Need advice on bad teacher experience

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90Domer

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Hi Everyone,

I signed up to teach my son’s third grade religious education class. This year is a sacramental year, so I felt it important that the kids learn reverence for the Eucharist.

I was assigned three aides to help me teach. Sadly, one of the aides did not like how I prioritized the teaching of the material, even though I was given approval by a member of the religious education staff. The aide got the director involved and took me to task about my teaching (I only taught two classes up to this point) in front of another aide and a kid from the class (son of the disapproving aide). Some very nasty comments were said to me by the said aide and the RE director. I ended up in tears, as I was trying to advocate for a couple of special needs kids (my son included) who were in the class.

Needless to say, I resigned and pulled my son from the class, as the fellow student who witnessed the exchange was already bothering my son (not respecting boundaries). I feel bad for not staying with a program that is truly suffering from a lack of guidance and teachers who attend Mass on a regular basis. Should I have just shrugged it off and stayed with the program? I worry that I would not command respect from the kids, and the one aide was already undermining my teaching.

I would love your thoughts.
 
It is kind of difficult to give an answer without really knowing what went on. You don’t have to disclose that info but if it was a problem with what or how you were teaching it should have been discussed with you in private. Perhaps you should have asked to speak to the pastor and the DRE together to see if things could be worked out. Or you could see the pastor alone to express your concerns.
 
I would not say you should “shrug it off”, however, without knowing more information, it’s hard to say what the course of action should be. If a person is being disrespected, then they have every right to politly and firmly say, “You may not speak to me like that.” If the issue isn’t outright disrespect but more a difference of opinon, it reallly depends on your position. If you are in a position of authority and you have the support of your director, you can say, “I’m sorry if you feel that way, but this is the way it is going to be this year.” If the volunteer continues to undermine your authority in the class, then I would speak to her in private and explain your expectations. If she can’t agree on a solution for the future, discuss the problem with your director. If you are not the person of authority for the classroom and you and this other mom can’t agree, then I would advise you to call the question with your director. As for his or her directive as to how the class should proceed and then accept the solution and move on. I certainly wouldn’t pull my child out of PSR though.
 
90Domer said:
Hi Needless to say, I resigned and pulled my son from the class, as the fellow student who witnessed the exchange was already bothering my son (not respecting boundaries). I feel bad for not staying with a program that is truly suffering from a lack of guidance and teachers who attend Mass on a regular basis. Should I have just shrugged it off and stayed with the program? I worry that I would not command respect from the kids, and the one aide was already undermining my teaching.

I would love your thoughts.
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this is exactly the kind of situation that should be taken to the pastor immediately. Please call him, as you rightly observe you are advocating for our own son and others with special needs, and for other catechists who have been mistreated. The DRE should not have allowed this discussion to take place in front of any students or third parties, and should not have allowed you to leave without making an effort to respond to your needs and your child’s.

It was her responsibility in the first place to work with all of those assigned to the class in giving you the guidance on what to teach, when and how, and not allow an aide to dictate to you (or to her).
 
It sounds to me as if this program is an ad hoc mess. was there a proper recruitment proceedure? was a curriculum provided? was no training given to everyone? why did the aids not know what the curriculum and teaching methods were? was everyone informed of special needs in the class and how to best meet these? the situation was totally avoidable in the first place.
 
God bless you and thank you for the replies.

To answer some questions. All the teachers and aides are volunteers. I don’t want to say that they were just looking for warm bodies to teach, but it kind of amounts to that. Most teachers don’t go to church on a regular basis. As for the aides, not sure where they are spiritually.

The description of an “ad hoc mess” is the perfect description. I did not get my full set of teaching materials until the Friday before the first class. And this is a sacramental year–the kids make Holy Communion in 3rd grade. We are given a rough outline on what needs to be covered and let loose. I was very scared and confused, and my questions for clarification were not looked upon favorably. The DRE is almost impossible to get up with, so much of my guidance was coming from her secretary. I now realize that they were not on the same page.

I am still trying to wrap my hear around mandatory homework being assigned from a book
that everyone relates to as a reference. And about the only thing that was said about adaptations for special needs kids was that, “It takes then longer to learn, but they do get it.”

Two years ago, I did write a letter to our pastor about a special needs class. The letter got sent to the DRE, and you see the results of my effort.

We have decided to home school our child because there was no way I could save face in the classroom…especially with a student privy to the discussion. I have resigned and thrown up my hands in total frustration. The funny comment I kept getting is, “What do you care (about the other children). Your son knows his stuff”. So much for spreading God’s word!

Any additional advice would be appreciated. Sorry it took me so long to respond. I needed a couple of good cries.
 
waterbrook said:
It sounds to me as if this program is an ad hoc mess. was there a proper recruitment proceedure? was a curriculum provided? was no training given to everyone? why did the aids not know what the curriculum and teaching methods were? was everyone informed of special needs in the class and how to best meet these? the situation was totally avoidable in the first place.
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Very quickly…the training was a 1.5 hour session designed to answer the questions of all the teachers for all the grades in attendance. And at the meeting, not everyone received course materials. Since my name was near the end of the alphabet, I got my stuff the Friday before the first Monday class. There were three sets of study materials, and I could not get a straight answer as to what took priority. I assumed the sacramental stuff did. It’s tough though when kids come into the class with no knowledge of what they were supposed to have learned last year…despite being told they knew it and passed last year.

So sad, really. I truly tried my best.
 
Poor you! im afraid as im not catholic and in the uk, where things are very different I dont understand the religious education set up where you are but it seems to me that there is even uncertaintly about the purpose of the course…the imperting of facts/spiritual formation os some sort of combination, until everyone agrees on these theprogram will remain a mess.
 
I agree in that there is no consistency between two classes in the same grade. And there is no consistency in grading either. So, where you would have one teacher that passes everyone, you have another who is stricter.

I wish I had a feel for how other REC programs operate. Ours just seems a lot less organized than most. We’re a big parish–about 4000 families–and I think we’re in need of some more paid positions.
 
Please, send a letter to the Pastor. Catechists must be practicing Catholics, there are rules about these things set at the Diocese and national levels.

If your pastor does not respond, go to the RE office of the Bishop.
 
Does anyone know where I can find the rules for cathechists?

Thank you!
 
90Domer said:
I agree in that there is no consistency between two classes in the same grade. And there is no consistency in grading either. So, where you would have one teacher that passes everyone, you have another who is stricter.

I wish I had a feel for how other REC programs operate. Ours just seems a lot less organized than most. We’re a big parish–about 4000 families–and I think we’re in need of some more paid positions.
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How can one possibly grade children and pass or fail them where spirituality is concerned? The answer is you cant. you can grade knowledge and understanding of content. Until your programme is clear about its aims it cant judge whether they have been met or not…You cannot however grade the heart.
 
You should have taken the aide to the RE director to discuss, who is in charge. It sounds like the aide needed to be re-assigned or fired. After all, if this person has a poor atitude towards authority, it sounds like they need to go. Concerning the “limitations of your child”, it may be best to home school them to give them the best possible religious education. But, any child really needs the socialation one would gain from a group class. Not knowing you or your child, you may want to discuss this with the RE director.

It sound like the Aide is going to be an ongoing problem, and I am guessing the RE director knows that.
 
90Domer said:
Does anyone know where I can find the rules for cathechists?

Thank you!
Click to expand...
Call the Office of Religious Education at your Diocese, they will provide you a copy. These things are set at the Diocese level.
 
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