Poor Teaching Style: How to Approach with School

[BruFord]

I’d like some advice on how to approach an issue with a teacher’s explanations and delivery in the classroom.

DS has always been strong in Maths, never any issues until now. He has a new teacher this year and after the first lesson, he came home and said that he was struggling to understand the concepts, that his teacher spoke very fast and rambled. We assumed that he was simply getting used to a new teacher and new material after the holidays so advised him to give it time and see whether things improved.

DH and I then attended a Back to School night where parents can meet their children’s teachers and find out about this year’s curriculum. As soon as his Maths teacher started his presentation, we realized exactly what DS meant- the teacher speaks very quickly and jumps around from idea to idea. We had trouble following a simple explanation of what the children will learn this year and I could see that other parents were struggling.

DS was in tears last night saying that things haven’t improved and that he leaves every class without understanding the material. If he reviews it at home, however (and sometimes we help explain concepts), he understands.

We clearly need to speak to the school and request that he’s moved to a different class.
How do we diplomatically say that the delivery/teaching style is the issue?

The teacher is new to the school and we don’t want to be unkind.

If I got an email saying that little Johnny's learning style wasn't meshing with the teacher's teaching style, my automatic assumption would be that little Johnny likes to piss around in class and the teacher doesn't allow it. That's what that sort of personality clash email usually means!

I think I would confer with the other parents in his class, and perhaps submit a letter signed by all those who agree with you in confidence to the head teacher. Maths is too important a subject to fall behind due to a teacher with very sub par (as it sounds like) communication skills.

Ime maths grads are usual clear & cogent communicators, bc their discipline has taught them how to think clearly and cogently. Maybe a quiet word to ask the school to check their qualifications and references?

I would contact his form tutor and/or the head of department by email and explain the issue. Say exactly as you’ve said here and the you noticed at the presentation exactly the same thing as your son is saying. They should put support in place to help the teacher and the class. Moving your son to a different class won’t help the overall situation as they are unlikely to move him if classes are full anyway and also the other kids in the class are still with the same teacher and have the same issues.

please don’t do this.

I have extensive experience of working in a secondary school and dealing with this sort of thing.

either:

• speak to teacher directly to discuss DS’s worries - first

or

• request a call with the Head of Dept to discuss concerns with DS settling in new school year and worries around Maths

if this is a problem, then going straight to the head will frustrate staff as there will be a clear complaints policy and, yes, a well-meaning parent will come across that school can do nothing right.

if the first two steps (above) aren’t resolved then you follow the complaints procedure and escalate from there.

Just my experience - you’re following their policy and raising your concerns in a respectful way.

no school will ever show you any teacher’s qualifications, experience or share personal information.

Update: Thanks everyone for responding. What we ended up doing is having a good chat about the situation at home and DS decided that he wanted to speak to his form tutor first before we (DH and I) did anything. He did this and she was understanding, said that she’d speak to the head of the Maths department and arrange for DS to speak to him too if necessary.

It turned out that other pupils were reporting similar problems (they didn’t tell us this, of course, some of DS’s friends told him that they were also complaining) and the department is now working with the teacher to improve his communication skills. DS says that he’s speaking more slowly and taking more time to explain concepts. DS was able to do his last two homework assignments without issues so he’s understanding better. He says he’s fine staying in that class now.

So, all’s well that ends well. I’m so relieved that the department listened to the feedback and is supporting the teacher. Teaching’s a tough job and we didn’t want to dent his confidence.