"Complaints" from parents: significance/consequences?

Dionysus

"Complaints" is probably too harsh but anyway. This morning the deputy principal in my school came over to ask me how I was getting on in one of my subjects, to which I responded 'grand'. Then she told me that "2 or 3" parents had got in touch with her to say that the work which I was setting was too difficult for their kids. She specifically said that I had given homework to them without first explaining how to work it out.

I'm doing the PGDE and this is the only time since I started in late August when anything has been said to me. I was taken aback at it. I knew some of the kids were finding it difficult, but I was following the syllabus and using examples from the textbook. In order to help the kids who found it difficult, I was giving them extra classes at lunchtime; i.e. I was giving up my lunch to get them over the bar. Two-to-three weeks ago I would have no problem conceding they were having problems but I had been giving them extra grinds twice a week, with the offer of more, in the interim. The grinds only stopped when they said they were fine, which was the end of the week before last.

Given this context, it's a kick in the teeth. I accept that I did give them homework one night which they had to work out by looking at the book examples, but I gave it on the grounds that it was a different way for them to learn than normal. I told them at the time that we would go over it properly the next day, which we did. I also accept that my knowledge of the aspect of the course was not as strong as other areas of the course as I'd never done it before (which the school was aware of) and I was therefore on a learning curve with it myself.

Anyway, I haven't a clue about how unusual this sort of complaint is, and what sort of consequences it could have for me so I'm just here to get some broader context to this disturbing feedback. I wouldn't feel comfortable talking about it to others in the staffroom etc.


Thanks in advance.

byhookorbycrook

New teachers often seem to get this,I'd ask to meet the parents and try to resolve the issue. They should have gone to you in the first place,you are ,after all, the class teacher!

rainbowtrout

Dionysus wrote: »

I'm doing the PGDE and this is the only time since I started in late August when anything has been said to me. I was taken aback at it. I knew some of the kids were finding it difficult, but I was following the syllabus and using examples from the textbook. In order to help the kids who found it difficult, I was giving them extra classes at lunchtime; i.e. I was giving up my lunch to get them over the bar. Two-to-three weeks ago I would have no problem conceding they were having problems but I had been giving them extra grinds twice a week, with the offer of more, in the interim. The grinds only stopped when they said they were fine, which was the end of the week before last.

It can be hard to gauge the level of a class when you are new to teaching, and what pace to work at. While it's great that you're giving these students extra help at lunchtime, realistically you can't do it in the longterm and shouldn't have to over the course of a whole year.

You don't say what you are teaching, but i'm guessing that if they have to follow textbook examples it is possibly in the area of maths/science/business.

Very often you will find that you do an example in class, you explain the example, you get the class to do one, they all say they understand it and you set a question for homework, yet the following day half of them dont' have it done because they couldn't understand it. It's mainly because they are only copying the examples, they don't understand them.

Slow down the pace. Set work to do in class time, go around to the students and help them with the questions. Have more questions ready for the ones that find it easy and fly through the work so you can help the weaker ones.

I'm currently teaching genetic crosses to my fifth years, most students find it difficult to get the first time. I've spent four classes over the last week doing different examples and getting them to do plenty of questions in class so I can go around to them and ask them to do the question for me so I can see they understand it and they are just not copying my example or another students work. I increase the difficulty each day adding a little bit more into it which makes it easier for me to see where students are having the problems.

Dionysus wrote: »

Given this context, it's a kick in the teeth. I accept that I did give them homework one night which they had to work out by looking at the book examples, but I gave it on the grounds that it was a different way for them to learn than normal. I told them at the time that we would go over it properly the next day, which we did. I also accept that my knowledge of the aspect of the course was not as strong as other areas of the course as I'd never done it before (which the school was aware of) and I was therefore on a learning curve with it myself.

Personally I wouldn't give them something I hadn't explained and worked through first, in theory it's fine as a different way of learning, but the bright ones will work it out and if they weaker ones don't see how to do it immediately they will probably give up, and won't be able to work it out without an explanation. Homework really is there to reinforce learning, not for the students to try and teach themselves new concepts. I can remember my English teacher for LC telling us to go home and read a new poem one night and figure out the meaning. I was not a fan of poetry and didn't get the meaning of lots of poems without them being explained to me. I read the poem and shut the book because I didn't understand it, as did many others, it was a wasted exercise as far as I was concerned. My attitude was 'I'm not able to do this, she'll explain it tomorrow anyway'

I wouldn't see the 'complaint' as criticism, it's hard to gauge the work at the start and it's hard to teach a subject sometimes if you've never taught it before, or worse if you've never studied it yourself. I teach ag science which I studied in college but had not done for the LC and I found it so much harder to teach than biology/chemistry in my first year teaching because I didn't have the prior experience of teaching it or being taught the subject in a school setting.

At least if you have done it for LC yourself you have an idea where you can start or how one teacher approaches it and how you might change or improve the teaching of that topic.


Don't get too downhearted, maybe take it as constructive criticism rather than criticism, do remember those parents will also know that you have given up a lot of your free time to help their children. They will be appreciative of that.

drusk

It seems you're going too fast with the material. You shouldn't need to give students grinds during their breaks! Slow it right down, and don't move on from something unless you're sure pretty much everyone has some sort of grasp on what you've taught. It's your PGDE - experiment, keep the kids with you - the pressure is not on YOU to get the course/syllabus covered, that's your co-operating teacher's job. Just concentrate on ensuring everyone in the class learns from you - not on rushing through the syllabus.