Why are teachers offended when their teaching ability is criticized but have no qualms when doling out Fs?

Question

Why are teachers offended when their teaching ability is criticized but have no qualms when doling out Fs?

Answer 1

I just don't give out F's. Students earn them in my classroom.

Answer 2

Most teachers are receptive to constructive criticism about their teaching.  However, chances are if you decide to give that criticism in the form of generalized complaining aloud during class in front of your classmates, you won't find a very receptive audience.  Nor will a parent find a very sympathetic ear if they are complaining to a principal.

If you want the teacher to take your criticism seriously, do this:

1.  Schedule a time to meet with them in private.  Criticizing them in public will only make them defensive.

2.  Write down specifically what it is that they are failing to do.  You cannot be vague.

3.  Do not make it a list of accusations, but rather a list of solution-based requests.  For example, if the teacher is teacher is unclear when explaining things and does not use enough visuals, ask for more visual aids.  Start each sentence with the word "I."  (ex. I don't understand when you...)

What YOU need to understand, is that an F is not "criticism."  It is an indicator of your failure to meet the criteria set by the teacher and by the state.   Generally, it takes a seriously lapse of responsibility to get an F, meaning not doing homework, or not studying for tests.   If a student does not follow the directions of the teacher, and does not complete their work, they don't deserve a passing grade.  

You can blame teachers all you want, but 99% of the time, when a student fails, they need to take responsibility for their failure, rather than blame their lack of effort on the teacher.

Answer 3

I find it very ignorant that you think teachers have no qualms about doling out F's. I hate giving F's. I feel badly every time regardless of whether it is the students fault. Usually when a student receives an F it is because they either didn't do the work or they didn't try hard while doing the work. And yet still, every time, usually I blame myself when a student gets an F. I will look over my old lesson plans and revamp how I teach them. I will try to find the root of the problem and fix it. That's part of being a teacher. Sometimes, it is how we taught the material and we are able to fix that. Other times, no matter how hard we try, it really was just the students fault. That doesn't make us feel any better about giving out an F. I personally feel that every F I give out to a student, I also give to myself. There have been plenty of times when I have felt like a failure as a teacher. And plenty of those times, I have had other more experienced teachers have to convince me that it happens. Some students are just going to consistently fail because that's what they want to do. So please don't accuse us teachers of being heartless a******s. Unfortunately dealing with our students failure is one of those crosses we have to bear.

Answer 4

Simply, no one wants to take blame.

Answer 5

First of all i'm not a teacher. What I do find funny as h**l is how its normally the students that flunk a class that go out of the way to paint the teachers as horrible. For the most part, those are the students that never even tried or took the class seriously. The people that complain the most about classes tend to be the ones that wanted to babied throughout a class instead of owning up to the fact that they had to step things up and work harder

Answer 6

I would say giving an F (to a student that earned it) has nothing to do with the teachers teaching ability and therefore teachers get angry when people feel like it does.  The teacher can only do so much.  Although I do believe that all students are reachable and it is a teachers job to try and reach them but I don't believe every teacher can reach every student.  The student must have some kind of self motivation as well.