It sounds like you really won't know how to deal with this situation until you have more info, which you won't have until the meeting. I would try my best to be wait until the meeting before assuming that this is all going to go south because of the teacher's methods. I have had teachers like this teacher who were rigid, and the rigidity didn't automatically mean they weren't also great teachers. So try not to overthink it ahead of time, go to the meeting and listen to what she has to say, then come up with a game plan when you know what's really on her mind.

To play devil's advocate here, just a few things that could be interpreted in a not-so-bad way. For instance, the not answering emails after 4 - the way she said it sounds abrupt and annoying, but how many of us wouldn't honestly prefer not to be chained to our work email after hours? I can see that setting up that expectation puts some clarity around when she will and won't respond - which is not all that different than saying "I'll stay in my room after school until 4 to help". Re saying that students must do the math the way she shows them how to do it - I think that isn't necessarily a bad thing depending on where your child is at in terms of curriculum - we tend to want to give our kids the freedom to come up with how to calculate early math however they are comfortable doing it as a way to prevent children from becoming frustrated and discouraged with learning math - but once you hit a certain level of math, there are ways to do things that build into other types of ways to do things.

I *totally* didn't explain that very well but what I'm trying to say is, if you give her a chance, she might turn out to be a fabulous teacher, or at least a competent teacher. I wouldn't throw in the towel until you've had the chance to talk to her smile

Good luck with your meeting!

polarbear

Last edited by polarbear; 09/09/13 10:36 AM.