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Petition calls for removal of 2nd-grade teacher after 'absolutely pathetic' comment on student's work goes viral

A petition calling for the termination of a second-grade teacher at a Pennsylvania public school has garnered more than 7,000 signatures after a social media post regarding her feedback to a student went viral.

Chris Piland took to Facebook to voice his displeasure with his son's second-grade teacher at Valley View Elementary School — identified as Alyssa Rupp Bohenek by the Scranton Times-Tribune — after she wrote a remark on a math assignment.

Written in red ink above the assignment, which features 50 subtraction problems, the teacher allegedly wrote of the 7-year-old’s work: "Absolutely pathetic. He answered 13 in 3 min! Sad."

"I am beyond frustrated that someone would write this on a childs work," Piland shared.

According to the Times-Tribune , school superintendent Rose Minniti, was made aware of the remarks written on the assignment on Tuesday. After a meeting between the Valley View School District and the teacher, an investigation has been initiated.

“It’s a personnel issue and the results of that are not going to be dictated by social media,” Minniti told the news outlet. “It’s going to be dictated by the facts and evidence.”

Still, many online are calling for the teacher to be fired.

"Alyssa Rupp Bohenek is a teacher for the Valley View school district that thinks it's ok to bully and talk down to her students, and needs to be removed," reads the petition , "Fire Alyssa Rupp Bohenek."

A counter-petition has been launched in defense of Bohenek, although it did repeatedly misspell her last name and only has 62 signatures so far. Those in support of Bohenek believe, "it is something she should [be] reprimanded for but certainly not fired over."

“As always with everything, we’re going to try to do what’s best for the students and what we need to do for the employee under investigation,” Minniti said.

Piland, Minniti and Bohenek did not immediately respond to Yahoo Lifestyle’s requests for comment.

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Teacher faces calls to be fired after writing ‘absolutely pathetic’ on young boy’s homework

Chris Piland from Pennsylvania, US, was appalled when he saw the comment scrawled in red ink on his son Kamdyn's test

• Jenny Awford
• Published : 0:20, 21 Apr 2019
• Updated : 0:30, 21 Apr 2019

A DAD has called for a teacher to be fired after she wrote “absolutely pathetic” on his young son’s homework.

Chris Piland from Pennsylvania, US, was appalled when he saw the comment scrawled in red ink on his son Kamdyn's test.

The second grade class, for kids aged between seven and eight, had been asked to solve as many subtraction problems in three minutes as they could.

When marking the work, the teacher, who has been named locally as Alyssa Rupp Bohenek, wrote: "Absolutely pathetic he answered 13 in 3 min! Sad.”

Mr Piland then shared a photo of the homework on social media.

“My son Kamdyn’s teacher has been so rude to him and myself all year he comes home with this and I am beyond frustrated that someone would write this on a childs (sic) work such great motivation,” he captioned the post.

PETITION FOR TEACHER TO BE FIRED

The post went viral and has sparked an online campaign calling for the teacher to be fired.

The ‘Petition to fire Alyssa Rupp Bohenek from the Valley View school district’ has now attracted more than 16,000 signatures.

The school board is now understood to be investigating.

Mr Piland posted an update saying: "Thanks to all the efforts and support of the dedicated people who signed and shared this petition, I'm happy to announce that the teacher in question is currently being investigated by the Valley View school board."

'SHAME ON HER'

Hundreds have commented on the petition, with one saying: “Shame on her.”

Another wrote: “She violated ethical obligations and is unprofessional. Disgraceful to teachers everywhere.”

One social media user added: “This should be unacceptable from an adult in an authority position over a child.”

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School superintendent Rose Minniti said: "It's a personnel issue and the results of that are not going to be dictated by social media.

"It's going to be dictated by the facts and evidence.

"As always with everything, we're going to try to do what's best for the students and what we need to do for the employee under investigation."

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Top5 » Teacher Writes Note On Boy’s Homework, Has No Idea Who Dad Is

Teacher Writes Note On Boy’s Homework, Has No Idea Who Dad Is

Unwanted Advice

A 7-year-old tried to conceal his emotions from his parents as he came home from school, but they were able to see straight through him. They asked him to tell them what was so distressing him.

The second-grader made an effort to brush it off, but ultimately he reached inside his school bag and drew out a piece of paper. It would be the puzzle piece containing all the solutions.

A Normal Boy

Public Domain

Young Kamdyn Piland was an ordinary student. His parents claimed he wasn’t an overachiever but he also wasn’t a misbehaving or terrible kid. He wasn’t too active and didn’t have a TV or video game addiction.

The fact that he was so outraged over anything that occurred at school that day completely caught me off guard. Kamdyn’s father became quite unhappy after reading the note that was scribbled on the exam paper. He read it more and more furiously, and for good cause.

A Normal School

Since Kamdyn had started attending Valley View Elementary School, there had never been a problem with the unremarkable public school. When he was moved up to the second grade, everything changed.

All of a sudden, Kamdyn’s parents were receiving an unusually high volume of criticism about their daughter. Chris made the decision to look into things a little more since he wondered if there was trouble at school.

Having Difficulties

It’s no secret that most kids detest doing their homework, especially when there are friends to see and games to play after school. Kamdyn’s parents assumed that he was just another typical school student because he was not any different.

That is, until he began to fall behind in his homework. His parents found it distressing to see him struggle in school as a result of this unexpected transformation, which didn’t start until he was well into second grade. But why did it all happen in the first place?

Way Too Harsh

Chris was alarmed by his child’s struggles in second grade since he believed his child was more than capable of handling the challenge. He found it very unexpected that Kamdyn was struggling at school.

When he returned home with some feedback from his teacher, Alyssa Rupp Bohenek, his father suspected that the instructor may be to blame. His instincts would turn out to be spot on.

Everyone has experienced a teacher who is impossible to satisfy. Not everyone is as fortunate as certain students, who appear to have a thick skin and perform well in their studies without being discouraged.

Children who are sensitive, kindhearted, and uneasy do not react well to harsh criticism. Unfortunately, Kamdyn had a teacher that fit this description.

Reputation Proceeded Them

Already having a bit of a reputation at the school, Mrs. Alyssa Bohenek now appeared to be targeting poor Kamdyn.

The boy’s self-esteem and confidence were suffering as a result of his teacher’s continual criticism, but he kept this to himself and informed no one until his dad witnessed it for himself.

His Poor Grades

Every parent hopes that their child will excel in school, so it can be disheartening to learn that this is not the case at all.

A parent may take a number of actions to help their child’s grades improve, including extra classes, tutoring, spending more time watching them while they complete their homework, and overall being more involved. Giving the classic “tough love” method, especially at such a young age, has been shown to be ineffective.

Good Criticism

Even grownups will find receiving unfavorable criticism exhausting. We acknowledge that one will eventually have to deal with it, but it is always more beneficial when such criticism is offered in a professional or constructive manner.

A person’s confidence and self-esteem will always take a serious hit if they are mocked for no reason. Just consider how much more upsetting it would be if it came from a parent or other adult in a position of control.

Comparing educating younger students to teaching anyone else is like comparing apples to oranges. It involves more than simply speaking to people while on your feet while hoping they would pay attention. You must give every learner your undivided attention.

A teacher should set an example for students and act as a mentor as well as educate them how to learn efficiently. If the instructor believed that her critical remarks were benefiting the pupils, Chris didn’t think she was living up to these criteria at all.

Things Got Worse

Nobody can fault a parent for being offended by the kind of statement that was made on Kamdyn’s arithmetic exam.

Not only was the statement totally inappropriate, but it was also evident that Kamdyn felt quite unhappy as a result, and nobody loves to see their child upset. When looking through Kamden’s school workbook, Kamden’s father performed a double-take.

The Offensive Note

Facebook – Chris R Piland

The note that the teacher left for the 7-year-old was this: “Absolutely pathetic! He answered 13 in 3 minutes! Sad!” 

Chris knew that his son would not be inspired to work harder by this comment, it would, in fact, only make things worse. Whatever happened to constructive criticism? Chris found the note unacceptable and wouldn’t take the issue lying down.

A Recurring Problem

The problem was that this comment was not the first that this teacher had left Kamdyn, and it was the straw that broke the camel’s back. For Chris, it was the last straw and he intended to do something about it.

To add insult to injury, the messages were right from the beginning of the year. It was time to confront this teacher.

Taking To Facebook

It’s the go-to action that a lot of people take – posting a worry or thought on social media. A lot of the time this is because we can get so close to the issues that we can’t see them clearly anymore. 

Chris wanted an objective opinion on this situation with Kamdyn’s teacher. What he wasn’t expecting was for the post to have such a massive impact. 

Stating The Facts

Chris began by just stating the facts, along with a picture of his son holding up the offending test paper. Given that the remark from the teacher would have crossed a line for most parents, he was pretty sure that everyone would agree with him. 

But, like any kind of controversy – especially involving kids –  tends to do on social media, things quickly got out of hand. 

His Viral Post

Chris was absolutely amazed at how the post took on a life of its own, racking up thousands of reactions, comments, and shares. 

It seemed that a lot of people felt really passionately about what happens in the classroom , how children are treated , and what skills a teacher should have. For the teacher in question, the backlash was only beginning. 

Almost Everyone Disapproved  

After reading the comments on his now-viral post, Chris felt significantly better that his gut instinct was right and he hadn’t been overreacting at all. He wasn’t an overprotective parent, and he had other people’s reactions to prove it. 

Going by the comments, almost everyone disapproved of the harsh words that the teacher left on the piece of paper. That’s when the post quickly snowballed into something much, much bigger.

Unprofessional

“You don’t write that on anybody’s paper, let alone a little 7-year-old, second grader’s paper ,”  Chris said as he spoke to more and more reporters for local newspapers and TV stations. 

“It said on the top of it that he answered only 13 of them in 3 minutes and that it was absolutely pathetic with a sad face. It broke my heart.” But when Chris confronted the teacher, things got worse.

Getting Nowhere

Of course, Chris was still absolutely furious about the whole ordeal when he messaged the teacher to address the issue head-on. But he still kept his cool.

“I believe what you wrote on his paper was extremely unprofessional and just very rude. And she messaged me back and said she was sorry I felt that way,” he told reporters, incredulous. But what would she have to say for herself?

A Teacher’s Responsibility

Teaching is not known for being an easy job, it’s far more challenging than standing in front of a class and talking. Every child learns differently and it is the responsibility of the teacher to find out how each child learns so that they can succeed in school and later on in life , too.

Leaving passive-aggressive comments seemed to Chris like this teacher wasn’t teaching his son how to learn –  she was taking the easy way out and putting the blame on his son.

No One Likes Negativity

No one likes to work in a negative environment. Take yourself for instance, if your boss was constantly on your case no matter how hard you worked you would very soon lose your passion for your job and quit.

But Kamdyn still had so many fundamental things to learn – like new abilities, skills, and tasks to take with him in the future. Quitting wasn’t an option . So, how could he take on a teacher?

Social Justice Warriors

Chris was glad that he was getting so much validation from his little Facebook post, but then things took a turn for the worst. 

He couldn’t believe it, but all the strangers that had rallied behind him had started a kind of movement of their own. His post had been picked up by other parents and armchair warriors. Whatever happened next wouldn’t be pretty.

An Online Petition

Someone who had seen Chris’ post had even taken it as far as launching a petition online calling for the sacking of Ms. Bohenek over the offensive comment. 

It was great that people felt so strongly and Chris was sure this was something that he wanted to go ahead with. However, the situation was no longer in his hands.

Endangering Her Career

The situation became serious now. Ms. Bohenek could lose her job because of a mean comment. She needed to protect herself against the angry group of people on social media that kept on growing.

Chris was still so angry over the whole incident that he did want her to get fired. After all, getting a new teacher for his son seemed like a great idea.

In Response

Amazingly the petition was tallying up an unusually high number of signatures. Already over 10,000 people wanted the teacher sacked with very little information or her side of the story. But teachers at her school took a stand on Ms. Bohenek’s behalf, saying she did not deserve to be fired at all.

Even though little Kamdyn said, “She made me really sad and upset. I was really mad. And [it was] really mean to do ,” it was clear that the school faculty was set on protecting one of their own.

Punished Not Fired

Everyone agreed that the teacher had indeed done something wrong, but should she be fired for it? It seemed a very harsh punishment for something that a firm talking to could change.

