting with the teacher and the principal if you want.  There have been many times where I've seen students lie to their parents, or tell a different version of the story because they don't want to get in trouble, and I just wish the parents would listen with an open mind.  Of course you want to trust and believe your child, but remember that this is an adult.  The teacher is your partner in your child's education, and you need to be able to work together.

Answer 8

Well it depends...

Has your child ever lied to you before??

My teacher was absolutely horrible...i mean awful and i complained ALL the time... not knowing the situation i would simply leave it alone. Let your child complain...maybe its a person that they would never like...you never know.

If that doesnt sound ok for you...ask your child if you could sit in on class one day... just know the teacher will probably be lik super different. OR ask the principal if it would be alright for your child to record something during class...secretly. That way you could hear the problem. They may say no which is fine just think of something else. But if the principal says ok get your child to sign a paper saying they wont tell anyone...that could get you in serious trouble.

Answer 9

It really depends on what the child is complaining about. Is it an isolated complaint or an ongoing thing? If it is an ongoing complaint then it may bear looking into, otherwise I'd chalk it up to just whining and let it go.

You can't jump down a school or teacher's back every time a kid comes home and says "boo" about a teacher.  If the complaint were something serious enough though I think I'd find a way to talk to other parents who had kids in the same classroom and see if their child said anything to them about the same thing and if so, then address it with the teacher to be sure something was misconstrued by the kids. If not satisfied at that level, then talk to the principal about it.

Answer 10

listen and then go to administrators

Answer 11

well when i was in like..5th grade

i had a teacher who i knew was a fat perv, everyone thought so

and he was just a strange guy

and id tell my mom that all the time, and she never took anything

i said seriously, she thought i was just complaining

TURNS OUT he WAS a pedophile and he had been taking pics

of girls in our class...he said he was doing it "for yearbook"...

so id say trust your kid..or at least investigate and see what

other kids have to say about their teach

Answer 12

I would sit the child down and talk to the child, find out why the child complains about the teacher.  Then together with the teacher AND the child I try to work out a solution.

Answer 13

You definitely need to talk to the teacher first. I'm not just saying that because I am a teacher. If you go to the principal first, he/she will often ask you if you have tried to discuss the problem with the teacher. Principals seem to like the 'chain of command.' (Unless of course the accusations against the teacher are serious - such as abuse)

Your child could be getting into trouble at school, or struggling in some way. Often times they will complain about school or their teacher as a way of trying to get their parents on 'their side' before the teacher contacts you.

I would schedule a time to meet with the teacher and take your child along with you if you feel that won't make your child uncomfortable. Then you can both discuss what's happening and will probably come to the 'source of the the problem'.

As a side note, I overheard a teacher say to a parent one time (jokingly): "If you don't believe 100% of what your child says about what happens at school - Then I won't believe 100% of what your child says about what happens at home."