To be annoyed at this teacher regarding parents evening?

[Blownspeakersandvolcanos]

My dd is is in year 9 and had a parents evening tonight which she came along to.

When it was our turn to approach her art teacher, he had to ask dd what her name was again.

There was an instance in his class where she asked him for a fresh piece of paper and he had a go at her because he had assumed she had come in from the classroom next door and should have therefore asked her teacher

I get in secondary school that you obviously teach many children, but he also taught her during year 7 too.

I just didn't want to listen to his report on her because he doesn't seem to have a clue who she was!

AND another thing (bitter old bag that I am) The planning time some people think we get... I get 2.5 hrs PPA time p/w.

I get four hours planning time out of 25 elodie! I hear ya!

I listed how many KS3 students I see for only 50 mins per week earlier (180), I also see 27 year 9s for 150 mins, 29 year 10s for 150 mins, 24 year 11 students for 150 mins as well as 16 yr 12s for 200 mins and finally 12 yr 13s, then of course my form group of 25 6th formers. So each week I see a total of 313 students.

Obviously given I spend more time with my GCSE/6th form groups I do know their names very well (apart from the identical twins in year 9 - can only do that in lessons as they are sat away from each other but I haven't got a clue which one is which elsewhere).

KS3 - I struggle if they are not in my carefully constructed seating plan

70ontheinside, luckily for my daughter it works for her, she has a gift for names and faces, as I said I don't and maybe you don't or at least not to the same degree.

Cricketballs so 313 students, not the 500 or 600 that was quoted up the thread? The people I was responsible for were only 150 but I might see them once a month for a few minutes, obviously some I saw more often but 50 minutes a week would be far more than I saw them for other than the people who worked in the same office as me, 10 of them and other managers 8, so 132 people who I saw as much in a year as you see them in a week.

I know learning names and faces is hard for some, it is for me, but if you see them for 50 or more minutes a week then I honestly don't think it is that big a deal.

I understand the problem with twis, three of my kids have had friends who were twins and I know that can be a nightmare.

People were being disingenuous about the planning time, quoting 5 lessons a day 5 days a week, or 6 lessons 5 days a week, obviously it varies from school to school, but you do have planning time and that means some days you don't teach a full timetable.

Kitty I wasn't outraged, I really wasn't, maybe a bit shocked about a child being told off for being in their own class but not about the names. I was pointing out that I am bad at learning names but I knew my 150 staff by name, could tell you how long they had worked for us, how much they earned, their partners names, their kids names, who was waiting for 11 plus results, GCSE or A level results, who needed time off for their kids first trip to uni and many many other things about them and I saw them for a fraction of the time a teacher sees a child they are teaching. Far from being outraged it actually cheered me up as I have gone through life thinking I was bad at something that I now feel I was OK at.

By the way to whoever mentioned PPA time, I do know how much time teachers get so not quite sure why all the outrage about that.

Teachers have got a million other things to be doing in PPA time than staring at photos of kids that often bear little resemblance to the kid in question.

I wouldn't be able to remember 313 students. 600 i think was for schools that have a two week timetable. Dd's school has a two week timetable.

Agree entirely about the photos. If I could take photos of them as they look now (photos are usually one to two years behind their age now) it would help me more, but I'm sure some parents would be unhappy about that.

I get one free period a day (could be two on one day and none on another) in which I have about a zillion things to do, I see about (quick calculation) 370 students and I'm only part time.

I went to a parents evening and saw the Art teacher. Told him DD's name and he rhapsodised over her work while showing me work done by a girl with the same surname but different first name. I asked him was he talking about the right student and he replied "oh yes (not my daughter's name) is very good at..." so I cut in and said "that's all very nice but my DD's name is xyz, can we talk about her please?"

He went scarlet. And then looked up the correct record.

It's because they see hundreds of students per week.

I teach nearly 600 students over a two week timetable. I do know my kids but some I forget their names (but then I sometimes call my only child by her niece's name) but end of a 12 hours day, 3 of which talking to parents I am not sure I can reliably remember by own name.

I should also wear my glasses and proof read before pressing post.

but if you see them for 50 or more minutes a week then I honestly don't think it is that big a deal

When they are in a class of 30 with some students needing a lot more support than others then yes it is very difficult to remember them all straight away

I'd be pretty fed up as well but it's better than the teacher having your DCs name imprinted on their mind within two seconds of meeting them. I saw a teenager the the other day, he's 15, and I could recall his name immediately. Mostly I forget their name after a while or don't even recognise them by the time they are 15 it's 4 years since they left primary.

I understand you are upset but this teacher probably has at least 18 different classes a week, possibly more. So that's 18x30 kids potentially.
That being said I would have thought he'd have made an effort to remember names before parents eve

I think teachers work hard and both incidents described here are really really trivial. It's lovely to put your kids at the centre of your universe, but a tad unreasonable to expect the same of teachers who have loads of kids to remember and might occasionally fail.

Perhaps your kid is a bit forgettable?

Fucking teachers, eh? Sack us all, lazy bastards that we are.

I find children in their own clothes look different - and girls with faces full of make up I don't normally see can render me nameless come parent's evening. I have embarrassed myself more than once!

I suppose one solution would be for an email to go out before parents evening requesting that parents state their child's name to each teacher as teachers teach up to 600 different pupils a fortnight and may need reminding. It might make people more understanding.

we (teachers, parents and students) all have name stickers at parents' evening ... parents have the name of their child stuck on them. Works much better

Our students are provided reports on arrival to parents evening.
Once seated I ask parents "ooh, shall we have a look at the report together? Gauge how they are performing overall?"

Then quickly scan the name on the front of the report to ensure I have the correct name in my head!

Like most teachers, the quiet students mostly remain the ones I struggle to name. The noisy disobedient ones that I remove are the ones I can spot a mile away.
I teach on a two week timetable, it's nuts the volume of kids that pass through the room. I do recognise them all by face though- it's just the names I struggle with. I would die of embarrassment if I called them by the wrong name or admitted that I didn't know them.

I also spot other teachers doing the same with my own little people it's all good. We're human after all.

Yes those are good ideas

m.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZfROh3AuzA

😂 I loved teachers.

It is a bit annoying but he probably teaches a huge number of children per week. However, he should have handled it better - if he did not know her name just not call her anything.

Teachers was brilliant. I love that no one wants to see the PE teacher at parents' evening.