The school felt like she only had to be reprimanded for what she did. They thought that it was too much to fire her for this. But parents didn’t see it that way. After all,  teachers, parents, and other adults are the people who mold these little kids into what they’re going to be in the future.

Shutterstock

“Thanks to all the efforts and support of the dedicated people who signed and shared this petition, I’m happy to announce that the teacher in question is currently being investigated by the Valley View school board,” Chris posted in an update.

The school had decided to look further into the matter and make sure justice is served. They promised that the parents’ concerns would be addressed. But would they?

The Investigation

According to a news outlet, school superintendent Rose Minniti had become aware of the remarks written on the assignment after all the hate Mrs. Bohenek was getting online. 

After having a meeting with the Valley View School District and the teacher, an investigation had begun. But would Chris get justice? Surely, it was too easy.

Superintendent

As a response to the media, Minniti said, “As always with everything, we’re going to try to do what’s best for the students and what we need to do for the employee under investigation.”

Speaking to the same news outlet, she said, “It’s a personnel issue and the results of that are not going to be dictated by social media. It’s going to be dictated by the facts and evidence.”

Hopefully, something will come out of the investigation. Although the inquiry was underway, people from all over the world continued to respond to the story on social media and the petition had already garnered over 20,000 signatures.

But some people weren’t on Chris’ side. Instead, they decided to place the blame for Kamden’s teacher’s behavior solely on Chris!

The Blame Game

Chris learned that social media fame is a double-edged sword when he also began to receive hate. Some people felt that it was necessary to reprimand the dad and said that he should spend less time on Facebook and more time helping his son with his homework. 

Furthermore, they had the audacity to argue that the incident wouldn’t have happened at all if Chris had taken more of an interest in his son’s curriculum. Then, a new detail about the teacher emerged.

Another Can Of Worms

The people who were following the story closely had learned that Mrs. Bohenek had, in fact, been pregnant for the last few months.

It came as a surprise to many that she would be having a baby of her own soon and this opened up another can of worms on Facebook. Netizens were left divided.

Some Facebook users were empathetic to the teacher’s situation, pointing out that pregnancy hormones could easily be to blame for her behavior. It wasn’t lost on other parents that this could have caused her to become more impatient and short-tempered than usual. 

However, the story also brought another question into the spotlight. What would she have done if she found herself in Chris’ situation now that she had more of an insight into the life of a parent? 

Would Mrs. Bohenek just let the matter go, or would she make a point as well? And, as a teacher, she also should know that the best way to get the most out of your students is to inspire them. And, teachers have to be inspired as well.

Were Mrs. Bohenek’s pregnancy hormones to blame for her snappy demeanor, and is that a valid excuse to be mean to young children? 

Getting Personal In Class

If a teacher feels dispirited or has to deal with personal issues, they might bring their personal problems into the classroom and take it out on the kids. 

An inspired teacher will be more upbeat and positive, which encourages more interaction from the students and fosters better results. Perhaps that is the true issue of the story. 

It is important to ensure that teachers are also in the right state of mind since they often have such a huge impact on the development o f children and other learners.

People’s reactions online were mostly negative toward the teacher. As you’d expect, people had more than enough to say on the matter and went on to voice their opinions on the post as well as the petition. “A teacher bullied […] a second-grader,” said Peckville resident Beth O’Brien. “I think they should be fired.”

Doing His Best

Chris explained that by raising awareness about the incident he was looking out for his kids. “It’s something that shouldn’t happen and shouldn’t be tolerated at all,” he said. 

On top of filing a complaint, Chris was having Kamdyn moved to a new class. “Maybe it’ll be taken seriously now and it’ll keep it from happening to other teachers and other students,” Chris said.

Teaching The Teachers

The responses on Facebook were addressing a bigger issue than just one incident, though. Parents’ complaints were creating awareness about a flaw in the entire educational system. And many parents agreed that the issue lay with the teachers.

To be a teacher, the simple ability to teach is just not enough, and the job goes beyond just relaying information to students — guidance and mentorship should also be taken into account. 

Actively Mentoring

It is evident that teachers also need guidance and mentorship, and this should be implemented within the entire faculty. 

Simply teaching subjects and developing teaching techniques is very different from stepping up into a mentorship role. Teaching staff should also be able to adapt easily in order to overcome any obstacles that may arise in the classroom.

Have you or your child ever gotten lucky enough to have a truly inspiring teacher? If you have, you probably know that a little inspiration can go a long way. 

A good teacher knows that she doesn’t have to be the center of attention. And when a teacher looks forward to teaching her class, she’s more likely to engage with her students and keep them interested in the learning material.

A Teachable Moment

At the end of the day, what happened between Camdyn and his teacher turned out to be an important lesson — for both the teaching staff and the parents. 

We all know the way a teacher is supposed to behave, but we should never forget that – at the end of the day – they are also only human, after all.

She’s Still Employed

Even after all the backlash, bad publicity, and outrage that Kamdyn’s teacher caused, it doesn’t look like his dad’s actions did much to help at the end of the day. 

According to the school district’s website, Mrs. Bohenek is still employed at the school. Who can say if she was reprimanded for her actions, or even if she’s learned a lesson from the ordeal. 

No Love For The Profession

One woman wrote in response to the story, “Such a tender age to be scarred from this form of abuse. There are a lot of so-called ‘teachers’ that are working in schools that don’t care for children and aren’t fit to teach…” 

“…little to no training or love for the profession. I’m a former teacher and have taught for 20 years, I can truly see why many students and families are turning to homeschool and other non-traditional learning opportunities”.

Another person was horrified by the teacher’s actions. “I’m disgusted by this teacher’s actions and she should be fired if she doesn’t know how to censor her thoughts as well as promote the kids learning with positive feedback.”

Not An Isolated Incident

However, problems like these aren’t rare, and this wasn’t an isolated incident. There are many children who have been in the same situation as Kamdyn that have been in similar situations and have had issues with a difficult teacher. 

Karen Eubank found herself in the same situation with her son.

A Mean Teacher

Karen’s 9-year-old son had been complaining about his “mean” teacher, but the mom didn’t take it so seriously. Karen thought that he just needed to adjust to his new school — which is common among children of this age.

Karen also took what her son said with a pinch of salt. She knew that children often said that their teachers are being mean — especially when they are instructed to do their schoolwork. Unfortunately, Karen was wrong.

Trying To Tell Her

Karen didn’t take her son’s complaints seriously and thought everything was fine. She was sure that the teacher wasn’t singling her son out. But, as it turned out, her son had been trying to tell her something important. And he had every right to be upset.

Karen, like Kamdyn’s mom, had visited the school before deciding to enroll her son there and she was happy. She thought it would be a good fit. 

Faking Sick

Karen’s son, however, was not so enthusiastic. Even early on, he began to complain that he didn’t want to go to school anymore. And when that didn’t work, he began to pretend to be sick in hopes of not having to go in. 

But Karen wasn’t having any of it. But soon, she began to notice that every time she picked her son up from school, he would be in a terrible mood. 

Rationalizing It Away

Karen rationalized her son’s strange new behavior, chalking it up to new school nerves. Maybe he was just taking a bit longer to settle in. 

She was sure it was something that would get better with time, so she didn’t worry too much. But, by the time Halloween rolled around, the truth was finally revealed.

Unable to shake a strange feeling she was having, Karen decided to approach one of the children in the classroom next to her son’s. 

The boy told the startled mom that her son wasn’t having a good time at school. Then, he said that his teacher constantly yelled at him. In fact, she yelled at Karen’s son so loud that he could hear it from his classroom next door!

She Had To Get To The Bottom Of It

After Karen heard this unsettling news, she knew she had to do something. She had to get to the bottom of it and find out what the problem was. 

She scheduled meetings with her son’s teacher and the principal to try and understand what was going on. The teacher defended herself, saying that her son wasn’t attentive in class. And the principal took the teacher’s side on the matter. Karen was getting more frustrated by the minute.

Investigating

The principal and the teacher also told her that they were worried about her son. They said he wasn’t able to concentrate in class, so Karen took him for a psychological evaluation.

In the end, the evaluation confirmed what she had been suspecting all along: her son had no problems at all, despite what his teacher and principal had claimed!

Dealing With The Problem

After voicing her concerns with other parents in the class, she was surprised when they told her that they had never seen a smile on the teacher’s face. Then, her son confirmed it. 

He said that his teacher was mean and that she was always picking on him. He said that he does try to pay attention, “…but I look out the window because I’d rather look at trees and listen than look at her angry face.”

Home Schooling

Karen had heard enough. Even the other parents had noticed how unpleasant her son’s teacher was! She couldn’t tolerate the teacher singling her son out and making him miserable all day. 

She’d had enough. Just a few days later, Karen pulled her son out of that school, opting to rather home-school him herself instead.

In order to protect the privacy of those depicted, some names, locations, and identifying characteristics have been changed and are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblances to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, are entirely coincidental.

• Entertainment

Teacher Writes Note On Boy’s Homework, His Parents Find Out

Thomas Daily

Unhelpful Piece Of Criticism

A 7-year-old walked home from school while trying to hide his tears from his parents, but they saw right through that. They begged him to share what was upsetting him so badly.

The second-grader attempted to shrug it off, but eventually, he pulled a piece of paper out of his school bag. It would be the clue that held all the answers.

Just A Regular Kid

Young Kamdyn Piland was just your regular school kid. According to his parents, he wasn’t an overachiever, but he also wasn’t a naughty or bad child. He wasn’t particularly hyperactive nor was he addicted to video games and TV.

So it came as a complete surprise when he was so upset by something that happened at school that day. After studying the note written on the test paper, Kamdyn’s father got rather upset himself. The more he read it, the angrier he became, and with good reason too.

At A Regular School

Kamdyn had been going to Valley View Elementary School for a while now, and there had never been a problem with the completely ordinary public school. All that changed when he was promoted to 2nd grade.

Suddenly, Kamdyn’s parents were getting an unusual amount of negative feedback about their child. Wondering if there was something brewing at school, Chris decided to probe a bit further.

Struggling In School

It’s no secret that pretty much all children loathe doing homework when there are friends to visit and games to play after the school day has ended. Kamdyn was no different, and his parents chalked this up to being a normal school kid.

That is, until he started falling behind in his assignments. This sudden change only began when he was well into grade 2 and it was difficult for his parents to watch him struggling in his academic life. But what was the cause behind it all?

Way Too Harsh

Chris knew his kid was well up to the challenge that second grade presented and that he was finding it so difficult sent alarm bells ringing in his head. To him, it seemed completely out of character for Kamdyn to be failing at school.

When he came home with a piece of criticism from Alyssa Rupp Bohenek, his teacher, his father realized that it may have something to do with the teacher. His gut instinct would prove to be completely right.

We have all had that teacher that no one and nothing seems to please. And while some students seem to have thick skin and do well in their classes without becoming discouraged, not everyone is so lucky.

Sensitive, soft-hearted, and unsure children do not respond well to mean-spirited criticism. Unfortunately, Kamdyn had exactly this kind of teacher.

She Had A Reputation

Mrs. Alyssa Bohenek had a bit of a reputation at the school already, and now she seemed to have it out for poor Kamdyn.

The constant negative criticism from his teacher was having a bad effect on the boy’s self-esteem and confidence, but he kept it all to himself and told nobody about it – until his dad saw it for himself.

Addressing Bad Grades

Every parent wishes that their kid will be great at school, so when you hear that that is not the case at all it can be very upsetting.

There are various steps that a parent can take to get grades back up, such as extra lessons, tutoring, spending more time supervising the child while doing homework, and generally being more hands-on. One thing that has been proven not to work is giving the old ‘tough love’ approach, especially at such a young age.

Constructive Criticism Please

Even adults will find negative feedback to be draining. We accept that there will come a time when one has to deal with it, but it is always more helpful when such criticism is given in a constructive or professional way.

Getting criticized for kicks will always deal a huge blow to the confidence and self-esteem of an individual. Can you just imagine how much more it would upset a child when it is given by an authority figure?

Living As A Mentor

Teaching younger children is a completely different ball game from teaching anyone else. It’s not just about standing up and talking at people, hoping that they are listening to you. You have to be fully engaged with each and every student.

