New recruit teacher is inadequate

[BoboChic]

This, basically. DD in Y7 started secondary school 2 weeks ago. One - and only one - of her teachers is totally inadequate. He is a new recruit. Parents and pupils have noticed pretty quickly that he doesn't have the first inkling of the subject he is supposed to be teaching. One approach has already been made to the school to alert them. What are the best words to use to describe this situation? Inadequate? Lacking subject knowledge?

I'm not a teacher.

She's in France.

I think the subject is Latin.

It was Revd Green in the drawing room with the lead piping.

'Baroque' Latin, though.

Latin with twirly bits.

Jeeves, its September 15th, ok students have been back 11 school days, not a week and a half, its not that big a difference.

I was simply advising caution, the recent example since given shows that there should be a concern logged, but, coming on here full guns blazing, caling people morons without knowing the full situation is way out of line. Parents are often caught out, when using their childs statements having gone blazing into school only to find out that their DC hasn't quite told the whole truth.

Secondly, you should only ever approach the school on behalf of your own child, don't go in saying "We all think" when raising a complaint because the school will in most cases only deal with you, about your child. The other approach, and getting the persons CV from linkedin, makes it seem like a witch hunt.

How about "I am concerned about the way in which x subject is being approached by Mr(s) Y in 7xxx. My DC doesn't understand how his/her work has been corrected. Please see attached photocopy of homework from xx/09/15."

Ask who the Assisstant Headteacher/ Head of Faculty is who manages the HoDless dept and address this to them.

My issue (which some posters have been helpful with) is choosing the right words to describe someone who is clearly not up to the job in the least offensive way possible, and in terms teachers use and understand and aren't offended by. You don't need to create a new language to complain about the way the teacher is teaching! If you are unhappy, say what you mean and give concrete examples of where the teacher is getting it wrong! You said you are a native English speaker so just don't understand what all this beating around the bush is supposed to achieve?!

Getting someone's CV from LinkedIn is not a witch hunt. Don't be silly.

Stillunexpected - on the contrary, I think my gut instinct (to test words out on MN) has been entirely vindicated. Read the thread

OP, surely you know there is absolutely no way that you can say someone is not up to their job without upsetting them and making them defensive? Hiding behind a euphemism does not make the pill any easier to swallow. It is also not necessarily an accurate judgement.

All you can fairly do is point out what is concerning you, state why it is concerning you, and ask the school to explain why it is happening and what they are doing about it. It is up to the school to decide whether the reasons for it are teacher inadequacy, lack of appropriate teacher support, personal issues temporarily affecting the quality of teaching and marking, poor quality materials etc, etc. You have absolutely no way of knowing whether this teacher is genuinely inadequate or if there is something else going on behind the scenes. All you know is that whatever it is, it is having an unacceptable effect on the class. You shouldn't be so judgemental of a person you hardly know: it is the school's job to decide the cause of the issue and your job as a parent to highlight the issue WITHOUT giving subjective opinions on the cause.

I'm not having a meeting with the teacher. The meeting is with the deputy head (in the absence of a HOD).

Who said you were having a meeting with the teacher?

Or do you think that you are complaining behind the teacher's back if you complain to the deputy head that said teacher is inadequate?! You really think the teacher wouldn't find out that parents believed him to be inadequate???!!!

I would keep in very factual bobo.

Point out the errors in the work. At y 7 I'm assuming they're quite basic and speak for themselves.

I would also ask outright, if he is a specialist in this subject. 'I undertsnad that Mr X is a specialist in X and Y and not Z, is that correct?'

I can't see how they can fudge a direct question like that.

Then once the errors and lack of specialism are an accepted fact, you can leave it to the SLT to do what they need to do. And you can chase if their chosen action is to do nothing.

Jeeves, unless you are the OP, how do you know the evidence isn't flimsy? Have you seen it?

I didn't say I did know, ThenLater and FunInTheSun. I queried why people were saying it was flimsy. It really is quite alarming the way people are making things up in their anxiety to criticise the OP and indeed anyone who dares not to agree with them.

I did say that evidence exists, on the basis of what actually has been said (which is all any of us can reasonably base comments on): OP isn't relying solely on what her child says, and has referred to evidence of the teacher's marking practice over a number of items of work, apparently both on her own child's work and that of a number of other pupils. She has also given an example of the type of error the teacher is making. So I query why others are jumping in saying so categorically that the evidence must be flimsy.

BoboChic I need jargon and euphemisms at this stage to soften it up and not hurt egos. The use of jargon may have the opposite affect. It may be better to drop the jargon and just stick to focusing on the facts. Present the evidence you have and give them sufficient space to act on it.

Be careful about presenting the copy of the CV to back up what you are saying. Bear in mind that people do alter their CVs to emphasise their suitability for the role they are applying for. Unless you know it is up to date/the one they used to apply for the job and contains a definitive list of all their qualifications I would leave it out for now.

I do understand you wanting to raise your concerns early, I certainly would (admittedly not after two weeks but appreciate your frustration with the situation must be quite stressful for you).

