So yesterday when i picked up my son from school his class was outside running relays in 100 degree weather. They were in an area with little shade. I was not happy. When Riley got in the car ten minutes late (we are the early pick up) he was beat red and sooooooo thirsty. I asked him if he had drank any water and he said NO. I was also upset that his teacher was on one side of the field and some of the kids were on the other side near the drive way of the school where the cars drive up for pick up. The gate has a couple openings where the kids could run out into the street if they had a mind to. I thought that there should have been more supervision by an adult since they were so close to the street.

I called the Principal to ask her if this was going to be an on going P. E. practice because i wasn't happy about it.

This morning i get a call from his teacher. I personally was surprised that she didn't keep my complaints anonymous. I thought she would take care of the problem and that would be that. I don't want the teacher to think i am a complainer and i don't want him offended on the fourth day of school because i called the Principal.

He is normally an eighth grade teacher who moved down to first this year. I think he's very nice and is doing a great job but i do think he needs to remember first graders are still very young.

So my question is....when you talk to the principal about a problem you're having with a teacher do you expect them to keep it anonymous and just say something like "a few parents have commented on....whatever the issue is" or......Do you expect the teacher to contact you directly?

I wish i had just gone straight to the teacher with my concerns now.

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Jodie....Wife to Andrew (1995)
Mommy to Riley (2000) and Wyatt (2003)

Your concerns are absolutely valid, and I would have ben beyond mad had I found that situation. But in all honestly, (and not to add fuel to the fire), I think the teacher should have been the first stop on the ladder of complaint. Then had the teacher not addressed your concerns appropriately, I would have gone to the principal. I learned this one the hard way myself!

Regardless, the school should have a PE policy in place so that kids are not exercising in those kinds of temps... It is worth pursuing with whoever will listen!!

Jodie, your concerns are very valid and I would have been upset, also. However, (you knew it was coming) our principal has a rule that the parent must go to the teacher first and then if nothing is worked out we can go to him. I had to do this last year and I HATE confrontation. But, it went better than expected and that teacher is extremely nice to me. I think a teacher would rather hear it from a parent than feel as if the parent is going behind his/her back and complaining.

I will be the odd one out here but I will say it anyway. If I had been in the same situation I would have talked to the teacher and then depending on the response would have made the principal aware of my concerns. This being said, I would also have to make a phone call to the superintendent's office to express my concern over what I consider a "lack of common sense" exercised by the staff at my child's school. When my child's safety and health are an issue I am a very mean mama bear.

I understand how upset you are-I would have been too. I agree with JulieConnor-I would have talked to the teacher about your concern first. If after talking to the teacher if you do not see a change then I would take your concern to the principal. After talking to the teacher & then the prinicpal, if things still do not get resolved then that is when you call the Superintendent's office.

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Mommy to Ariana 8/11/01 & Davis 4/11/05
I love my kiddos!

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Next time talk to the teacher first. I have been the teacher. I hated it when parents went straight to the principal (happened twice in five years of teaching). To teachers it feels like you go to our boss before we have even had a chance to fix things.

I once had a parent go over my head because his kid (who never listened) misheard something I said and told his father I criticized the class for being my worst class (when I said they were my largest 9th grade English class in terms of number of students.) I got called into the principal's office with the parent for this!!!! The student evidently got his little feelings hurt thinking I criticized the quality of students in his class. The parent never believed that I hadn't criticized the class, believing instead that I was covering myself for unprofessional statements to the class.

My advice is to give the teacher a chance first next time. Direct confrontation is hard, but you will have a better relationship with your child's teacher than if you go to the principal first with your concerns.

Well where the heck were all of you when i needed you yesterday!!!LOL!!!! JK!!! I had talked to three other parents about this at soccer practice last night and they all said we should talk to the Principal!!! Their children are in the same class and they too were not happy about the P.E. in the heat.

I should have gone with my gut but i didn't.

When i talked to the teacher this morning i did apologize and tell him i felt i should have contacted him first.

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Jodie....Wife to Andrew (1995)
Mommy to Riley (2000) and Wyatt (2003)

I'm odd one out, I would have gone straight to the principal over the class being outside doing hard running with the heat indexes we've been having. It's not the teachers control (at least at our school) if PE gets done indoors or out. In fact I'm fuming that DD's school has set having a heat index of 105 to keep them inside, I think that's way to high. I've let my opinion be heard, but very few other parents seem to have even asked about it much less been upset by it.

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:love:

Unless I specified not to use my name or called anonymously I would not assume he would keep my name out of it.

The only time I met with a principal about one of my children, she insisted the teachers be present there at the mtg.

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