A teacher should teach children how to learn effectively and, of course, be a good role model and mentor. Chris didn’t feel that his son’s teacher was living up to these standards at all if she thought those kinds of criticizing comments were helping the students.

Only Made Things Worse

No one can blame a parent for getting upset with the type of comment that was left on Kamdyn’s maths test.

Not only was the comment completely out of line, but clearly it made Kamdyn feel really sad too, and no one likes to see their child upset. Kamden’s dad was going through his son’s school workbook and did a double-take.

The Offensive Note

The note that the teacher left for the 7-year-old was this: “Absolutely pathetic! He answered 13 in 3 minutes! Sad!”

Chris knew that his son would not be inspired to work harder by this comment, it would, in fact, only make things worse. Whatever happened to constructive criticism? Chris found the note unacceptable and wouldn’t take the issue lying down.

A Recurring Problem

The problem was that this comment was not the first that this teacher had left Kamdyn, and it was the straw that broke the camel's back. For Chris, it was the last straw, and he intended to do something about it.

To add insult to injury, the messages were right from the beginning of the year. It was time to confront this teacher.

Taking To Facebook

It’s the go-to action that a lot of people take – posting a worry or thought on social media. A lot of the time, this is because we can get so close to the issues that we can’t see them clearly anymore.

Chris wanted an objective opinion on this situation with Kamdyn’s teacher. What he wasn’t expecting was for the post to have such a massive impact.

Stating The Facts

Chris began by just stating the facts, along with a picture of his son holding up the offending test paper. Given that the remark from the teacher would have crossed a line for most parents, he was pretty sure that everyone would agree with him.

But, like any kind of controversy – especially involving kids – tends to do on social media, things quickly got out of hand.

His Viral Post

Chris was absolutely amazed at how the post took on a life of its own, racking up thousands of reactions, comments, and shares.

It seemed that a lot of people felt really passionately about what happens in the classroom, how children are treated, and what skills a teacher should have. For the teacher in question, the backlash was only beginning.

Almost Everyone Disapproved

After reading the comments on his now-viral post, Chris felt significantly better that his gut instinct was right and he hadn’t been overreacting at all. He wasn’t an overprotective parent, and he had other people’s reactions to prove it.

Going by the comments, almost everyone disapproved of the harsh words that the teacher left on the piece of paper. That’s when the post quickly snowballed into something much, much bigger.

Unprofessional

“You don’t write that on anybody’s paper, let alone a little 7-year-old, second grader’s paper,” Chris said as he spoke to more and more reporters for local newspapers and TV stations.

“It said on the top of it that he answered only 13 of them in 3 minutes and that it was absolutely pathetic with a sad face. It broke my heart.” But when Chris confronted the teacher, things got worse.

Getting Nowhere

Of course, Chris was still absolutely furious about the whole ordeal when he messaged the teacher to address the issue head-on. But he still kept his cool.

“I believe what you wrote on his paper was extremely unprofessional and just very rude. And she messaged me back and said she was sorry I felt that way,” he told reporters, incredulous. But what would she have to say for herself?

A Teacher’s Responsibility

Teaching is not known for being an easy job, it’s far more challenging than standing in front of a class and talking. Every child learns differently and it is the responsibility of the teacher to find out how each child learns so that they can succeed in school and later on in life, too.

Leaving passive-aggressive comments seemed to Chris like this teacher wasn’t teaching his son how to learn – she was taking the easy way out and putting the blame on his son.

No One Likes Negativity

No one likes to work in a negative environment. Take yourself, for instance. If your boss was constantly on your case, no matter how hard you worked, you would very soon lose your passion for your job and quit.

But Kamdyn still had so many fundamental things to learn – like new abilities, skills, and tasks to take with him in the future. Quitting wasn’t an option. So, how could he take on a teacher?

Social Justice Warriors

Chris was glad that he was getting so much validation from his little Facebook post, but then things took a turn for the worst.

He couldn’t believe it, but all the strangers that had rallied behind him had started a kind of movement of their own. His post had been picked up by other parents and armchair warriors. Whatever happened next wouldn’t be pretty.

An Online Petition

Someone who had seen Chris’ post had even taken it as far as launching a petition online calling for the sacking of Ms. Bohenek over the offensive comment.

It was great that people felt so strongly and Chris was sure this was something that he wanted to go ahead with. However, the situation was no longer in his hands.

Endangering Her Career

The situation has become serious now. Ms. Bohenek could lose her job because of a mean comment. She needed to protect herself against the angry group of people on social media that kept on growing.

Chris was still so angry over the whole incident that he didn't want her to get fired. After all, getting a new teacher for his son seemed like a great idea.

In Response

Amazingly the petition was tallying up an unusually high number of signatures. Already over 10,000 people wanted the teacher sacked with very little information or her side of the story. But teachers at her school took a stand on Ms. Bohenek’s behalf, saying she did not deserve to be fired at all.

Even though little Kamdyn said, “She made me really sad and upset. I was really mad. And [it was] really mean to do,” it was clear that the school faculty was set on protecting one of their own.

Punished Not Fired

Everyone agreed that the teacher had indeed done something wrong, but should she be fired for it? It seemed a very harsh punishment for something that a firm talking to could change.

The school felt like she only had to be reprimanded for what she did. They thought that it was too much to fire her for this. But parents didn’t see it that way. After all, teachers, parents, and other adults are the people who mold these little kids into what they’re going to be in the future.

“Thanks to all the efforts and support of the dedicated people who signed and shared this petition, I’m happy to announce that the teacher in question is currently being investigated by the Valley View school board,” Chris posted in an update.

The school had decided to look further into the matter and make sure justice is served. They promised that the parents’ concerns would be addressed. But would they?

The Investigation

According to a news outlet, school superintendent Rose Minniti had become aware of the remarks written on the assignment after all the hate Mrs. Bohenek was getting online.

After having a meeting with the Valley View School District and the teacher, an investigation began. But would Chris get justice? Surely, it was too easy.

Superintendent

As a response to the media, Minniti said, “As always with everything, we’re going to try to do what’s best for the students and what we need to do for the employee under investigation.”

Speaking to the same news outlet, she said, “It’s a personnel issue, and the results of that are not going to be dictated by social media. It’s going to be dictated by the facts and evidence.”

Hopefully, something will come out of the investigation. Although the inquiry was underway, people from all over the world continued to respond to the story on social media, and the petition had already garnered over 20,000 signatures.

But some people weren't on Chris' side. Instead, they decided to place the blame for Kamden's teacher's behavior solely on Chris!

The Blame Game

Chris learned that social media fame is a double-edged sword when he also began to receive hate. Some people felt that it was necessary to reprimand the dad and said that he should spend less time on Facebook and more time helping his son with his homework.

Furthermore, they had the audacity to argue that the incident wouldn't have happened at all if Chris had taken more of an interest in his son's curriculum. Then, a new detail about the teacher emerged.

Another Can Of Worms

The people who were following the story closely had learned that Mrs. Bohenek had, in fact, been pregnant for the last few months.

It came as a surprise to many that she would be having a baby of her own soon, and this opened up another can of worms on Facebook. Netizens were left divided.

Some Facebook users were empathetic to the teacher's situation, pointing out that pregnancy hormones could easily be to blame for her behavior. It wasn't lost on other parents that this could have caused her to become more impatient and short-tempered than usual.

However, the story also brought another question into the spotlight. What would she have done if she found herself in Chris' situation now that she had more of an insight into the life of a parent?

Would Mrs. Bohenek just let the matter go, or would she make a point as well? And as a teacher, she also should know that the best way to get the most out of your students is to inspire them. And, teachers have to be inspired as well.

Were Mrs. Bohenek’s pregnancy hormones to blame for her snappy demeanor, and is that a valid excuse to be mean to young children?

Getting Personal In Class

If a teacher feels dispirited or has to deal with personal issues, they might bring their personal problems into the classroom and take it out on the kids.

An inspired teacher will be more upbeat and positive, which encourages more interaction from the students and fosters better results. Perhaps that is the true issue of the story.

It is important to ensure that teachers are also in the right state of mind since they often have such a huge impact on the development of children and other learners.

People’s reactions online were mostly negative toward the teacher. As you’d expect, people had more than enough to say on the matter and went on to voice their opinions on the post as well as the petition. “A teacher bullied […] a second-grader,” said Peckville resident Beth O’Brien. “I think they should be fired.”

Doing His Best

Chris explained that by raising awareness about the incident, he was looking out for his kids. “It’s something that shouldn’t happen and shouldn’t be tolerated at all,” he said.

On top of filing a complaint, Chris was having Kamdyn moved to a new class. “Maybe it’ll be taken seriously now, and it’ll keep it from happening to other teachers and other students,” Chris said.

Teaching The Teachers

The responses on Facebook were addressing a bigger issue than just one incident, though. Parents' complaints were creating awareness about a flaw in the entire educational system. And many parents agreed that the issue lay with the teachers.

To be a teacher, the simple ability to teach is just not enough, and the job goes beyond just relaying information to students -- guidance and mentorship should also be taken into account.

Actively Mentoring

It is evident that teachers also need guidance and mentorship, and this should be implemented within the entire faculty.

Simply teaching subjects and developing teaching techniques is very different from stepping up into a mentorship role. Teaching staff should also be able to adapt easily in order to overcome any obstacles that may arise in the classroom.

Have you or your child ever gotten lucky enough to have a truly inspiring teacher? If you have, you probably know that a little inspiration can go a long way.

A good teacher knows that she doesn't have to be the center of attention. And when a teacher looks forward to teaching her class, she's more likely to engage with her students and keep them interested in the learning material.

A Teachable Moment

At the end of the day, what happened between Camdyn and his teacher turned out to be an important lesson -- for both the teaching staff and the parents.

We all know the way a teacher is supposed to behave, but we should never forget that – at the end of the day – they are also only human, after all.

She's Still Employed

Even after all the backlash, bad publicity, and outrage that Kamdyn's teacher caused, it doesn't look like his dad's actions did much to help at the end of the day.

According to the school district's website, Mrs. Bohenek is still employed at the school. Who can say if she was reprimanded for her actions or even if she's learned a lesson from the ordeal?

No Love For The Profession

One woman wrote in response to the story, “Such a tender age to be scarred from this form of abuse. There are a lot of so-called ‘teachers’ that are working in schools that don’t care for children and aren’t fit to teach…"

"…little to no training or love for the profession. I’m a former teacher and have taught for 20 years, I can truly see why many students and families are turning to homeschooling and other non-traditional learning opportunities”.

Another person was horrified by the teacher’s actions.

“I’m disgusted by this teacher’s actions, and she should be fired if she doesn’t know how to censor her thoughts as well as promote the kids learning with positive feedback.”

Not An Isolated Incident

However, problems like these aren't rare, and this wasn't an isolated incident. There are many children who have been in the same situation as Kamdyn that have been in similar situations and have had issues with a difficult teacher.

Karen Eubank found herself in the same situation with her son.

A Mean Teacher

Karen’s 9-year-old son had been complaining about his "mean" teacher, but the mom didn't take it so seriously. Karen thought that he just needed to adjust to his new school -- which is common among children of this age.

Karen also took what her son said with a pinch of salt. She knew that children often said that their teachers were mean -- especially when they were instructed to do their schoolwork. Unfortunately, Karen was wrong.

Trying To Tell Her

Karen didn't take her son's complaints seriously and thought everything was fine. She was sure that the teacher wasn't singling her son out. But, as it turned out, her son had been trying to tell her something important. And he had every right to be upset.

Karen, like Kamdyn's mom, had visited the school before deciding to enroll her son there, and she was happy. She thought it would be a good fit.

Faking Sick

Karen's son, however, was not so enthusiastic. Even early on, he began to complain that he didn't want to go to school anymore. And when that didn't work, he began to pretend to be sick in hopes of not having to go in.

But Karen wasn't having any of it. But soon, she began to notice that every time she picked her son up from school, he would be in a terrible mood.

Rationalizing It Away

Karen rationalized her son's strange new behavior, chalking it up to new school nerves. Maybe he was just taking a bit longer to settle in.

She was sure it was something that would get better with time, so she didn't worry too much. But, by the time Halloween rolled around, the truth was finally revealed.

Unable to shake a strange feeling she was having, Karen decided to approach one of the children in the classroom next to her son's.