To be honest, if the evidence you have is a compelling as you suggest, all you will need to do is present it and request written confirmation on how your concerns will be addressed.

I think what everyone is struggling with is how best to advise you about how best to approach this without more clarity about what you specific concerns are, and particularly what subject

It seems clear that you think this teacher is a "moron" (pretty offensive btw) and is not up to the job and is not qualified. Other parents appear to agree with you. It does seem after only 2 weeks a huge opinion to have made. I respect that you may be right, and it does seem indicative of wider problems at the school as there is also no HOD.

I think you need to be honest with the Head, jargon is not going to sweeten the message. However you are now also saying that at this stage you don't want to go in too heavy handed. It is all a bit confusing.

Jeeves, its September 15th, ok students have been back 11 school days, not a week and a half, its not that big a difference.

Indeed, but it's interesting that you make the error on the side of the calculation that reduces the possibility that OP might know what she's talking about.

The point, as I understand it, is that OP is saying they can't really leave it much longer due to application of French employment law. I know nothing about French law, but if it is the case that the school would find it far harder to dismiss the teacher for incompetence if it doesn't do something about it quickly, there possibly isn't much choice but to raise the matter now.

I love this thread! Bonkers OP asks for help with witch hunt against new teacher at DC's school, PPs ask if that's wise/ necessary and OP says teachers are too sensitive and have egos.

If you don't need to be qualified to teach in France, have you considered taking on the task OP? It sounds like you could do a better job so why don't you step up? Then you can experience it when a gang group of parents approach your HT to discuss how competent you are at your job.

'Inadequate' is a very loaded term for teachers in England, I don't know if it would be in France or not.

Stick to the concrete evidence provided by your daughter's work and the poor quality written feedback from the teacher.

Avoid phrases like "....and all the other children agree" or generalisations as a whole. "The teacher is not up to the job" might come across as a blanket condemnation, but "His knowledge in [the particular subject] appears to be insufficient to teach children at this stage - look, for example at these spelling errors, here and here and here and here" sound much more evidence-based and less personal.

I feel a bit sorry for the teacher, tbh. I bet he knows his subject knowledge isn't great and he probably doesn't feel good about it.

Agree with Kez about avoiding sweeping statements, you risk appearing as 'That' parent if you start doing this. Please don't let your DD hear you call him a moron, that's just disrespectful. I would also recommend speaking to her head of year. The teacher may not be an NQT but he may have a mentor in the department. It's a difficult enough profession without parents gossiping and comparing notes. I would give him at least a month or so before complaining.

Also, don't expect to get a definite course of action from this meeting.

You will have the meeting.

The deputy head will - assuming you're reasonably polite - thank you for your time and the evidence you have put before him.

The deputy head will then, unless it is a very unusual school indeed, need time to discuss things with the subject teacher and probably also with the overall head of the school too.

Given how busy schools are, I would expect to wait several days before hearing anything back, if they promise to get back to you at all (which they might not).

Jeeves, there was no error, just made the point that the term has barely started there is a strong possibility that steaming in calling a teacher a moron, inadequate, questioning how he/she got the job, is a little early. At maximum the students have had 10 lessons, minimum they have had 6.

Raise the concern, but be diplomatic, and prepared to have the school put the other side. IF you dismiss them as "sensitive" you become one of "those" parents.

OP, surely you know there is absolutely no way that you can say someone is not up to their job without upsetting them and making them defensive? Hiding behind a euphemism does not make the pill any easier to swallow. It is also not necessarily an accurate judgement.

Completely agree with this.

Also calling someone a 'moron' is pretty disgraceful tbh.

I worked as support in a practical subject for several years.
Sounds like they didn't have many applicants and with no HOD someone in senior management picked the best of a bad bunch. Ether it was a very bad bunch and this is the best or was badly picked. With no HOD it may not have been picked up on yet, depends if the whole school is in a state or just the department. So your meeting should be focusing on firstly are they aware of how bad this teacher is and then secondly what is the long term plan to get the department fully staffed to an adequate level. Can you take in your DCs work books to give direct examples?
Sometimes we couldn't find good teachers with subject knowledge so would employ a good teacher and I would join in and lead the practical lessons, but that wouldn't be an answer for this subject obviously, just an example.

So, you're able to critique and correct this teacher's work but you don't have the intellect or nouse to come up with the appropriate wording for a complaint?
Are you sure the problem is with the teacher?

Couldn't agree more.

OP you come across as an aggressive, unreasonable bully. If you have an issue with the school raise it in plain English. You don't need jargon. You don't need to refer to teaching staff as "morons".

What a terrible example to set to your children. Gang up and bully, instead of dealing with an issue in an appropriate manner.

Who'd be a teacher? The teacher may be rubbish. That is yet to be determined - and don't flatter yourself, it won't be decided by you or the rest of your lynch-mob. It will determined by the SLT at the school in a fair and properly evidenced way hopefully.

Do you want the euphemisms and jargon to be in English, French, or Latin?