Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion How petty can teachers get!?!

1frugalmom--I would also have been upset at finding out that this was a problem in this way; if the teacher was thinking to grade down on it, I think it would have been appropriate (and likely to have a much better outcome all around) for them to bring it to your attention to allow for possible outside help and intervention or counseling or whatever. Having said that, our DD has the same issue this year (and in the past) of appearing to not pay attention during lectures, and the (nice) teacher was upset by this because although sometimes DD actually was listening/absorbing the material, other times she was not, and regardless, her clearly inattentive behavior was distracting to the other children. With positive support from the teacher this year, we've been able to discuss and reinforce appropriate behavior at home and her in-school behavior has gradually improved, although she still slips up. I'm not sure what grade your DD is in (ours is in 4th), but until kids get to high school or unless it affects whether they can get into accelerated classes (not an option where we are anyway), I don't think grades really matter all that much (in the sense of not being detrimental to their future). It's really in your DD's interest to be able to pretend to listen, and although this teacher seems to probably be a bad fit and not very helpful, there might be other more helpful teachers down the road who could be put off by distracting behavior and it could cause even more trouble for your DD. So difficult as it is under the circumstances (and I have been there too!!!), please consider gritting your teeth and trying to discuss this with the teacher in a collaborative and friendly way to see if you can work with DD to improve her behavior for the future. It may be a lost cause with this teacher (probably is, given that this is how they chose to handle it), but the best you can hope for is getting something positive out of it anyway for your DD, and remember, the year is half over! Best of luck!