The boy told the startled mom that her son wasn't having a good time at school. Then, he said that his teacher constantly yelled at him. In fact, she yelled at Karen's son so loud that he could hear it from his classroom next door!

She Had To Get To The Bottom Of It

After Karen heard this unsettling news, she knew she had to do something. She had to get to the bottom of it and find out what the problem was.

She scheduled meetings with her son's teacher and the principal to try and understand what was going on. The teacher defended herself, saying that her son wasn't attentive in class. And the principal took the teacher's side on the matter. Karen was getting more frustrated by the minute.

Investigating

The principal and the teacher also told her that they were worried about her son. They said he wasn't able to concentrate in class, so Karen took him for a psychological evaluation.

In the end, the evaluation confirmed what she had been suspecting all along: her son had no problems at all, despite what his teacher and principal had claimed!

Dealing With The Problem

After voicing her concerns with other parents in the class, she was surprised when they told her that they had never seen a smile on the teacher's face. Then, her son confirmed it.

He said that his teacher was mean and that she was always picking on him. He said that he does try to pay attention, "…but I look out the window because I’d rather look at trees and listen than look at her angry face."

Home Schooling

Karen had heard enough. Even the other parents had noticed how unpleasant her son's teacher was! She couldn't tolerate the teacher singling her son out and making him miserable all day.

She'd had enough. Just a few days later, Karen pulled her son out of that school, opting to rather home-school him herself instead.

In order to protect the privacy of those depicted, some names, locations, and identifying characteristics have been changed and are products of the author's imagination. Any resemblances to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, are entirely coincidental.

Kid's brilliant homework response outwits teacher's sexist question

Editor's note: This article was originally published on June 22, 2021. It has since been updated.

Sexism is prevalent and widespread only because we're all conditioned from an early age to accept existing sexist practices and gender roles. One 8 year old looked past an obvious answer to expose the inherent sexism in a question designed to elicit a sexist answer from kids. The English teacher didn't really think much as she created a list of clues for words that contain the letters "UR" in them. The teacher assumed that associating familiar jobs and days of the week as clues to the words would make it easier for the kids. One of the clues read, Hospital Lady . The first instinctive answer that comes up in our mind is the word "nurse" but then you realize that sexism is so deep-rooted that you associate a type of work with a gender, which is basically the definition of sexism. 

While many students answered with the word "nurse," Yasmine, who hails from Birmingham, England, thought outside the box and wrote surgeon . It was the girl's father, Robert Sutcliffe, who took to Twitter and pointed out the sexist question, reported Good. To make matters worse, and confirming the question was sexist, the teacher added the words "or nurse" beside the "surgeon" that Yasmine had answered. This makes it pretty obvious that the English elementary school teacher was indeed looking for the answer "nurse," and even felt compelled to point it out as the obvious choice when Yasmine had indeed provided an answer that ticked the criteria of the "surgeon" being a "hospital lady" and the word did contain the letters "UR."

One of the main reasons Yasmine chose to answer "surgeon" was because her own mother is a surgeon. Her father is also a surgeon. It is a basic example of a kid knowing a woman being a surgeon is possible because she has seen it herself. As the saying goes, "if she can't see it, she can't be it." When you reinforce stereotypical gender norms, kids growing up believing a woman can become a nurse and not a surgeon. In Yasmine's case, she could see it, and thus knew it was possible. It is also why representation matters when it comes to movies and TV because children consume media content and it shapes their ideas in a big way. 

Parents are sharing 10 instances where they are proud that children did not follow 'the rules'

"Their developing minds are that little bit more unquestioning about what they see and hear on their screens," said Rebecca Brand in a piece on the importance of representation, for The Guardian. "What message are we giving those impressionable minds about women? And how might we be cutting the ambitions of little girls short before they've even had the chance to develop properly?"

Twitter praised the girl for writing 'surgeon' and called out the teacher's framing of the question. Impressionable kids being subjected to sexist conditioning can define their overview of the world, and that's why it is more important for teachers and parents of young children to be more aware of what they teach, the questions they ask, and the images and ideas they project. 

A study showed that children as young as four-year-olds show a strong gender bias towards jobs, with girls choosing occupations stereotypical-associated with women and boys choosing ones associated with men. It was found that even pre-schoolers were reluctant to work traditionally not associated with their gender. This shows that sexist conditioning starts early and can affect children from a very early age. This also resulted in many choosing career paths stereotypically associated with their gender.

A study gathering evidence across 50 countries showed that as a result of this gender segregation by year 10, far fewer girls pursue maths and science. A similar pattern was noticed in boys as well, with very few of them taking up careers in social welfare, nursing, and teaching - professions associated with women. This leads to shortages of men in these industries, which further adds to the stereotype. 

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High School Teacher Writes 'WTF Is This?' On Student's Homework

May 29, 2019 / 12:45 PM MDT / CBS Colorado

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (CBS Local) -- The mother of a high school student in Florida is calling for disciplinary action against a teacher who wrote "WTF" — shorthand for "what the f***" — at the top of her son's homework assignment.

Melinda Smith said she was surprised and upset when her son handed her his science homework and "WTF is this? Absolutely no credit" was written in red across the top.

"It wasn't anything about not getting the credit, it was more so the language, about what they're writing to a student. That was very inappropriate and not acceptable for a teacher whatsoever," she told WJHG .

Smith is calling for the teacher to be held accountable.

"I think for sure she needs to be reprimanded. I believe that something should be placed in her file," Smith said.

Teacher writes 'WTF is this?' on student's homework in Florida https://t.co/fB9Ya5ZmXE — WAFB (@WAFB) May 29, 2019

Coy Pilson, the principal of Rutherford High School in Panama City, said district officials are investigating the incident but it is unclear if any action will take taken against the teacher.

Pilson has not disclosed the teacher's name but said "she was apologetic" and acknowledge the note "was a mistake on her part."

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Florida teacher allegedly writes ‘WTF is this?’ on student’s homework

A Florida high school teacher stoked a mother's outrage this week after she allegedly wrote a slang term for a vulgarity on her son's homework.  (Melinda Smith)

A Florida high school teacher raised eyebrows this week after allegedly writing “WTF is this?” on a student’s homework.

Melinda Smith, the student’s mother, told Panama City’s WJHG on Tuesday she was shocked when her son showed her his science homework with the comment: “WTF is this? absolutely no credit” written on top.

“[I]t wasn’t anything about not getting the credit, it was more so the language about the writing to students, that was very inappropriate and not acceptable for a teacher whatsoever,” Smith said.

ONLINE PETITION CALLS FOR TEACHER’S FIRING OVER ‘PATHETIC’ COMMENT ON SECOND-GRADER’S WORKSHEET

Her son, whose identity was not released, is a student at Rutherford High School in Panama City. Smith told WJHG that the teacher should be “reprimanded.”

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Rutherford Principal Coy Pilson said school officials have been notified of the situation and are conducting an investigation. He also said he had spoken with the teacher and she has apologized. It wasn’t clear whether further action would be taken.

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Rutherford teacher writes "WTF is this?" on student's homework assignment

A Rutherford High School teacher may have to face consequences after writing a slang term for a cuss word on top of a student's homework assignment.

Melinda Smith said she was shocked when her son handed her his science homework and "WTF is this?" was written across the top.

"Just seeing WTF what is this, you know, basically... is this there's no credit, it wasn't anything about not getting the credit, it was more so the language about what the writing to students, that was very inappropriate and not acceptable for a teacher whatsoever," said Smith.

And now she's calling for the teacher to account for her actions.

"I think for sure she needs to be reprimanded, I believe that something should be placed in her file," said Smith.

We're told the teacher in question does not want to respond publicly to the situation.

Rutherford Principal Coy Pilson said they are taking the necessary steps to deal with the incident, and does not want to release the teacher's name at this time.

"Once we were notified, I notified district officials and our HR has been involved and they're currently investigating the situation," said Pilson.

He said he has spoken with the teacher regarding appropriate classroom conduct.

"She was apologetic and it was a mistake on her part," said Pilson.

And he says he wants the community to know one thing about Rutherford, "All of the teachers at Rutherford High School are caring, loving teachers and we're also human and so, we make mistakes, but we understand that we are called to a high professional standard and when we make mistakes we try to correct those mistakes and move forward."

It's unclear if any action will be taken against the teacher at this time.

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Lazy? Anxious? Overlooked? Teachers Sound Off on Unmotivated Students

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Labeling students who don’t do their work and seem unmotivated as “lazy” has transcended generations in the classroom. As time has gone on, and social science research has gotten more advanced, it’s clear that there’s many factors at play. Technological advancement, a pandemic, and an educational system under stress have only further complicated the question of what drives student apathy.

In a recent EdWeek Opinion piece , Kyle Coppes, a secondary school principal at an international school in Germany, wrote about the nuances of “student laziness.” In response to the article, many teachers felt inspired to share their own opinions on the topic. Some agreed that what seems like laziness is often a symptom of another problem; others insist that sometimes, students just don’t put in the effort that’s needed.

Here’s a collection of the most popular themes from what they had to say.

The success of classrooms reflects the system ...

“as an educational psychologist, i strongly agree but it is not the fault of the teacher. schools are a mirror of society.”, “the education system—or at least where i teach—is primarily responsible for creating the lazy child. maybe lazy isn’t the word we need to be looking at, but rather the unmotivated child.”, “i appreciate the philosophy brought into the argument. furthermore, i very much want to believe the idea here, but this requires a much more practical follow-up question: if the reason students appear lazy, but are not, is that educators are not addressing other issues, how are administrators, school boards, and others in charge of school policy going to change to allow students to get their needs met”, “what if this apathy is a result of the school system itself”, the issue is nuanced, “i can understand my students are avoiding the content by doing many of the things they are doing. i can understand why they are avoiding the content, because they avoided the content during covid and now can’t handle the content before them.”, “i agree there’s usually reasons behind behaviors that appear to be “laziness.” unfortunately, many of the times the classroom teacher has little to no control over many of the factors contributing to that ... family issues, lack of food at home, student mental health problems, etc. this is why student support in terms of counselors, psychologists, and social workers are needed.”.

Gabrielle M.

“You only have to listen, as students tend to know it’s self-inflicted sleep deprivation from texting, surfing, online games, and chats. They start their homework after midnight—2 a.m., and then have to get up at 7-8 a.m. to make it to school. All this from a group that needs more quality sleep than almost any other age bracket.”

“always look further into what is going on with your students. don’t ever just label them lazy and move on—just like i always try and look when the behavior is defiant—99% of the time the kid is crying for help, attention, love, etc. ... i am not doing my students justice to just label them defiant and move on—however—in this case, there is still that 1 percent that is just downright defiant because they want to be …. “, “i totally agree with this. and honestly the first person to tell you kids are lazy are the kids themselves. it’s the only 4 letter word totally banned in my classroom. there is a reason behind their lack of motivation. uncover the reason, address the problem, work gets done. i have spent a lot of my career with kids with school anxiety and avoidance. a lot of teachers just don’t get it.”, “it is true that knowing one’s students, truly knowing them, helps immensely. but there are some factors at work right now that are totally student laziness.”, “it’s not about blame—mindset is the invisible aspect of teaching practice that guides how we respond to students and how they see us. when we label, even subconsciously, a student, they know it —when we bypass the inactions and speak to the ‘function of their behavior’ we can actually move mountains.”, do principals understand what teachers face, “i’m curious how long this principal was a teacher. we are seeing less and less time in the classroom from administrators. experience doesn’t mean expertise but it is one of the requirements for it.”, “this person has clearly been out of the classroom for the past 40 years and most likely spends all of their days in their office hiding from actual responsibility.”, “well, i—like most teachers—agree that we educators can suss out the reasons that a student appears “lazy” and provide formative support ... i would have been more impressed if kyle talked about how, as principal, he supports teachers in this endeavor ....”, “this principal will struggle to keep a fully staffed building.”, “i like the overall tone of this but i’m guessing that this administrator has not had to spend much time guiding classrooms lately. there are some systemic things that have been put in place in many school districts where a student can almost never fail ... and then there’s the added element of how something can look like laziness but it’s masquerading a much deeper issue. that’s its own special consideration.”, “as long as perspectives like this continue placing 100% of the responsibility & accountability for learning on teachers, there will continue to be high burnout and turnover rates. another disconnected administrator missing the mark.”, “kids tell me they don’t care. they google the answers right in front of me instead of trying to do the work. he needs to get into the classroom.”, true laziness can be a factor, some teachers insist, “some students find anything that requires any effort nearly impossible to do.”, “i think a better way to put it is don’t assume laziness is the issue right off the bat. explore other reasons why students are avoiding work. but, sometimes, students will admit to me they just feel lazy ... it can happen.”, “i’m a teacher and sometimes i’m lazy, too. i’m human.”, sign up for edweek update, edweek top school jobs.

