Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Advice needed on very difficult teacher

My child has a very strict math teacher this year who wants to talk to me on Thursday. Some background information follows; any advice in how best to interact with her would greatly appreciated.

About DD: Grade skipped, talented at mathematics. I reviewed last year's stuff with her in about ten days before school started, and threw in some new stuff, including basic algebra. Grade level-stuff seems to be almost trivial to learn (sometimes she cuts off my explanation and finishes it for me). She gets the algebra and enjoys it. We're working from the Brown high school textbook. So, it's the real thing. She a very sensitive girl and is a teacher-pleaser.

Teacher (I'll call her Ms T. for Ms. Teacher): Her expectations are, well, odd. Examples:

• On day 4 of school, DD was in study hall during after-school care. She showed her math homework to Ms T., who said it was "all correct" but made her do it again because DD used "the wrong kind of paper."
• A problem on Thursday's assignment was marked incorrect because of a hyphenation error. Part of the answer was "thousandths." DD ran hyphenated the word as "thousand-ths." Ms. T. wrote "hyphenate only between syllables" and made DD redo the problem.
• Ms. T. corrects homework and returns it on the day it was handed in. If a student doesn't write the date on an assignment, she gives it a zero.
• Answers must be written below the line where work appeared. If they are written to the right of the work (or circled below it), the problem is marked incorrect and must be redone.
• Students must solve problems using the method taught by Ms. T. She acknowledges that "there are many ways to solve problems, but in my classroom, you do it my way." Ms. T. announced this policy at back-to-school night.

This is only a sample of Ms. T.'s rules. There are more. Many more.

This woman is the middle school math teacher and has been assigned to teach the 5th grade this year. That means four years of her for my DD. To her credit, DD sees much of this stuff. But she also says that focusing on all of Ms. T.'s rules is making her stressed and making it hard to focus on the actual mathematics. She was crying about it all on Friday.

I get the need for tidiness in math and encourage it very strongly with all my kids. But IMO, Ms. T. goes way too far.

I'm concerned that Ms. T.'s approach will condition the kids to toe a narrow line of approach to math problems. Plus, it has the potential to instill a fear of doing something a new way. Etc.

So she wants to talk to me on Thursday. She won't tell me what it's about because "she doesn't like to have conferences via email." DD told me that Ms. T. is "on the fence about putting me in the accelerated group because I'm not learning fast enough." Her teacher last year put her in the lower group. She was forced to move her up when they started long division and it was clear that DD had already pretty much mastered it. Surprise, surprise, no drop in DD's grades. Her standardized test scores last year were a sea of 8th and 9th stanines. It isn't clear to me how they make these assessments.

So, I need advice on how to interact with this person. Assume there will be no support from the principal. Also, there is no other math teacher. I'm thinking of suggesting that DD work with me at home and do assignments I give at school. Don't know if they'll go for this. Also, the school in general is actually very good apart from math instruction (e.g. they start reading novels and writing essays in 4th grade, music class is to die for, etc.).