Help me - I'm going to explode

[soandsosmummy]

Another mum has just sent me a link to DD's teacher's facebook page saying she thinks I should have a look.

They've written:

"so irritating having a left hander in my class this year. She's so slow to finish anything and her writing is atrocious - teacher friends got any ideas what I can do?

she told me at parents evening DD is only left hander in her class this year so its obvious who she means

DD is in year 1, quite bright with reading, sums, imagination etc. but just struggles with her hand writing. I've talked to her about constructive ways forward and thought things were going alright

i'm going to explode

[Groovee]

How did it go OP?

[dearheart]

V silly of her - and I would ask for a quiet word and tell her that another parent saw the posting and told you about it. I would say I felt upset that she used the word 'irritating' about my dd. And then I would see what she says - and accept an apology if necessary. I would also print out the page just in case this continues.

[SpringHeeledJack]

what happened today, op?



hope you got it sorted with minimum heartache

[Sleepglorioussleep]

Phew! Obviously I've bought dd some left handed pencils

[sqweegiebeckenheim]

I learned to tilt the paper to 45 degrees to prevent ink smudges. And always sit on the left hand side of the table not to bump with a right-hander. I'm 4th generation lefty and proud of it :)

[RubyLovesMayMay]

Sleep short answer: No

As longs as you're not making them feel different in any way or bitching about them Faecbook then you're fine

[Peachy]

What Suepurbly said

it's thhe negativity- irritated? really? by something a child cannot help? God forbid she might get a child with Sn or home issues then. or just an annoying one.


careers advice centre thataway ---> then

[Sleepglorioussleep]

Ruby-I know this is a tangent, but do you think I should be doing anything to help my little lefties? Things they might be struggling with without me noticing?

[Sleepglorioussleep]

I am no particular expert! Now...are ds's paddies as a result of his leftiness? . But generally I think making too much of something like handedness can make children think there's no point in trying because it's down to their handedness. Although obviously it needs accommodating if it is a reason.

[RubyLovesMayMay]

Thanks Sleepglorioussleep just wondered really, so it really is mountain-out-of-molehill stuff then really, isnt it?

And definitely makes me think that the teacher is out of order for it.

[Sleepglorioussleep]

I'm a teacher and mother to two lefties. The only thing I would do for lefties I taught was make sure they sat onthe left hand side of their table so they didn't bump arms if they sat next to a rightie and to offer left handed scissors. Anything else would not really be a specific issue arising from left handed ness. My dd is in year one, is very neat handwriting wise and doesn't use left handed scissors at home. The only other difference is she does ticks right to left! Most things surely are not givens for lefties? So really not much training needed-except not to prejudge any child according to preconceived ideas!

[RubyLovesMayMay]

JanePumpkin the point Im making is what help would a left-handed child need though?

The only problem I faced with handwriting and still do is smudging the ink when I write.

But in yr 1 they're still writing in pencil anyway?

[JanePumpkin]

I think the teacher ought blooming well to know already how to help a child who is left handed

I mean FFS what do they learn at college?

[RubyLovesMayMay]

Now Im left handed, have been all my life but have I missed something here:

Since when did being left handed have anything to do with how fast you do your work? Is it a known fact that lefties are slower?

Is it any more irritating then a right hander being slow to finish work, so much more that you have to ask "teacher friends" on FB for help on the matter?

At the age of 5/6 how neat is handwriting supposed to be assuming that a childrens little fingers have only been able to write sentences for about a year or so. Surely the ability and content at this stage is far more important and the skill of neat handwriting comes a little bit later?

So could any primary school teachers shed any light on this? Because none of the thing thats OP's DD's Teacher mentioned are hardly real causes for concern surely?

I remember being given a hard time for being a "cack-hander" when I was younger (and Im 26 FFS) There seriously isnt that much difference between left handed and right handed people. So the teacher has created a situation for no reason

[Ormirian]

I agree it was unprofessional and not kind at the very least.

But I think that playing it cool might be best - rather than exploding as the OP suggested!

[JordanBaker]

But custardcake, I'm agreeing with you! I was trying to make the point to those defending the teacher that it would be unacceptable if a parent did this, but a teacher doing it is far worse.

[Sleepglorioussleep]

It's definitely about the way she wrote it which changes it from being a fair question about how to improve her teaching to being an opinion about a personal characteristic of a child. That is what makes it offensive in my mind, although Facebook would not really be the place for it even if sensibly worded. This is now something which could be a disciplinary issue.

[JanePumpkin]

But Orm...as well as asking for advice, she was having a big old moan about the fact this child is in her class, AND she is breaking confidentiality about the child's progress/ability, by saying she is slow.

That's wrong in anyone's book surely.

OP I'm really sorry you're upset by it...perhaps we ought to start another thread, anyone - to discuss teachers' use of facebook?

I don't feel comfortable continuing here when OP has asked us to stop.

[stickylittlefingers]

I agree, she probably feels like she's talking amongst friends and hasn't chosen her words wisely. I would have a word with her (especially given you've liked her thus far). She will probably be quite upset and up her privacy settings at the very least - but TBH I would expect such comments not to be written, anywhere, ever. I expect anything not completely normal is "irritating" to a teacher, but obviously they've got to expect it.

BTW my DD2 is a leftie. I suspect that her teacher's FB page would be more likely to say "she is so irritating because she never bloody shuts up and always thinks she's right. Any ideas how to tell her to can it?".

[Ormirian]

She's asking for advice. For your DD's sake as well as her own.

FB is a bloody nightmare anyway - everyone seems to use it to have rows Stay away from it and then you won't get upset

[Feenie]

I think all teachers on this thread are appalled at this teacher, JordanBaker.

[Feenie]

celticlassie - it doesn't depend on the school. The General Teaching Council banned a teacher from teaching for two years only last month because of a teacher's misuse of Facebook, and that wasn't even connected with teaching.

[HauntyMython]

Ha, good point! Respecting privacy works both ways.

[JordanBaker]

Wonder how the teacher would feel if a parent wrote on their FB page 'So irritating to have an inexperienced teacher this year. She's so slow to answer any queries and her lesson plans are appalling - Mum friends, got any ideas what I can do?'
Even though the teacher would be identifiable, perhaps she would just think 'oh how marvellous, parent is asking round fellow Mums for advice on how to help me improve'