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A Few Strategies to Help Slow-Working Students

March 27, 2016

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A parent recently asked me for advice about her son. Although his academic skills are strong, he feels the need to complete every task to absolute perfection; this means he finishes his work long, long after the rest of his peers. Not only are his teachers frustrated by the time it takes him to complete assignments, he doesn’t especially enjoy spending hours every night making all of his work just right.

It’s easy enough to say we want all our students to work at their own pace, and in most classrooms, some flexibility is built in to allow for this. Still, when a student completes work at a significantly slower pace than his peers, sometimes taking three or four times longer than everyone else, it can create problems for the student and his teachers: Group work gets more complicated, whole-class instruction is limited, and the student is too often put in an uncomfortable position as the one everyone else is waiting for . Furthermore, working at this slow pace means the student is simply putting too many hours in on school work, time that could be spent playing, reading, socializing, relaxing, or exploring other interests.

To help this parent and her son’s teachers come up with some ways to help him, I did a bit of research, pulled together some of my own suggestions, and added strategies offered by other teachers. I shared what I knew on my weekly Periscope broadcast (you can see a replay here ) and got lots more good tips from the teachers who were watching. Here’s a summary of what we all came up with.

First, Rule Out a More Serious Issue

Your first step in finding the best way to help this student is to determine whether a more serious issue is at the root of the problem. For an excellent overview of many of the causes of slow-paced work, read Steven Butnik’s article  Understanding, Diagnosing, and Coping with Slow Processing Speed . In the article, Butnik focuses on twice exceptional students—gifted students who also have additional learning challenges such as a learning disability or attention deficit disorder. “Understanding the role of slow processing speed is essential,” Butnik writes. “Gifted students with processing speed problems who are ‘missed,’ misdiagnosed, or mis-taught may become discouraged, depressed, undereducated, underemployed, or worse. By contrast, when these twice-exceptional (2e) children are understood and well-addressed educationally, they can become treasures who shine in unique ways.”

Consider whether the student is being held back by anxiety, a learning disability that is making the content difficult to process, a condition like dysgraphia that makes handwriting especially challenging, eyesight issues that make the board or papers hard to read, or auditory processing difficulties that make working in a busy, noisy classroom very difficult. If one or more of these underlying challenges is found to be the cause, you may be able to address the problem with an IEP or 504 plan, which could establish modifications for the student such as extended time on assignments, voice-to-text support, or reducing the number of tasks required to demonstrate competence.

Whether or not the student’s slower pace can be given an official diagnosis, the strategies below are all possible ways to help.

Validate the Student’s Concerns

Sometimes, when a person demonstrates a thought or feeling that is problematic—such as the idea that she has to perfect an assignment before she turns it in—we attempt to change that feeling by dismissing it. We’ll say something like, “Perfect isn’t important! Your standards are too high!” What we think we’re doing is helping the person get past those feelings, but by flat-out denying her reality, we can actually make her cling more tightly to it.

Instead, if we begin by validating her feelings, we can help her manage the behavior that comes from them. In  The Power of Validation , Karyn Hall and Melissa Cook define validation as “the recognition and acceptance that your child has feelings and thoughts that are true and real to him regardless of logic or whether it makes sense to anyone else.” Validation is not the same as agreeing with her feelings or supporting the choices that come from them; it’s just letting her know that her feelings are recognized. Instead of trying to dismiss her desire to do perfect work, acknowledge it by saying something like “Doing high-quality work is important to you.” Once you have communicated to the student that you understand her feelings, you can then move toward helping her solve the problems this feeling creates for her.

Model Your Own Process

Students who frequently get stuck on school work may lack the problem-solving skills they need to get unstuck. So whenever you can, model your own strategies with teacher think-alouds, and get other students to do the same thing. Think-alouds can also help students let go of the kind of perfectionism that slows down creative tasks: Many kids believe that “good” students start a task at the beginning, do every part perfectly the first time around, then finish perfectly at the end. But real creative work is much less linear, so let them see you draft an idea, cross some things out, draft some more, skip over something you’re stuck on and move on to something else, then come back around and around until you reach a point where it’s good enough. And that last part is the most important—the part where you stop trying to get it perfect and declare the work good enough.

Talk Them Through It

Second-grade teacher Michael Dunlea finds that in many cases students get hung up on one specific aspect of an assignment, so if he is able to figure out what’s confusing them, he can help them continue. Sometimes it’s just that they don’t understand one particular word in the instructions, or they can’t answer the first part of a question, and that’s keeping them from moving on to the rest of it. If the child is shy or doesn’t know what they don’t know, they may not be capable of asking for the help they need; it just feels like they don’t get it.

With my own children, when they come to me for help with their homework, the first thing I’ll ask them to do is read the instructions to me out loud. They hate this, by the way, because they want me to just tell them what to do. But more than half the time, when they re-read the instructions, they discover some detail they had overlooked the first time around. Then they go, “Oh, never mind,” and wander away.

Set a Timer

For some people, simply setting a time limit for a task is enough to get them moving more quickly, so it’s worth a try with your slow-paced students. Use this one carefully, though: For some students, it could cause even more anxiety and make them shut down completely. So present this as one possible strategy you’d like to try, and see if the student thinks it might work. If it does, and you want to get more structured with this approach, take a look at the Pomodoro Technique , a method that has you work in 25-minute increments, then give yourself a small reward before starting another 25-minute chunk.

Break Large Tasks into Small Ones

Plenty of adults I know, including myself, have trouble getting started on a large task. And depending on the person, some tasks seem larger than others. Show the student how to take any assignment and break it into small, manageable chunks. Then put those chunks on some kind of checklist, so the student can mark off items as he finishes them. You create the list for the student the first time, then do it with him the second time, but eventually release responsibility so that he is able to create his own checklist.

Offer a “Can Do” and a “Must Do”

Lauren Bright often gives her second graders a list of tasks to complete. One task is a “must-do” that has to be done first, no matter what. Then she offers them up to three “can do” options to choose from after the “must do” is finished. Having these optional activities waiting at the end is often a good incentive for students to get the “must do”s taken care of.

Provide Estimated Times for Each Activity

When she noticed that some of her students took a lot longer than most to complete written assessments, high school English teacher Ruth Arseneault decided to add estimated times in parentheses beside each item. She found that this simple tweak helped slower-paced students get better at planning their work and rationing the time they spent on each task. This principle could be expanded to almost any classroom task: Whether it’s a written activity, a science lab, cleaning up after a project, or doing a set of math problems, letting students know about how long something should take can help them set a reasonable pace for themselves.

I learned this strategy when I was a college student from the book Problem-Solving Strategies for Writing by Linda Flower. You use it when you get stuck on a writing task. If you get to a point where you can’t figure out how to say something, just write “What I really mean is…” and continue in whatever language you would use if you were describing the idea to a friend.

Establish a Bare-Minimum Goal for Formative Assessment

Although he often lets his students take work home to finish, high school English and journalism teacher Gerard Dawson will have his slow-working students complete a specific portion of a task and show it to him before they take the rest home. This allows him to quickly assess whether the student is on the right track before they continue the work on their own.

Mix Low-Stakes with High-Stakes Tasks

To help her perfectionistic students learn how to flex their “good enough” muscles, high school English teacher Jori Krulder deliberately mixes high-pressure with low-pressure tasks. She alternates between the kinds of activities that require close attention to detail, like polished pieces, with quicker tasks that require a less rigid approach, like free writes, where students just have to get their ideas down as fast as possible.

Mark Problem Items for Later

Instructional coach Gretchen Schultek Bridgers advises students who get stuck on an item, especially on a test, to mark it with a small post-it note, a highlighter, or a star as a reminder to come back to the item later. This kind of strategy will be useful to everyone, not just your slow working students.

Whatever You Do…

I think it’s important to be sure you are strategizing with the student, not for him: Talk about this process as a team effort. Present a few of the above solutions and ask which one he’d like to try first. Then debrief afterwards to see how it worked. By giving the student ownership of the problem and its solution, you are building his self-efficacy. This is not something you’re “making” the student do; you’re just helping him figure it out. ♥

What Works for You?  Do you have an effective approach for helping slower workers pick up the pace? Share them in the comments so we can all learn together.

What to Read Next

Categories: Classroom Management , Instruction

Tags: differentiation , Grades 3-5 , Grades 6-8 , Grades 9-12 , Grades K-2 , time management

57 Comments

Love this post! Any ideas for slow note takers? I teach high school world history and slow note takers drive me crazy! Any strategies to get them moving? I can lose a whole class (chatty) while one or two people finish writing notes.Thanks!

Take a look at item #2 on this post about ineffective teaching practices . It’s all about note-taking, and while I would obviously not advocate giving them prepared notes, there are some links in that section that will take you to other articles about specific note-taking scaffolds and strategies that might help these students learn how to take notes in a way that works for them. I hope this helps!

I am generally a slow worker, but I was always fast at note taking. My method: In a high school class I would have about 10 pages of notes at the end of a semester, where other students took 10 pages a week. Remind those students they don’t have to write down EVERY SINGLE THING you say!

Some kids are slow note takers because they need some OT or PT therapies. All should see a special eye doctor called Vision Therapist to test if his eyes are able to work together. He may have a neurological disorder that inhibits his brain from tell his hand wht to write. But, until any of that gets done, ask the best student if she would get her notes copied (wherever there is a copier) and give them to you so you could give them to a student who has trouble writing. Decades ago we used carbon paper. The slow student will be grateful as long as no one knows about the “deal”.

I find using structured notes with some of the parts and the organization provided speeds things up a lot. I use an interactive notebook. Students with difficulty copying from the board and organizing the info spatially will be much faster. The early finishers color code, highlight their notes, or make colorful boarders with the time. Encourage those done to reread and check they have everything and think of questions. This also allows more processing time for everyone.

Hi! I’m in my second year of teaching high school math, grades 10 and 11, and I always post my own class notes on Google Classroom to help students who are slow note takers, struggle with taking neat organized notes, or who are absent. I think this is helpful for many students in my class, but I still worry that this method has holes in it. Can you offer any insight or feedback on this accommodation and it’s effectiveness?

Hey Justin,

Check out Note-Taking: A Research Roundup , particularly section #7. I think you’ll find some helpful information there.

Olá Jennifer!

Eu gostei dessa edição como um bom conselho para os educadores. Parabéns! Eloir

Obrigado, Eloir!

Great ideas here! This is something that often occurs in my classroom and is something that I have personally struggled with as well. I connected with this both as a teacher and learner! Thanks for the tips!

Thanks, Samantha! I’m glad you found them useful.

Great ideas thank you. I sometimes find that students don’t know how much is “enough”. At times, during writing I rule off where the children need to write too. I also tell them that they can write past the line and usually they do. They even get quite excited about it. I teach 8 and 9 year olds.

Rachel, thanks for sharing that idea!

I love the WIRMI idea! What a great idea to get students past their writer’s block and to add voice to their writing! Thanks for posting!

Thanks, Jessica! I find myself using that one all the time to write blog posts. I hope it helps your students as well!

Thank you so much for these suggestions! This year, I have an exceptionally bright, focused student who happens to be a much slower worker than my other students. You have provided more strategies to consider, and I appreciate that you stressed that I need to strategize WITH him and not FOR him. I want him to feel empowered and find ways to be able to pace and help himself.

Dawn, I love hearing this. I would love an update later on what worked for him!

I have taught me students visualization techniques, including 12 structures of visualization, which they can use to increase their own comprehension of a learning task. This has been a powerful tool, especially for my slower learners. My students feel success with their ability to tap into their thoughts…and relate this thinking to task completion. In addition, I found that drawing is a tool which assists students (especially when paired with the visualization process).

Susanne, that’s a great suggestion. Do you happen to have any resources I could link to so other teachers can learn specific visualization techniques?

