Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

Original poster

Help me - I'm going to explode

141 replies

soandsosmummy · 18/10/2011 15:33

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

OP posts:
CustardCake · 18/10/2011 18:54

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
soandsosmummy · 18/10/2011 18:54

Blimey popped out and this has ballooned into a huge thread.

I've calmed down. I really like this teacher. She's fairly newly qualified and very enthusiastic and she's been great for DD in loads of ways - giving her confidence and building her up and I'm inclined to treat this as a slip up rather than a deliberate attempt to undermine DD. Indeed she was actually looking for help albeit in a rather silly way

I'm going to talk to her tomorrow morning. I know the head would come down on her like a ton of bricks and I don't want that. Interestingly one of her friends has posted a comment telling her to sort out her privacy settings and not to make unpleasant comments about pupils on face book

OP posts:
Northernlurker · 18/10/2011 18:56

I agree - she can have her privacy as low or as high as she likes - makes no different in thsi situation because she should not be dissing this child in this way. Her privacy settings are there to protect her from teenage boys perving over her holiday snaps. They aren't there to conceal her unprofessional behaviour.

Original poster
soandsosmummy · 18/10/2011 18:56

She's not getting 2 chances though and how she reacts tomorrow morning will certainly guide what happens next

OP posts:
Northernlurker · 18/10/2011 18:57

Ok fair enough - hopefully she will be mortified. Try and stay calm and point out how hurtful this is, how let down you feel.

SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 18/10/2011 18:58

The posters who have said 'she's just asking for help' have missed the point, in my view. She hasn't just asked for help to assist a lefthanded child improve their handwriting - she's said it is 'irritating' to have a 'lefthander' (the OP's dd is not a lefthander - she is a child who is left handed - an important distinction, I think) in her class, and described her handwriting as 'atrocious' - all of which would leave me ready to explode, had someone written about my child in that way.

I would take a screenshot, print it out, and go straight to the head teacher with this.

SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 18/10/2011 19:01

Crossposted with the OP. I hope you get a good resolution to this tomorrow morning, soandsosmummy.

Original poster
soandsosmummy · 18/10/2011 19:02

I certainly will be letting her know Northernlurker.

The only good news is that there are now 2 posts on her page which seem to have some very constructive advice about helping left handed children write so look forward to seeing them put in to action (they'd better be)

OP posts:
BOOareHaunting · 18/10/2011 19:02

I agree it's totally unprofessional. And if the school the teacher works in is posted on her profile, therefore the comment is identitfyable then I believe a sackable offence.

BUT

Think about it this way. Your thread title starts with a massive over reactions statement - 'explode' so maybe the 'irritating' was to get attention as untimatly the teacher is asking for advice?

Would you be happy approaching the teacher? If not then yes go to the HT and CC in the governers on any emails etc.

CustardCake · 18/10/2011 19:04

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

mummytime · 18/10/2011 19:06

Sorry but even if you like her, she has behaved atrociously and needs to grow up fast before she finds herself fired.

She should have dealt with many left-handed pupils during her training; if she doesn't know how to deal with this problem she should be going to her head; and if she is a NQT her mentor. That is before even asking on somewhere like TES, certainly not facebook.
I think she needs to be told (and I would be exploding personally), and I think the head needs to know to realise the huge amount of training this teacher and maybe others on the staff need. (Internet usage, respect for pupils and teaching left handers; before we get onto other SEN.)

Feenie · 18/10/2011 19:06

Agree with CustardCake.

Original poster
soandsosmummy · 18/10/2011 19:08

The weird thing is I've been working with her over the last couple of weeks to look at strategies to deal with this and they are working. I've posted recently on Mumsnet about finger spacing and we've had a suggestion that really helped dd and her teacher seemed really pleased at the improvement.

Its so odd and she's seemed such a good teacher to date

OP posts:
Original poster
soandsosmummy · 18/10/2011 19:11

and I wouldn't describe being left handed as an SEN

OP posts:
mrz · 18/10/2011 19:15

Well GalloweesG

One study from Warwick University in 2008 suggested that children who struggled to write fluently devoted more brain capacity to getting words onto a page during tests ? interfering with their ability to generate ideas, select vocabulary or plan work properly.

exoticfruits · 18/10/2011 19:18

I agree with CustardCake. (it doesn't change anything- but I just can't understand why people don't have the highest settings on privacy)

exoticfruits · 18/10/2011 19:19

I'm left handed-all the best people are!!! Grin

TheFallenMadonna · 18/10/2011 19:19

This is something that would cost her job if she taught in my school.

Original poster
soandsosmummy · 18/10/2011 19:27

OMG - she's added a further comment to her page MN jury should make me in a better mood or not

"she's such a lovely very kind little girl and obviously bright and I hate to see her struggling like this with something so basic. She's a great reader and picks things up really quickly. I just want to help her get it right thanks for your suggestions I'll try to talk to her mum about it before half term."

You bet she'll be talking to me about it before half term - probably a bit sooner than she thinks!

OP posts:
GalloweesG · 18/10/2011 19:30

She knows about this thread Shock

SpawnChorus · 18/10/2011 19:35

Hmmm, yes, the penny has dropped for her that she's been very unwise in her postings!

noodleseverynight · 18/10/2011 19:36

Gosh, your friend is helpful to let you know what's being added so quickly...?

Silly girl, I'm sure she'll be more careful when she realises what she's done.

mummytime · 18/10/2011 19:40

Left handedness isn't an SEN, but so many (especially new teachers, with no experience) get SEN wrong, I can't imagine someone who get left handedness wrong is going to be good with SEN.

But yes I wonder if your "friend" is on MN and has told her. Maybe all three of you should read "Queen Bees and Wannabes".

Hulababy · 18/10/2011 19:47

Definitely unprofessional to use her FB account in this way.

If she wanted her teacher friends to advice her she should do it in a less public manner - through email, telephone, in person - even FB private message.

And she needs her FB privacy settings sorting out, it needs to be on the highest privacy settings FB allows so that only her FB friends can actually view her page.

ImpYCelyn · 18/10/2011 19:47

She shouldn't still be posting messages about your daughter at all. And has now revealed that the "left-hander" is a girl, so even more detail about a pupil.

I really think that you need to speak to the head, she has no idea about FB and professionalism. She needs more than just a parent having a word with her.

If you can see this does this mean her profile is actually public? Very very silly.