Dear Algebra II Teacher,

After two years of my son having excellent teachers who taught my son that he was not only good at math but he loved it. You have managed to kill not only his enthusiasm but the enthusiasm of the other kids in class as well. Was there a reason to give most of the the class D's or lower on thier last chapter test of year. I can maybe understand setting your standards on the first test.. but the last one?? These are a group of very bright math students and you had many of them practically crying in class because you tested them on material you not only didn't teach but that the students weren't expecting. This is not the first time this has happened. And when my son asked why he got a problem wrong you all but implied he was stupid for not noticing the "trick" involved.

I was warned about you by numerous other parents at the start of the year but there wasn't really much I could do about it because we liked most of his other teachers & class selections. I talked with parents who have tried to work with you in over the past number of years to realize that you are not at all flexible nor listen to the parents when they complain. And I am convinced but don't have the evidence that when you heard about the SST meeting for my son you switched my son's homework grade to an 80% just so you would be able to blame my son instead of your unreasonable testing practices. The one thing my son has done religiously is his math homework for the last 3 years.

And I might buy your "this is just a really hard class" line if it were not for the fact that this same classes taught by a different teacher the students are a lot happier and their grades a lot higher. In a school that sets absolutes for staying in their honors classes their grades MATTER. Giving the best and the brightest students this school has to offer mediocre grades is shame on you because it will follow this students into their college selection process. And quite probably convince a number of them that they aren't good at math when they are instead some of the best math students.

Last edited by bluemagic; 06/14/14 03:37 PM.