I would suggest that teachers check out the Lindamood-Bell program Visualization and Verbalization (V/V). This program provided a model of introducing the visualization strategy and structures to students to increase comprehension. I have added the drawing piece to my teaching, as well, and have found it to be very effective with students of all abilities.

This could not be more timely. I’m working with a 3rd grader who does legitimately need a little more time to process (not enough to qualify for anything) but is also an extreme perfectionist. I am going to work with her classroom teacher to chunk out tasks and work with the student to set reasonable time limits for each chunk. Thanks!!

Thank you so much for providing the link to Steven Butnik’s article. I found it, along with your article, to be extremely timely and helpful. I have a high school freshman who is extremely frustrated right now. These resources have given me some ideas to discuss with him. Thank you!!

I found some great ideas in your article. I’m trying to see how any of them can work best with a 6 year old. I had a kindergartner in my K/1 combo this year that was very bright, but moved and worked extremely slow. Just packing up his things at the end of the day was at times difficult to watch. Teaching in a group setting, he was often way behind and appeared lost. However, if I just sat and talked with him, giving him all the time he needed, he proved to be quite verbal with advanced vocabulary and critical thinking skills. His slow pace has not affected his pre school learning and I don’t want it to become a problem now. Any ideas for the first grade experience?

My college age son was finally diagnosed twice exceptional. His ADHD was what triggered getting a 504 his senior year of high school. He was always the last to turn in his tests even in elementary school. His algebra 3 teacher mentioned to the 504 committee that even though he had a 101 in her class, he was always last. Thankfully, because of that teacher speaking up, my son is given extra time to complete tests in college. I will always be grateful for that!

I love Can Do and Must Do lists for my 2nd graders. I am looking for strategies with a student that knows the academics when asked but writing it down takes her forever. She forms letters correctly and her fine motor skills are great. I have used the timer system, more wait time to complete a task and encouragement through words and mini rewards. Now she is refusing to do work in every class. Any suggestions for this 2nd grader?

My daughter is in kindergarten. My husband and I recently had a meeting with her teacher about her slow pace. She is smart and understands everything, but she is the slowest pace child in her class. Which strategies would be best for a five year old?

Hi Angie, this is Debbie Sachs, one of the Customer Experience Managers with CoP. Having several years of experience teaching 1st Grade I can share some thoughts for you to consider. First, do you see some of the same slow-paced behaviors at home or in other settings? The reason I ask is because it’s so important to dig down to the root of what’s going on. The strategies you try will really depend on what you observe. If you notice patterns of distraction, then consider finding ways to remove them. Example: Some kids are distracted just by markers or erasers sitting in the middle of the table…move them to another location. Also consider seating placement and proximity to the teacher. If you notice it’s difficult for her to complete a task in a reasonable amount of time, try setting a timer along with using a visual checklist. I’ve found checklists work great…they help kids become self-directed and provide a sense of accomplishment. If you notice patterns of perfectionism or “fear” of getting started, consider providing lots of modeling along with teaching her when she can put more time into getting work ready for an audience. You can also check out the post The Trouble with Amazing: Giving Praise that Matters The strategies you try will really be trial and error. You may have to play around to see what works best. And if you haven’t already read some of the other readers’ comments, check those out too. There are some other good suggestions. Thanks, Debbie

I have a problem of being slow, my teachers, friends and family members say that I take an abnormal amount of time on one small task and when I study it takes me a whole day to study one small topic. Please help me

Hi, Olive. I’m a Customer Experience Manager with Cult of Pedagogy and a former teacher — thanks for writing in! I hear your frustration and want to run a few ideas by you. I’m assuming you’ve read through the post and am wondering if you came across anything you thought might be worth trying? If you’re comfortable, I suggest sharing the post with your family and teachers; these are the people who know you well and who work with you on a daily basis. Maybe they will see something in the research that makes them say, “Hey, this sounds like you! Wanna give this a try?” You also mentioned something about studying; take a look at 6 Powerful Learning Strategies You MUST Share with Students . There are great study strategies in this post that maybe you aren’t familiar with yet. You can also take a look at a bunch of videos made by Seth Perler ; he made these videos specifically for students who are looking for help with planning and organization. I hope you find these resources helpful, but regardless, I’d definitely continue having conversations with your family and teachers so you can get the support you need. Best Wishes!

Hi, I am afraid I have no answer for your question, I just want you to know you are not alone. I too am an A+ student who barely has time for any life at all outside the university and my job, because I work very-very slowly and need time to understand things.

Hi, hopefully you are doing well. Before bed time me and my son discuss how the day went. He told me the teacher made him stay behind while the rest of the class ran laps outside because he didn’t finish his work. Eventually causing him to cry. Is this a good method used by the teacher? My son gets distracted easily and has trouble keeping focus. Communication skills are excellent. He definitely works slow a lot of the time. Although his writing is neat.Should I question the teachers method?

Please help Jennifer Suby

Sorry, he is in grade 1. Writing skills are neat but slow.

Hi, Suby, this is really a great question. As a retired teacher who taught 1st grade for many years, I first suggest, if you haven’t already, requesting a meeting with the teacher. I do think it’s fair to keep in mind that for some kids, it can be appropriate to miss a recess/running laps to finish an assignment when time in class is purposely misused, and when the consequence is known in advance. (I will say though, I think recess as a consequence should be used sparingly and as a last resort.) Based on what you’ve shared about your son regarding his strengths and challenges with focus/task completion, I’m not sure this kind of consequence will be effective or have any benefit. I think moving forward it’s important for school and home to closely observe specific behavior patterns, take in data, and together discuss interventions to put in place that help your son be successful. You may find some helpful ideas in Jenn’s post, 7 Systems that Work for Outside-the-Box Learners . Overall, the idea is to consider systems that work to your son’s strengths and help manage his struggles. I hope this helps.

Thanks so much Debbie. I’ll schedule an appointment with the teacher to get the ball rolling Take care!

My 7 year old (2nd grader) daughter’s teacher changed her grade from “needs improvement” to “not meeting expectations” insofar as focusing/completing task-assignments in timely manner and wants her to be evaluated. Although we’re 1st time parents, we’ve solicited feedback from 2 nieces (1st grade teacher and a child speech therapist) as well as from our daughter’s Home daycare provider who has known her for years, and no one feels she has any ADD or ADHD characteristics, that she’s as easily distractible as any 7 year old – and moreover, that she’s actually sorta nosey: even in a house full of kids doing all sorts of things/having conversations, etc, my daughter can tell you at any given moment exactly which kid took out which toy, and the details of all the conversations going on…like she tunes-in on everyone/everything. She’s always been like that, even as a toddler during “clean-up time” she’d toddle over to whichever kid with the toy THEY took out of the toybox for that kid to put the toy away that they took out – jokingly called her the toy-police! So, now that she’s in school and has been sorta enjoying “sprints” (self-exams, primarily math exams, where the kids time themselves to see how many math problems they can complete in 10 minutes), so in an effort to help her stay “focused” and complete her class tasks/assignments, I’ve told her she needs to think of every task/every assignment as a “sprint”…and believe it or not, THAT has seemed to help her, as-if it brings out the competitive edge in her, so for what it’s worth, I figured I’d share it. So, that’s one tip, and the other has been that we’ve employed a task/TO DO list that seems to help her “see” what she needs to accomplish… but consider, she’s only in 2nd grade, so “reading” a task list is challenging – and “time management” insofar as time needed to accomplish those tasks is still “nebulous” so off to the pediatrician we go. She’s already had the complete school assessment and they’ve ruled-out processing issues and determined that she’s “average” across the board, so I don’t know what’s left – other than to let her mature a bit more! I’m sure the teacher has concerns too, as we do, because our daughter’s biological parents both have developmental delays and mild mental retardation and some cognitive deficits, but from what all the evaluators have said at Early Intervention and those who evaluated her during the comprehensive school assessment, if she had any of those issues, they would have been evident by now…and they all agreed & assured us that we can stop worrying about those issues. Thank God! We’d appreciate any/all feedback! Regards, Anne Marie

Hi Anne Marie,

I work with Cult of Pedagogy and as a former 1st Grade teacher, I wanted to jump in here for a bit. Not knowing your daughter or having had the chance to observe her, it’s really hard to know what kinds of interventions might benefit her, but it sounds like you’ve got a strong support team and have already taken some important steps, including meeting with the pediatrician. If you haven’t already, I also suggest checking out Seth Perler ‘s site – you may find some relevant information and tips there. In the meantime, if your daughter is having difficulty “reading” a task list, consider using pictures instead. A timer might also help with time management. Observe any distractions that might get in the way and if possible, remove them. I hope this helps…maybe someone else will see this and jump in to share their insights as well.

Hi Jennifer,

Thank you so much for this article. I am a freshman at Syracuse University and I have always been the slowest student in class (largely due in part to my perfectionism), and while I don’t nitpick at my handwriting anymore (rarely to be quite honest), it has made my first semester hell. I am studying architecture and while it is a demanding major, 20 all nighters was not the norm, and I could have avoided 17 of those (probably not the 3 before the 3 exercise finals) if my mindset of producing the perfect model or drawing did not carry over from childhood. I really wish my teachers in elementary school could have used these strategies when I was younger so I could have built a lasting foundation of not giving into the urge of producing something “perfect.” Nearly all of my teachers in elementary school would tell me to write faster or tell my parents in parent teacher conferences or report cards that I had to work on my speed and not care about my penmanship as much. The only teacher that gave me good advice on speeding up was professor Rosa, my architecture professor with whom I took my architecture pre-college course with. He opened my eyes to the impact of architectural design and the impact that well designed spaces can have. He also gave me the saying “think, say, do” to “do” instead of “think” or “say” because if you spend your time thinking you just have your thoughts/ideas and nothing to show for it, and if you just say something you’re all talk. I don’t discredit thinking or saying, but having a physical model/drawing translates better to our professors who are visual and give us better critiques on what is in front of them.

I have recently started talking to a counselor, and I plan on using these strategies along with the Pomodoro technique she has suggested. I also plan on visiting all of my former teachers to catch up with them and introduce this article with them because students quite frankly will not take the initiative to take actions that would be beneficial for them in the future.

Thank you again for the article, Naomi

Hi, I would like to thank you for this wonderful advice, I’m a student having trouble with speed, but these methods don’t seem to work for me. Do you have any other suggestions?

Although this post does have a ton of suggestions, they certainly may not work for everyone. My first thought is to consider in what exact areas does that “speed” thing specifically seem to affect you; exactly how is it a problem and what might be getting in the way. Here’s another article you might want to check out: 7 Systems that Work for Out-of-the-Box Learners . See if anything there feels familiar; within the post is a link to Seth Perler’s site. Be sure to check that out as well — he’s got a lot of good stuff just for kids. The other thing I’d suggest, is to just make sure you continue to have communication with your teachers, family, counselor — the people who know you really well and see what kinds of suggestions they might have.

I’m so happy that you shared this information. It’s going to really help a student in my class.

No question, but I just wanted to say thanks for this article. My son has ADHD and a very low processing speed, despite scoring in the 95-99% in most other IQ rested other areas. 2e can be so hard for teachers (and teacher moms) to understand, and this article with the additional link to more 2e information is really helpful.

Thanks for letting us know you found this post to be helpful, Ashley! Might be a good one to share with teachers and admin!

I give a weekly syllabus chart to my 7th graders on Monday of the week, with columns for the name of the activity, the estimated time, the basic directions and where more specific info can be found, the places to find resources, and the due date – this is a Nancy Sulla strategy. One day with about 30 minutes left of class, there was a “disturbance” at one of the home groups. I went over to check and found Jack and Amanda trying to convince Megan (a very slow worker) that she HAD to make a plan for what she was going to accomplish in that 30 minutes. She kept insisting that there was “nothing on the syllabus that would only take me 30 minutes.” They patiently explained again and again that she could just start a longer task and put 30 minutes into it. As understanding finally dawned, she looked around the table and said “You mean I can just do a little part of something if I have some extra time, but I don’t have to do the whole thing? I swear, Ms. H., I did not know this!” We discussed this as a work strategy, and when she came in the next day, she reported that she had tried it while cleaning her room. “I wanted to clean my room, but I only had 15 minutes before my mom said we had to go, so I looked around and decided to just organize my stuffed animals! It worked!” I was never so proud! We try so hard to unpack things for kids, but sometimes we just don’t know exactly how much to unpack – you can be sure this strategy is now included in my lessons!

