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!

I had this with firstborn's Year 3 teacher. There were lots of trips that year and I was able to attend them all. During the summer beach trip, the teacher asked why my child and I were sat with the school group as it was a private trip. When I answered that I was Firstborn Fullname's mother she asked who he was and was genuinely surprised that he was a pupil in her class.

My other fave story of her is when she excitedly accosted my friend who was a classroom assistant at the same school. She needed to tell her that there was a child in her new class who had the same birthday and surname as another child in her class who happened to be my friends son. The look of bewilderment on her face when my friend told her that it was her child's twin brother was a picture.

We put it down to the menopause

I think we can all agree that a year 3 teacher not knowing who a child in her class is by the summer term is a bit remiss.

Hmm I'm actually pretty concerned having read this thread that I've never had any of my five children's teachers not know who they were ;-)

Somebody in SLT decided it would be a good idea to hold the KS3 parent evenings on the last 3 weeks before we broke up for Easter. It got all a bit comical when I saw the same parents each week for different children. It almost got 'Hello, you're here again'. Today I aced it at 3 different events with my DCs and could greet students I teach and have taught by their name! Holidays do make a difference.

At my sons school some of the teachers had copies of school photos so that when you told them the name of your son they could look them up. I wasn't offended at all and wasn't bothered that they didn't know him by name. Just that they were good teachers and my son was learning lots. Which he was.

Just for variety: when my kids were little and only had one teacher (aside from gym and second language class) my exh never knew the teachers' names! One main teacher per year, two kids - that astounded me.

Hmm I've had this before at my DD's school. The teacher had about 100 thumbnail school photo shots in front of him to ID pupils! I guess in a girls' school it's even harder to differentiate as it was the first time meeting him. Once he had her name he was able to look up her test results and notes etc and take it from there. The next year she didn't have him anymore so I guess it's hard for the teachers. In some ways it's a good sign if they don't know your child as i's the naughty kids faces and names that tend to stick(only half joking!)

I'm a teacher in secondary for a non core subject. If the teacher is anything like me, I teach 21 groups of between 17-33 kids in a class. I only see the groups twice a fortnight (sometimes twice one week, not at all the next) and if the student doesn't say a lot, doesn't cause an issue and doesn't volunteer, then it's easy to lose that child in a busy room.
I try my hardest to remember names and faces, but when you see so many students for only 1 hour, it's easy to let them slip through the net. I know it's not any kind of reassurance, but at least you know she doesn't cause any trouble!

I thought the parents evening episodes of Outnumbered, Big School and Class Dismissed (CBBC) were all funny. Obviously rich pickings for comedy writers!

I like the Teachers clip. Don't parents of kids who are good at PE make appointments with PE teachers? I would if dd was good at it.

Looking back I do remember a teacher at the last PE who I now realise probably didn't know who dd was. She didn't have a lot to say and we didn't either so it was over quickly. It's been helpful knowing just how many kids teachers teach each week so can't be expected to remember faces.

I totally agree with SparklyUnicornPoo. I would also venture to say that it may have been a deliberate teachers method on the part of the teacher. Often year 9 students form two groups. The 'we are just coming into our own persona and therefore are forward and argumentative types. (commonly known in the UK as the terrible teens). Or the we are rather shy and retiring and do not wish to push ourselves forward for anything types. Which occurs in teenagers who have doting and caring parents! They do not want to express their own opinions so they will retreated behind mum and dad at such school events. The 'whats your name again?' ploy is a deliberate ploy get a response from that student. Once they get over the indignation of the remark they tend to interact with the teacher. I honestly think that this was the situation here. I have used it myself on several occasions just to get the 'quiet,' students to open up a little.

What do teachers who teach at the same school as their children do at high school? There are a few at dd's school. Do they have a slot before everyone else arrives where they go round?

I have this scenario ToffeeCaramel.

I've never been so well informed about my children!

For Parents' Day all staff get access to online booking system a day before parents, so we can block ourselves as 'unavailable' for 20 minutes here & there.

I book dc's teachers then block myself off for those slots.

Always a lottery if I actually escape my room without someone's mum or dad clinging to my ankles though.

But then the conversation if I do make it is usually 'Crowboy is a bright lad, needs to chat less & make more effort with written work, as I told you on the bus/in the pool/at the bar yesterday...'

A boy at dd's school has both his mum and dad as teachers at the school.

toffeecaramel I've known a few colleagues in this situation and what they've done if at all possible is to get the other parent to attend appointments, it's better all round as separates the relationships as colleagues/parents.

Someone once told my parents I was failing and getting Ds and didn't try and my mums face got blacker and blacker but I was on all As - shed got the two charlottes mixed up.

When I conducted my parents evening at school one pupil attended with his parents. He explained that they did not understand English every well. So he acted as an interpreter for me. That was until I noticed with I explained that I was concerned about certain grades he spoke and the parents were smiling. Sad face and angry stare later with a vigorous shaking of head is universal in any language. Parents then realized the same as I did that the little year 9 devil was lying to them and to me. Needless to say until they learnt English. I communicated in emogies!

What sort of things at parents evening would result in a parent being laughed at or moaned about? (So i can avoid doing them )

Saying 'yeah, I'm crap at maths/hate maths too, so I'll be no help' gets a

Any parent starting the sentence with 'When I was at school...'

'Im not bothered about how well he does in (insert all Subjects here that child is poorly behaved in). He doesnt want to be a librarian / priest / chef / Curator / accountant / joiner / spanish speaker when theres plenty of British pubs in benidorm'

'He spends all day at school! I dont think homework is important so i dont care if he does it or not.'

Useful to know.