to think DS's teachers is either thick or heartless?

[carocaro]

DS1 is 8 and dyslexic.

So his teacher makes him and the class shout out their scores they get in mental maths and spellings each day. AS DS has a auditory processing issue and find spelling very hard, so his scores are 1 or 2 out of ten at best when done this way.

I did not know this and I get a call last night from a Mum of a girl at school who said she was upset that my DS gets teased about it all the time by some of his classmates. I asked DS about it and he was so upset and said he felt more thicker since he went back to school

I am fighting the desire to go to school and belt said teacher around this head and ask her WHAT THE FUCK SHE IS DOING.

I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOO ANGRY at her stupidity and lack of thought. She know what he finds hard and to humiliate him in this way beggars belief.

I am LIVID.

DEMAND a meeting with her and with the HT present, tell them if this happens again you will ask for a meeting with the chair of Governers and also mention the possibilty a letter to the local paper.

Insist the teacher apologises to your child in your presence and also (possibly) in front of the class

Those claims are not exclusive to the TES forums sadly Riven.

You know, to me she sounds more just as if she hasn't grasped the problem. Which is bad in a different way.

We had a pig-ignorant teacher who organized a game where we threw the ball to each other and whoever caught in answered.

She 'forgot' about the person in the class who'd lost her hands and eyesight to meningitis. Forgot.

In a way, being stupid as hell is almost as bad as being malicious.

Those teachers who claims those things have clearly not taught children with the severe form of the condition.

People seem to forget that they are on a scale not as simple as you have it or not and you display the same traits as all people with the condition.

YANBU -go in and see her.

Regardless of your DS's dyslexia, it is a terrible thing to do to children. There are always going to be children who are less able and this leaves them open to ridicule and bullying.

Adding in the fact that your son has dyslexia, it is horrifying. Your poor son, I feel so sorry for him.

I would be going straight to the head, and if you can get one or more other parents to corroborate the story and also complain, then that would be even better.

I would be furious and so churned up inside thinking of what ds goes through.

Of course, take it to the head! Be calm. Make sure it's verified that this goes on then say it is disgraceful and must stop.

As an aside I feel very uncomfortable with posters calling the teacher 'a nasty bitch' etc. Awful. Horrible word bitch and like a big baying mob

Unbelievable- I'm a teacher and I wouldn't even consider making childrens test scores public, only teacher, pupil and parents should know those sorts of things.

Thanks all. It has been eating me up all day. DH talked to him and I have just spent an hour out the house having a cry in the car. Did not want DS to see me so upset. DS said he hates school, he felt thicker than ever and he wanted to stay at home every day.

DH also went into school today and had a brief meeting with the teacher, through the office hatch as she would not come out! DH was still confused after about what she exactly does as she was so vague herself!

So we are doing a letter about how none of his scores are to be class knowledge EVER and how DS confidence is rock bottom at present etc etc etc. CC'ing it to the head a board of govenors.

This public humiliation is not on. I still remember having tears pouring down my face aged 10 as the whole class waited for me to get the sum 9x4 correct on the umpteenth time of asking - Mr Ashton you wanker and I have hated maths ever since. My Dad (RIP) bless him went into school and told the teacher that if he ever made me cry in class again he have him; it worked (twas the 70's).

Oh, caro, this is terrible.

How rude of her not to speak properly to your DH - that is very odd! Well done you for the letter though, hope you get the result you need.

There is just absolutely no need to humiliate children this way. It makes me so angry.

OP does your son have a IEP (Induvidual Education Plan) and does it on there mention his sensory issues?

firstly YANBU to be angry but the anger wont help you if you keep it at boil

Phone the school make an appointment with the SENCO and the class teacher and then go through the plan explain calmly why behaving like this is not working for your son and speak to her about how she can aid him in learning.

good luck stand your ground I would reccommend the books called "the secret life of the dyslexic child suggest she reads it to aid her understanding of how to best educate your son

good luck

OP- Can you not address the issue that your child is being made to do a test that he can't score highly on? If his scores are continue to be low enough that you don't want them to be read out in class, then there's no point in him doing the tests, and he's still going to know he hasn't done well. Does he have specific words for him to learn, or is it a whole class test?
I have to admit, I don't have a massive problem with the concept of children in a class knowing what others have achieved, as long as what they've been aiming for is achievable, if you see what i mean. The beam on the face of someone who's got three out of three spellings because they've worked hard at learning them, is just as big as the child who got fifteen out of fifteen,(if not bigger!) and should be celebrated as much. I would be really concerned about the other children's behaviour,as it shows that there is an atmosphere in the classroom where laughing at other's faults is acceptable, and goes against much of the current SEAL, citizenship emphasis of primary school.

