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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to complain about teacher

53 replies

5plusMeAndHim · 07/03/2018 07:04

DD is I'm y12 she is doing the standard 4 AS levels and has 2 teachers for each.In one subject she is getting solid A grades with one teacher and consistently getting 20 percent scores with the other.I do not think a gap this wide and this consistent can be down to anything except crap teaching.Cousins at school also think she is poor.we are in an affluent area and I think the problem is disguised a lot by tutoring

OP posts:
Pengggwn · 07/03/2018 07:29

Of course it could be down to something other than crap teaching.

  • Is the subject content vastly different on one side of the course than the other? Like Theology - some of the content will be more 'religious texts' and some will be 'philosophy'. There are plenty of students who might get on better with the former than the latter.
  • Does your DD attend all the lessons? Some students dodge lessons with teachers they don't like, or that clash with when their friends are in the social area: Friday P5.
  • Has the content been covered yet? Some schools insist on assessment throughout the year whether the syllabus has been covered or not (consistency), so the students won't pass because they haven't done it.

Just a couple of ideas.

MidniteScribbler · 07/03/2018 07:31

Naturally, it must be a 'crap' teacher, and couldn't possibly be anything to do with your little angel.

NotBurpeesAgain · 07/03/2018 07:33

And of course, the "correct" marks are the As.

Some of my students have just got their mock exam results. One particular teacher gave them very harsh marks (French marks - one of my students who usually gets between 12 and 15 out of 20 had 2.5).

It happens. I would not complain, except perhaps in a subject like Maths where marks are not as subjective.

ilovesooty · 07/03/2018 07:34

Oh yes. Do go ahead and complain with absolutely no solid foundation or facts. Hmm

Skatingfastonthinice · 07/03/2018 07:38

How about having a meeting to ask why there is such a difference, and have the teachers explain? At least you would have evidence rather than froth and rage.

UrgentScurryfunge · 07/03/2018 07:43

It may be connected to the spilt of the subject.
I found in A-level English Lit that I connected better with some texts than others. I did tend to do better with the texts from teacher A than teacher B. The skills were the same and transferable, I just found some texts richer to analyse and some more superficial. I don't know if they split the texts delberately so that the less experienced teacher had the "simpler" texts but I can't blame the teacher for much of the discrepancy.

Likewise in French, the split was by skill. Having a mild hearing impairment was going to hamper my marks for listening. I also struggled with the literature that fell with the same teacher. Reading and writing came more easily to me.

More knowlege is needed before you can "complain".

DontWannaBeObamasElf · 07/03/2018 07:44

My biology teacher was fantastic. Really good. I on the other hand was not. My English teacher was pretty poor, again, I was not. Would outside tutoring be an option?

Happened · 07/03/2018 07:58

It's more likely to be the subject content and how it is split between the teachers. One might be teaching an easier part of the course than the other. Why don't you ring up and ask have to have a meeting with both teachers together before you complain?

LIZS · 07/03/2018 08:09

It is all too easy to blame a teacher. What has your dc done to address apparent flaws in their work or approach? Y12s are expected to take responsibility for their learning. Is there a difference between one topic and another ( ie. Pure maths and mechanics) which might make one more tricky to grasp and score well. It is unusual to take 4 AS now as A levels do not follow on in most cases.

EllieMe · 07/03/2018 08:14

At that stage grades are down to the quality of the pupil not the standard of teaching.

KimmySchmidt1 · 07/03/2018 08:14

What does your daughter say about it? If she blames the teaching, how does she describe the difference in teaching? Have you read any of her essays to see if they are of the same standard or different?

Before you make a very serious allegation of professional incompetence which could ruin someone’s life you need to take this seriously yourself and get lots of evidence with an open mind.

I am sure you would expect the same before someone made a complaint about your performance at work.

EduCated · 07/03/2018 08:16

Don’t call Molson (yet). Do definitely have a chat with the teachers to understand the difference and what your DD needs to do to get consistent marks.

EduCated · 07/03/2018 08:18

That would be ‘don’t complain’, although you probably don’t want to call Molson either.

Honestlyofficer · 07/03/2018 08:24

I have this with one son. Upon investigation at parents evening, one teacher is teaching the marketing side of business and management. The other is teaching formulas for analytics. Once I heard that it all made sense.

