To think asking a teacher how many passed GCSEs isn’t rude?

[Indoorvoicesbluey]

Dd15 is currently sitting mock GCSEs and is anxious about her future as everyone is atm.

she asked her English teacher how many of her students passed their GCSEs and she was told to stay behind class and was told off for asking it as the teacher found it rude and disrespectful. She said she didn’t mean it to be rude she was genuinely wondering.

Nonsense, if you are genuinely worried about getting a 3 in a gcse you should not be taking that subject for A level.

Further if that were the case asking the teacher for support would be rhe appropriate course of action not being rude to the person who would be able to provide such support.

Why are you swallowing this obvious nonsense?! You dd is full of what makes the grass grow green.

Of course you shouldn’t. Getting an A or B in English A level is tough. It require a certain amount of flair at GCSE even for the B.

😂😂 I can imagine my mother saying this to me growing up. And I was pretty well behaved and respectful.

15 year olds never ask questions like this out of innocent curiosity and reassurance. If you think they do you don't know many 15 year olds.

Imposter syndrome?

I was a grade A student then a first class student at degree. I went in to every exam expecting to fail completely and went to pick up my exam results expecting to have failed.

So I'd say you definitely do need to be discussing it with the school

It could have sounded quite rude - as if you daughter was questioning her teacher’s competence. Which is NOT your daughter’s place to do. Her teacher is trained, has probably read and written more than your daughter’s whole class put together and knows what it takes to prepare pupils for their exams.

How well those pupils do is up to them and their work ethic.

Your daughter was out of order to ask.

I really don’t understand how it’s rude or out of order to ask tbh. She wasn’t questioning the teachers abilities more like “what’s the chances of me failing” she’s expected good grades but she lacks confidence in herself.

Perhaps you could explain to her that this teacher's previous results are not a good indicator of your daughter's chance of failing. For all the reasons previously mentioned. Perhaps you and your DD could look at the publicly posted previous results for the school and look at their English GCSE pass rate, and all the other figures about progress and attainment that are available via the Ofsted website.

Why is your DD suddenly so worried about failing (presumably meaning getting lower than a 4 at GCSE)?

You know what she asked isn't the same as *what are my chances of failing'. You're being obtuse.

Would you like it if the most junior member of staff at work came up to you, out of the blue, and asked you for your credentials and qualifications?

How is it possible for you to make such an ignorant comment?

Not all children are the same.

Is it beyond you to comprehend that some children may worry regardless of ability?

Anxiety does not discriminate. Gobsmacked that needs spelling out.

I don't think it sounds rude at all. Teacher needs to get over herself fgs keeping her behind is abit OTT

She wasn’t questioning the teachers abilities more like “what’s the chances of me failing”

Why didn’t she just ask the teacher that question then?

Its irrelevant how many ex students have passed their GCSE’s.

It would depend on what classes she had, how bright the students were, how many were affected by covid, whether she had foundation or higher classes etc.

Every single one of her ex students may have passed or failed but it doesn’t mean that your DD will also pass or fail just because the ex students did.

Apparently after today’s discussion in the car, the teacher told the class she isn’t actually qualified to teach gcse level and she normally teachers the younger classes?

No such thing as being 'qualified to teach GCSE', she's qualified to teach, full stop!

I wouldn’t call it ‘rude’ - that word is IMO often used inappropriately on here.

I could imagine a teacher thinking it over-inquisitive or even a bit impertinent - casting aspersions on their teaching skills.
Though if the teacher was confident in her skills, I’d have thought she might not mind telling.

That doesn't make sense though, her chances of passing aren't related to how many passed in the past

Can you work on her self confidence?

That’s strange. You either train in primary, 11-19 or 14-19.

Exactly. Which makes me think that teenager has either got the wrong end of the stick, or is telling fibs to mum and mum is buying it.
I think the OP needs to consider the possibility that her child was being a bit rude/cheeky and was rightly pulled up on it.

She didn’t though? She didn’t question her qualifications. Surely children passing or failing are down to the child not the teacher.

Most parents check the school’s website for percentage of GCSEs and A-levels passed and passed with top grades don’t they? I feel like I hear this discussion in real life many times a day - which local school outperformed which etc. And there is usually information about leavers destinations - if any percentage are going to Oxbridge or percentage to Russel group etc. So no… not remotely an odd question?

It could well be a reasonable question, but even if it was provocative, there was no need for the teacher to get uptight about it. They could just have said, sorry I'm not allowed to say or I can't remember. Or better still, ask the child what lies behind her question. If it was anxiety she might just have wanted some reassurance from the teacher that she was doing well and the teacher had faith in her getting her predicted grade.

I don't think it was a rude question at all. However context is everything.

Yeah I’m a teacher and depending on the tone etc I might have taken the question rudely. If she’d asked about the whole cohort, rather than one teacher’s class it might have gone down better.