How horrible - I always try to discourage pupils asking each other test scores etc. (secondary) as it knocks confidence and can be very hurtful.

There is no excuse for being public with scores - it's the child's business.

Not the same I know, but back in the stone age when my class was learning to swim we had a truly hideous swimming instructor who publicly mocked me for my fear of water and used a long pole to shove us away from the edge.

He got us all standing in front of him and asked me why I wasn't "trying" and I explained my fear of water.
He then said "That explains why you're so dirty then" - I wasn't obvioulsy - but I remember the humiliation and class sniggering.

That's horrendous. No child needs public humiliation. Or for anyone to know what their scores are in tests, whether good or bad.

I'd also be asking the teacher very specifically what she is doing to help him learn mental maths in ways that don't involve so much phonological processing - dyslexia-friendly ways of learning basic number facts, using visual memory for times tables, allowing jotting, extra time, etc. And the same for the spellings. If she is not making any sort of adaptations, then insist that she does.

Dyslexic children do still need to work on learning times tables or other aspects of mental maths, they do still need to work on learning correct spellings, but there are many other ways than what is often taught that can make that process easier, and adapations that can be made for those areas where they don't manage to get it as accurately or as quickly as others. And humiliation is definitely not going to help.

Well I think it's generally best to let teachers get on with things in their classroom and that most children will muddle through. THIS situation though is the exception to my rule! I would be livid and sad too and you are totally right to act on it as you have done.

Ask for a meeting with the teacher and the school's SENCo, with the agenda of them outlining the dyslexia friendly teaching and learning strategies they are using as reasonable adjustments to meet your son's needs, to ensure clarity regarding his provision.
That should make them think......

Also gives them the opportunity to show whether they do actually understand what they should be doing, and of course you have the opportunity to raise any concerns you might have....... such as the complete lack of differentiation of spellings, for example!

Omg. I am not for one second suggesting the teacher is right here but the venom spouted by some people( she's a bitch, for example) is horrendous. In my classroom I really do give a shit about my class but I have made some bloody stupid mistakes over my time which when highlighted to me I have been absolutely mortified about and rectified immediately. In the first instance I would make the assumption that the teacher has made a very silly mistake and speak to her about it . It could be solved in 2 minutes flat rather than becoming a huge issue

I agree bulby, awful comments about the teacher without knowing the full picture (but OP as I commented earlier, I feel dreadful for you and ds and understand your fury)

Glad you posted that bulby, the venom in this thread quite scared me. It baffles me why parents expect teachers to be perfect and go on the warpath when they aren't. I am totally in agreement that this practice is completely wrong but there seems to be no consideration of the possibility that the teacher has just made a (very silly) mistake. Teaching is stressful enough without worrying that you'll be hauled over the coals for anything you do wrong. I do appreciate when parents have input and I would much prefer to be told if something I am doing is upsetting a child, but I think it needs to be handled maturely (ie a quiet word, a note) before full-on action is taken.

I agree, WofD. It also baffles me why people expect teachers to be completely unreasonable and their first response is not 'have a quick word with her about the problem and ask that she doesn't do it any more' but 'GET IN THE HEAD. THE GOVERNORS! THE LOCAL PRESS!!!'.

People seem to be very quick to drag in their own issues with teachers and their own schooling into threads like this.

As an aside, kids will always want to compare their test scores. You can only protect him from the knowledge that he's not as good as the other kids at some things for so long. Try to boost his confidence in other areas.

hings can usually be resolved by a quiet, friendly word.

Thing is the OP DH has tried to talk, with apparently little sucess. So I believe the letter to the head and BoG totally justified although rather than just no scores to be made public, I would want a meeting regarding teaching stategy for your DS, as this is just one area where his needs are not being met, what about the rest of the curriculum?

As for sentiments displayed here (yes I know it's AIBU)although many say go straight to the head, I would guess that in reality a large number would actually speak to the teacher first in most situations. At the end of the day, they exert a signficant amount of influence on the education each DC receives.

I am a teacher, and I would be going to the head over this.

This is elementary stuff- regardless of SEN, if a teacher is not taking into account the impact a practice like this can have on pupils (who may be abused for example) and doing it on a regular basis, then somebody needs to intervene. Children come to school with a whole range of experiences and needs, and those are only the ones known to the school.

If you teach in this way, disregarding any emotional impact on the children, expect the head to have a word with you.