Pengggwn · 07/03/2018 08:24

Call Molson 😂

cunningartificer · 07/03/2018 08:26

Frankly, I’d be more concerned about the A grade teacher than the low marking one. As others have said, it could be the course split, but I have also known this where one teacher is a less than accurate marker, unfamiliar with a new syllabus, and so marks generously, which it’s easy to do. Especially common in a subject such as English where if you don’t use exemplar work the assessment criteria can be flexible. Students and parents are often very happy with this and the teacher can remain popular even though results are poor, as they are then blamed on horrid examiners. I’d much prefer an overly tough marker where you get a pleasant surprise at results time. Best of course is an accurate marker. Look at your daughter’s work and the feedback she’s getting to give you a clearer idea of what’s going on.

doublebuddy · 07/03/2018 08:43

What subjects are they?

I don't see how your first thought is to complain about the teacher??

OpalTree · 07/03/2018 09:33

I found in A-level English Lit that I connected better with some texts than others
I found this too. Coriolanus i found deathly boring and hard going (i probably wasn't bright enough to appreciate it) but other texts we did i found fine.

OpalTree · 07/03/2018 09:34

NB. I'm sure Shakey did a fine job of Coriolanus and it was just me

LeighaJ · 07/03/2018 10:01

From my memories of being a kid, most kids had one or two subjects they struggled with and were quick to blame the teacher for their grades to disappointed parents. 🙄

Esker · 07/03/2018 10:11

What does your daughter think? Is there a noticeable difference in performance between the grades she achieves in units taught by one teacher and the other?

On the basis of what you have said, I think it would unreasonable to start right off with a complaint, but you could certainly contact the head of Year to explain your concerns about gap in performance, and to ask whether you could speak to the teacher about it, or whether any additional support is available.

I teach 6th form and I would be pissed off if a parent made a complaint without first getting in touch to find out more about the detail of the course, what exactly the student is struggling with etc. You'll achieve more if you try to work with the school, including your daughter, rather than setting off on a hostile foot.

emberflames · 07/03/2018 10:16

Seriously ? In my AS levels I got ABE. Flew through my English literature as I loved the subject, had lots of friends in the class so lessons were fun, had a great relationship with my teacher.
I couldn't stand Biology by the time I got to a-levels. Missed lessons, disliked the teacher (she was a good teacher I was just stubborn), two of the girls in the class had bullied me throughout my GCSEs years so I hated being around them and skipped lessons the list goes on.

Perhaps the teacher is rubbish. But there is an equal chance this could all be on your child. But of course it's easier to just blame the teacher.

Pikehau · 07/03/2018 10:25

i think you need to have a meeting. Be polite and ask to meet ask you would like to understand the disparity. Talk to head of department. My sister DD spent a week of english lessons designing a perfume bottle (we did that in art once!) she was a bit Confused and asked for a meeting. her dd couldnt explain why they were doing it with regard to english. another thread but The response was "your dd needs to take responsibility for her own learning and ask" ... however she eventually got an explanation and under it all was down to crap teaching and large staff turnaround and low morale. the head of department hadnt a clue this was happenning.

you need to take charge and ask to talk so you can better understand and then help- not just complain.

Dakiara · 07/03/2018 10:28

One might set work on syllabus covered so far, the other might use questions from old papers where the work hasn't fully been covered, but that can be gone over in class afterwards as a teaching tool.

Or it could be that one is marking work based on strict exam marking and the other based on their own marking criteria.

Or that the demands of different subjects result in the disparity.

It might also be that your child is struggling for one or several or many reasons.

Honestly, rather than complain, I'd set a meeting to discuss progress and lack thereof and raise your concerns to see what you could do to help. At least that way you have information on any difficulties, or differing approaches should you then choose to take it further.

theymademejoin · 07/03/2018 10:32

@OpalTree - NB. I'm sure Shakey did a fine job of Coriolanus and it was just me

Nope. It was shite Wink.

I don't know why some people are insisting it can't be the teacher. I presume the UK system is similar to the Irish system in that once a teacher has a permanent job, unless they do something really terrible, they can't be fired? In my kids' school the teachers ranger from truly awful to absolutely amazing. Thankfully, the truly awful ones are the exception, with most teachers ranging from ok to very good.

So, it could be a poor teacher, it could be a student that is not particularly diligent/capable, it could be, as a pp said, the A teacher is an easy marker, it could be the breakdown of the material or it could be a combination of all these factors. Complaining will get you nowhere. You need to decide how to deal with the problem. I'm not sure what age Y12 is, but I presume it's reasonably old so she should be taking some level of responsibility for her learning. That may require tutoring or the use of online resources. She could also get together with classmates and form a study group where they help one another out.