Thursday, March 16, 2006
How Do I Complain About Bad Teachers?
Dear Guidance Guy,
I go to a small all girls Catholic school and my parents and I are feeling really upset about the awful teachers I've had so far (I'm a junior). My mother called in once when one of my teachers was letting her favorite students grade other students' papers after school and another teacher that was grading way too easy, but I want to do more. I wanted you advice on how to inform my school of how displeased I am with my experience so far.
I have to start thinking about recommendations for college and due to the overwhelming number of bad teachers I've had its going to be hard to find recommendations.
Sincerely,
An Average High School Student
*****
Dear Average,
You've got a couple of issues to deal with here. One is finding a way to address the concerns you have and another is finding teachers who are willing to write recommendations for college.
The first thing you should do is figure out exactly what you want for an outcome. If you want to complain about the teachers and not much more, a simple letter to principal and/or Archdiocese should do the trick. You can even get really aggressive and write a letter to your local newspaper.
Of course you would create many more problems for yourself within the school if you did either one of those. Something tells me you want to make things better rather than complain. If that's the case, think about which teachers are doing things you think are wrong. When you say a teacher is grading too easy, what is he/she doing? Is it affecting just you or the whole class? And is it interfereing with how you learn? Figure out exactly what you want to change. Once you do that it will be easier to go to the right people. Looks like either the teachers involved or the principal would be the best place to start.
If you have a guidance counselor, that is one of the people who will write letters of recommendation for you. Many collleges would like to see a letter from a teacher as well. The good news is that it only has to be one teacher. Find one you had a good experience with and ask them to write on your behalf. The "Ask For Help" chapter in my book, "So, You Wanna Go To College..." covers the best ways to get help from teachers and counselors.
I have a hard time believing there are NO teachers in the school you had a good experience with - and enjoyed having you in their class. If there were truly none, take a look at what kind of student you were and think about if you would enjoy teaching you. Good students (not just those with the best grades) sometimes help to make good teachers.
Best of Luck,
The Guidance Guy
I go to a small all girls Catholic school and my parents and I are feeling really upset about the awful teachers I've had so far (I'm a junior). My mother called in once when one of my teachers was letting her favorite students grade other students' papers after school and another teacher that was grading way too easy, but I want to do more. I wanted you advice on how to inform my school of how displeased I am with my experience so far.
I have to start thinking about recommendations for college and due to the overwhelming number of bad teachers I've had its going to be hard to find recommendations.
Sincerely,
An Average High School Student
*****
Dear Average,
You've got a couple of issues to deal with here. One is finding a way to address the concerns you have and another is finding teachers who are willing to write recommendations for college.
The first thing you should do is figure out exactly what you want for an outcome. If you want to complain about the teachers and not much more, a simple letter to principal and/or Archdiocese should do the trick. You can even get really aggressive and write a letter to your local newspaper.
Of course you would create many more problems for yourself within the school if you did either one of those. Something tells me you want to make things better rather than complain. If that's the case, think about which teachers are doing things you think are wrong. When you say a teacher is grading too easy, what is he/she doing? Is it affecting just you or the whole class? And is it interfereing with how you learn? Figure out exactly what you want to change. Once you do that it will be easier to go to the right people. Looks like either the teachers involved or the principal would be the best place to start.
If you have a guidance counselor, that is one of the people who will write letters of recommendation for you. Many collleges would like to see a letter from a teacher as well. The good news is that it only has to be one teacher. Find one you had a good experience with and ask them to write on your behalf. The "Ask For Help" chapter in my book, "So, You Wanna Go To College..." covers the best ways to get help from teachers and counselors.
I have a hard time believing there are NO teachers in the school you had a good experience with - and enjoyed having you in their class. If there were truly none, take a look at what kind of student you were and think about if you would enjoy teaching you. Good students (not just those with the best grades) sometimes help to make good teachers.
Best of Luck,
The Guidance Guy