This article is awesome! Just what I needed, thank you!

Great to hear — thanks for letting us know!

I’m glad some teachers nowadays care enough to help kids try to get past hurdles that will totally destroy quality of life if not addressed early. I wish I had such help. I now face a bleak future cause I’m too slow in everything and disability is not enough to have a quality life.

Hi, My daughter is very smart girl, gate identified and is taking honor classes. She has always been a slow worker from the time she was in preschool. Now that she is in 8th grader I’m beginning to worry because she spends hours doing her homework. She claims she likes to take her time and do her work right, but I’m worried that she she’s up late working on homework that shouldn’t take her that long. She also takes long showers and moves at a slow pace in most of what she does. She also takes a long time getting ready for school or after school activities. I read the article and found a few strategies that I would like to try. But I was wondering if you can give me more specific advice on her. I find myself rushing her and frustrated when she doesn’t finish her work in a timely manner. Any suggestions?

Glad to hear there were a few ideas here that may be helpful. If you haven’t already, you may want to also check out 7 Systems That Work for Out-of-Box Learners . Also be sure to visit Seth Perler ‘s site. I’ve linked it here, but there’s also a link in the post.

Another article that I really like is Overwhelmed? Do Five Things . The suggestions here can be applied to anyone, whether school-related or not.

Other things to consider if you haven’t already: Scroll through the comments at the end of this post for possible ideas. Talk to your daughter’s teachers – are they seeing the same things you’re seeing at home? If so, ask if there are strategies they’ve implemented that they’ve found helpful or if they have suggestions you can try at home.

Hope this helps!

Thanks for the advice to validate the student’s concerns. My husband and I will be moving soon and need to find a K-8 public charter school for our daughter. Keeping your advice in mind should help our daughter make the transition to her new school.

Eileen, We are glad that you found the advice useful as you prepare for your daughter’s transition to a new school. Best of luck to you and your family!

I need help teacher I have a 7 years old.. He is very slow And the teqcher is always complaining about his work… I really dont k ow how to help him Any advice please 😌

Not knowing the interventions that have already been put in place, my first suggestion is to try out some of the strategies from the post . Perhaps request a meeting with the teacher, admin, and counselor – share the article with them and find out what strategies, if any, have been implemented. Sometimes just making a few adjustments to something that’s already been tried can be helpful. For other ideas, take a look at 7 Systems That Work for Out-of-Box Learners and be sure to click on the link to Seth Perler’s site. Hope this helps!

Love the ideas, I would like more ideas for slow students and students that need more attention.

Hi Samantha! We’d recommend checking out 7 Systems that Work for Outside-the-Box Learners and our Differentiation and Personalized Learning Pinterest board. I hope this helps!

Hello, my son is a slightly above average student more so in mathematics so flies through it. He is a fifth grader in a sixth grade class. For the last three years he has been put up in the next class with four other students. (this is a whole different concern of mine for next year!:)) However in English/ writing, he is a lot slower. No trouble spelling and yes as mentioned above (on the website) he is one of the ‘wants to get it perfect’ 🙂 However my concern is the amount of work being expected of the children to complete within the school working week. E.g. Spelling work (which inadvertently turns into homework as there is alot but no timeframe supplied for any of the tasks except it is expected to be completed by Friday after being handed it on the Monday). Hopefully I haven’t taken too much advantage of your time and expertise but would be nice to run it by someone from ‘outside’ the small town we live in. And yes I am going to set up a meeting with the teacher and perhaps the principal. I just wanted to get a professional opinion on this beforehand, as if this is standard then we just have to deal with it. So I have included the list of just the spelling tasks below for your feedback, if you are able to find the time… these are from last term;

1. List your 20 spelling words for the week 2. Put four of your spelling words into sentences (make them interesting and minimum two lines long). 3. Create three adjective pyramids using three of your words. 4. Write as many rhyming words for three of your spelling words as you can. 5. Write the dictionary meaning for three of your words, get someone to write the word that fits the meaning. 6. Create your own word find using all of your 20 spelling words. 7. Write eight of your spelling words in code, have someone attempt to crack your code. 8. Put all your words in alphabetical order. 9. Break each of your spelling words into syllables 10. Word Jumble- choose two different spelling words and try to form as many new words from them as you can, list them. 11. (Fast finisher) Write a narrative using some of your words.

The above is not homework, he already has homework but it always gets brought home as he does not get enough time in the classroom to complete it.

The next lot of spelling we received for this week is; 1. List your 20 words 2. Scramble five of your words, have a classmate unscramble 3. Draw a picture and hide your words in it, get a classmate to find them. Circle the words with a red pen. 4. Write the first five of your words and get someone else to match them to the base word e.g. cheerfully——–cheer 5. Write one letter on each line until you have written words 6-10?? 6. Write five of your words with a vowel, take away the vowel/s and get a classmate to put them back in. 7. Syllable Sort: your word have syllables in them so count how many you have (this is copied exactly as it is on the work sheet, doesn’t make sense to me??) 8. Squiggle Words: write your words three squiggly (again copied as is). 9. ‘Write’ five of your words with magazine cut outs 10. Write all of your words that are verbs and draw an example, then sort out the adjectives, then nouns etc.

Given all the assignments they have been given, on top of ordinary class and home work just for this term, I feel this is overload.

Apologies for such an exhaustive letter, look forward to your feedback and opinion.

Kindest Regards concerned Mother Yvette

I think I am understanding two concerns in your comment. One – that the amount of work kids are being asked to do at school is spilling into homework, and two – is all that work even necessary? Is it making an impact on (your child’s) learning? Your child may need a different amount or different type of spelling practice than another child. What if students were to take a pre-test to determine which words they need to practice most and then choose a few activities from the list to practice just those words?

I think what we’re really thinking through here is the quantity versus the quality of the work. Are students engaged in genuine learning experiences that will help the concepts stick, or are they merely being compliant? Are things starting to feel like busy work?

I’m a member of the Cult of Pedagogy team, and I am happy to share a few resources that might be of interest to you. Feel free to use them as a springboard for discussion when you meet with your child’s teacher, which by the way, is a great way to build that partnership in the best interest of your child! Here you go:

Homework: How Much is Too Much? Beyond the Weekly Word List How To Deal with Student Grammar Errors

I hope this helps. Maybe others will see this and jump in, as well!

Hi there. I’m a consultant, author, and CoP contributor who has studied and written (a lot!) about vocabulary learning. The kind of work you’re describing surely keeps kids busy, but it doesn’t seem to provide the kind of application-level practice that would get words to “stick” — both the spelling, and, more importantly, the meaning. I highly recommend this succinct book by Camille Blachowicz, for your own learning — or perhaps as a gift for the school! https://www.heinemann.com/products/e04920.aspx Also, please feel free to email me at [email protected] if you’d like to talk further.

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100+ Positive Comments to Write on Student Papers That’ll Have a Lasting Impact

by Sara Ipatenco

Everyone loves to hear something nice, and that includes your students! Students of any age will feel so good about themselves when they read positive comments written right on their assignments. Seeing positive words will also give students the motivation to keep working hard because they know their efforts are being recognized. Positive and meaningful praise will also help students form a close bond with their teacher, which encourages children to work hard and learn a lot. Pick up your favorite pen and get writing.

Here are more than 100 positive comments your students would love to read!

• This is some awesome thinking!
• What terrific math skills you’re showing!
• You are an amazing writer!
• Wow! You have improved so much!
• You are showing excellent understanding!
• This is clear, concise, and complete!
• What a powerful argument!
• I knew you could do it!
• Wonderful ideas!
• It was a pleasure to grade this!
• Keep up the incredible work!
• My goodness, how impressive!
• You’re showing inventive ideas!
• You’ve shown so much growth!
• Interesting thoughts!
• I love your neat work!
• Doesn’t it feel good to do such great work?
• First-rate work!
• This is fascinating information!
• You inspire me!
• This is right on target!
• What an astounding observation!
• This is very well thought out!
• I can tell you’ve been practicing!
• You’ve come a long way!
• This has pizazz!
• I can tell you’ve been paying attention!
• Reading this made my day!
• This is very perceptive!
• What an accomplishment!
• You make a great point here!
• I really like your creativity!
• You are an exceptional student!
• You have brilliant thoughts!
• This is beautiful!
• Dazzling examples!
• Vivid language choices!
• You express your ideas so well!
• This was a delight to read!
• This is a persuasive argument!
• You show an impressive grasp on this subject!
• You are gifted!
• You are so clever!
• What a great learner you are!
• I value these thoughts!
• You are such a motivated worker!
• You show great attention to detail!
• You are so artistic!
• I am so proud of you!
• Lovely handwriting!
• Great example!
• You worked so hard!
• You are a star!
• You learned so much!
• You are so smart!
• You’ve made a lot of progress!
• What bright thinking!
• You rocked this!
• Great thinking!
• You did your best!
• I love this!
• You can do hard things!
• You are talented!
• You amaze me!
• You discovered something new!
• I enjoyed reading this!
• You are so ambitious!
• I appreciate your hard work!
• This is magical work!
• You did it!
• You’ve achieved so much!
• You really challenged yourself!
• I admire you!
• You are unstoppable!
• You have great ideas!
• This really sparkles!
• What a great vision you have!
• You have really improved!
• You’ve really grown!
• You are a snappy problem-solver!
• This really shines!
• You make me want to learn more!
• This made me smile!
• You are a winner!
• I love your creativity!
• You are so intelligent!
• You should be proud!
• You have amazing potential!
• This is top-notch!
• You deserve a high five!
• Way to think it through!
• This blew me away!
• These are fabulous ideas!
• This gets my seal of approval!
• This is quality work!
• You reached your goal!
• Out of this world!
• You’re on top of it!
• I can tell this is your best effort!
• I love how motivated you are!
• You are so focused!
• I’m so lucky to grade your work!
• I love your enthusiasm!

Your students will glow when they review their work as they read your positive comments. They’ll love it so much that you can look forward to even more excellent work to comment on!

Come join the conversation in the  #teacherlife community !

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Kid’s Hilarious Explanation of Why He Didn’t Do His Homework Goes Viral

He's going to make a great lawyer some day.

When one student was asked to explain why he didn’t do his homework, he wrote a note to his teacher defending his actions. The hilarious letter, penned by 14-year-old Eddie Cortez, is now going viral on Twitter.

“So my cousin and his wife got an email from their sons teacher,” user @_lyddz tweeted on February 13, along with a picture of the note. “He didn’t do his hw so she asked him to write a paper saying why he didn’t do his hw and this is what she got…”

The letter, which has already been retweeted almost 60,000 times, explains that Eddie chose not to do his homework over the weekend because “it’s a stress-free time to go out with friends, watch TV, and play games.” He adds that homework also “makes me very mad and unhappy.”

Even more than that, he’s worried about his stress levels, writing, “I want to be happy plus my mom has been finding grey hairs, not trying to stress out.”

Eddie goes on to make a valid point that homework isn’t a thing in the real world. “Jobs don’t give you homework unless [you’re] a boss or teacher,” he says. “We should not have to do it in school because it’s not useful.”

But perhaps the best part is the bold conclusion to Eddie’s note. “Case closed,” he states. “The court rule in favor of Edward Immanuel Cortez in the case of student v. homework.”

And mom Roxand says she isn’t surprised by her son’s letter. “Eddie is always full of humour, and he doesn’t like homework,” she told HuffPost UK .

This article was originally published on Feb. 15, 2019

How To Write an Email to a Teacher About Homework

Communicating effectively with educators is a key skill for students. This article provides a step-by-step guide on how to write an email to a teacher about homework . Whether you have questions, need clarification, or are facing challenges with assignments, this guide helps ensure your communication is clear and appropriate.

To write an email to a teacher about homework , include a clear subject line, a formal greeting, a brief introduction, the purpose of your email, an explanation if needed, a request for assistance or clarification, your availability, a closing thank you, and your signature.

Table of Contents

Preparing to Write the Email

Before composing your email, gather all relevant information about the homework in question. This includes the assignment’s details, deadlines, and specific areas where you need assistance. Organize your thoughts so your email is concise and to the point.

What to Include in The Email to Your Teacher About Homework

• Subject Line : Be specific and concise, e.g., “Question About [Assignment Name] Due [Date].”
• Greeting : Address your teacher formally, using “Mr./Ms./Mrs. [Last Name].”
• Introduction : Start by introducing yourself, especially if it’s early in the school year. Mention your class and the period/session you are in.
• Purpose of the Email : Clearly state the reason for your email. If you have questions or need clarification on the homework, specify what parts you are struggling with.
• Explanation : If you’re facing challenges (e.g., illness, lack of understanding), briefly explain without making excuses.
• Request for Assistance : Politely ask for the help or clarification you need. Be specific about what you’re asking.
• Availability : Mention when you are available for a meeting or extra help, if necessary.
• Closing : Thank your teacher for their time and assistance.
• Signature : End with a polite closing, such as “Sincerely,” followed by your full name and possibly your class/section if it’s a large school.

Email Templates – Emailing a Teacher About Homework

Template 1: seeking clarification on homework.

Subject: Clarification Needed for [Assignment Name] Due [Date]

Dear Mr./Ms./Mrs. [Teacher’s Last Name],

I hope this email finds you well. I am [Your Name] from your [Class Name, Period/Session]. I am writing to seek clarification on the [specific aspect] of our current assignment, [Assignment Name], which is due on [Due Date].

I have reviewed the instructions, but I am still unclear about [specific part you are struggling with]. Could you please provide some additional guidance or examples?

Thank you for your time and assistance. I look forward to your response.

[Your Full Name] [Your Class and Section]

Template 2: Requesting Extension Due to Illness

Subject: Extension Request for [Assignment Name] Due to Illness

My name is [Your Name], from your [Class Name, Period/Session]. I am writing to inform you that I have been unwell for the past few days and have been unable to complete the [Assignment Name] that is due on [Due Date].

I have made considerable progress on the assignment, but due to my illness, I am unable to complete it by the deadline. I respectfully request an extension until [Proposed Extended Date] to submit my work.

Thank you for considering my request. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding in this matter.

Best regards,

Template 3: Asking for Help with Difficult Homework

Subject: Assistance Needed with [Assignment Name]

Hello Mr./Ms./Mrs. [Teacher’s Last Name],

I am [Your Name] from your [Class Name, Period/Session]. I am reaching out because I am having difficulties with [specific aspect] of our homework assignment, [Assignment Name].

Despite reviewing the class notes and textbook, I am still struggling to understand [specific problem or topic]. I would appreciate any additional resources or guidance you could provide.

Could we possibly arrange a time to discuss this further, maybe during your office hours or a free period?

Thank you very much for your help.

Yours sincerely,

Writing an email to a teacher about homework requires clarity, respect, and a willingness to seek solutions. By approaching your teacher with a well-structured email, you can effectively communicate your needs and foster a positive learning environment.

• Basics for GSIs
• Advancing Your Skills

Writing Comments on Student Work

Your written comments on students’ work should be used to help them understand the strengths and weaknesses of their work, and to make clear how their work has or has not achieved the goals and standards set in the class. Here are some suggestions on how to make your comments meaningful to students. For more detailed advice about writing comments on papers, see Commenting on Student Papers .

• Think about the sorts of comments that you find helpful and unhelpful. For example, avoid one-word comments such as “good,” “unclear,” or “awkward.” If you think that something is good, unclear, or awkward you should explain in concrete terms why you think so (“You develop the implications very effectively here”) or propose an alternative (“Did you mean x ?”).
• Think about the extent to which you want to comment on each aspect of the assignment. For example, how important are punctuation and spelling? Is it enough to have one or two comments on grammar or syntax, or would more extensive comments be appropriate?
• Don’t overwhelm the student with a lot of different comments. Approximately one to three comments per page will be enough. Focus on a couple of major points rather than comment on everything.
• Write specific comments in the margin and more general comments at the end of the assignment. General comments give the students an overall sense of what went right or wrong and how they might improve their work in the future. Specific comments identify particular parts of the assignment that are right or wrong and explain why.
• What has been omitted from the paper or exam response is as important as what has been included. Ask questions to point out something that’s missing or to suggest improvements. Try to give the students a good overall sense of how they might improve their work.
• Don’t comment exclusively on weaknesses. Identify strengths and explain them. This helps students know their progress, and helps them build their skills. Write as many comments on good work as on bad work. In addition to commenting on things the student does well, think about how the student might work to improve his or her writing even further.
• Write legibly or type your comments.
• Don’t be sarcastic or make jokes. What seems funny to you may be hurtful to students and not provide the guidance they need for improvement.
• Discuss difficult cases with other GSIs or the instructor in charge.
• Keep a record of common problems and interesting ideas to discuss in class.
• Make sure you have adequately explained the reason for the grade.

Questions to Ask Yourself When Writing Comments

• What are the strengths in this piece of work? What are the weaknesses? What stands out as memorable or interesting?
• Does the work have a clear thesis or main point, either explicit or implicit? Is it clear what point the author is trying to make and why? Are the main points and ideas clear? Are they specific enough? Are they clearly related to the assignment?
• Does the author provide sufficient evidence or argumentative support?
• Is the writing clear, concise, coherent, and easy and interesting to read? Are the grammar and syntax acceptable? Is the writing style appropriate? Does the author understand all of the words and phrases that they are using?
• Does the work have a clear, logical structure? Are the transitions clear? Is there one main point per paragraph?
• Are the factual claims correct?
• Does the author provide the appropriate citations and bibliographical references?

Smart Classroom Management

A Simple, Effective Homework Plan For Teachers: Part 1

So for the next two weeks I’m going to outline a homework plan–four strategies this week, four the next–aimed at making homework a simple yet effective process.

Let’s get started.

Homework Strategies 1-4

The key to homework success is to eliminate all the obstacles—and excuses—that get in the way of students getting it done.

Add leverage and some delicately placed peer pressure to the mix, and not getting homework back from every student will be a rare occurrence.

Here is how to do it.

1. Assign what students already know.

Most teachers struggle with homework because they misunderstand the narrow purpose of homework, which is to practice what has already been learned. Meaning, you should only assign homework your students fully understand and are able to do by themselves.

Therefore, the skills needed to complete the evening’s homework must be thoroughly taught during the school day. If your students can’t prove to you that they’re able to do the work without assistance, then you shouldn’t assign it.

It isn’t fair to your students—or their parents—to have to sit at the dinner table trying to figure out what you should have taught them during the day.

2. Don’t involve parents.

Homework is an agreement between you and your students. Parents shouldn’t be involved. If parents want to sit with their child while he or she does the homework, great. But it shouldn’t be an expectation or a requirement of them. Otherwise, you hand students a ready-made excuse for not doing it.

You should tell parents at back-to-school night, “I got it covered. If ever your child doesn’t understand the homework, it’s on me. Just send me a note and I’ll take care of it.”

Holding yourself accountable is not only a reminder that your lessons need to be spot on, but parents will love you for it and be more likely to make sure homework gets done every night. And for negligent parents? It’s best for their children in particular to make homework a teacher/student-only agreement.

3. Review and then ask one important question.

Set aside a few minutes before the end of the school day to review the assigned homework. Have your students pull out the work, allow them to ask final clarifying questions, and have them check to make sure they have the materials they need.

And then ask one important question: “Is there anyone, for any reason, who will not be able to turn in their homework in the morning? I want to know now rather than find out about it in the morning.”

There are two reasons for this question.

First, the more leverage you have with students, and the more they admire and respect you , the more they’ll hate disappointing you. This alone can be a powerful incentive for students to complete homework.

Second, it’s important to eliminate every excuse so that the only answer students can give for not doing it is that they just didn’t care. This sets up the confrontation strategy you’ll be using the next morning.

4. Confront students on the spot.

One of your key routines should be entering the classroom in the morning.

As part of this routine, ask your students to place their homework in the top left-hand (or right-hand) corner of their desk before beginning a daily independent assignment—reading, bellwork , whatever it may be.

During the next five to ten minutes, walk around the room and check homework–don’t collect it. Have a copy of the answers (if applicable) with you and glance at every assignment.

You don’t have to check every answer or read every portion of the assignment. Just enough to know that it was completed as expected. If it’s math, I like to pick out three or four problems that represent the main thrust of the lesson from the day before.

It should take just seconds to check most students.

Remember, homework is the practice of something they already know how to do. Therefore, you shouldn’t find more than a small percentage of wrong answers–if any. If you see more than this, then you know your lesson was less than effective, and you’ll have to reteach

If you find an assignment that is incomplete or not completed at all, confront that student on the spot .

Call them on it.

The day before, you presented a first-class lesson and gave your students every opportunity to buzz through their homework confidently that evening. You did your part, but they didn’t do theirs. It’s an affront to the excellence you strive for as a class, and you deserve an explanation.

It doesn’t matter what he or she says in response to your pointed questions, and there is no reason to humiliate or give the student the third degree. What is important is that you make your students accountable to you, to themselves, and to their classmates.

A gentle explanation of why they don’t have their homework is a strong motivator for even the most jaded students to get their homework completed.

The personal leverage you carry–that critical trusting rapport you have with your students–combined with the always lurking peer pressure is a powerful force. Not using it is like teaching with your hands tied behind your back.

Homework Strategies 5-8

Next week we’ll cover the final four homework strategies . They’re critical to getting homework back every day in a way that is painless for you and meaningful for your students.

I hope you’ll tune in.

If you haven’t done so already, please join us. It’s free! Click here and begin receiving classroom management articles like this one in your email box every week.

What to read next:

• A Powerful Way To Relieve Stress: Part One
• A Simple Exercise Program For Teachers
• The Best Time To Review Your Classroom Management Plan
• Why Your New Classroom Management Plan Isn't Working
• 27 Things That Make Your Classroom Management Plan Work

21 thoughts on “A Simple, Effective Homework Plan For Teachers: Part 1”

Good stuff, Michael. A lot of teachers I train and coach are surprised (and skeptical) at first when I make the same point you make about NOT involving parents. But it’s right on based on my experience as a teacher, instructional coach, and administrator the past 17 years. More important, it’s validated by Martin Haberman’s 40 years of research on what separates “star” teachers from “quitter/failure” teachers ( http://www.habermanfoundation.org/Book.aspx?sm=c1 )

I love the articles about “homework”. in the past I feel that it is difficuty for collecting homework. I will try your plan next year.

I think you’ll be happy with it, Sendy!

How do you confront students who do not have their homework completed?

You state in your book to let consequences do their job and to never confront students, only tell them the rule broken and consequence.

I want to make sure I do not go against that rule, but also hold students accountable for not completing their work. What should I say to them?

They are two different things. Homework is not part of your classroom management plan.

Hi Michael,

I’m a first-year middle school teacher at a private school with very small class sizes (eight to fourteen students per class). While I love this homework policy, I feel discouraged about confronting middle schoolers publicly regarding incomplete homework. My motive would never be to humiliate my students, yet I can name a few who would go home thinking their lives were over if I did confront them in front of their peers. Do you have any ideas of how to best go about incomplete homework confrontation with middle school students?

The idea isn’t in any way to humiliate students, but to hold them accountable for doing their homework. Parts one and two represent my best recommendation.:)

I believe that Homework is a vital part of students learning.

I’m still a student–in a classroom management class. So I have no experience with this, but I’m having to plan a procedure for my class. What about teacher sitting at desk and calling student one at a time to bring folder while everyone is doing bellwork or whatever their procedure is? That way 1) it would be a long walk for the ones who didn’t do the work :), and 2) it would be more private. What are your thoughts on that? Thanks. 🙂

I’m not sure I understand your question. Would you mind emailing me with more detail? I’m happy to help.

I think what you talked about is great. How do you feel about flipping a lesson? My school is pretty big on it, though I haven’t done it yet. Basically, for homework, the teacher assigns a video or some other kind of media of brand new instruction. Students teach themselves and take a mini quiz at the end to show they understand the new topic. Then the next day in the classroom, the teacher reinforces the lesson and the class period is spent practicing with the teacher present for clarification. I haven’t tried it yet because as a first year teacher I haven’t had enough time to make or find instructional videos and quizzes, and because I’m afraid half of my students will not do their homework and the next day in class I will have to waste the time of the students who did their homework and just reteach what the video taught.

Anyway, this year, I’m trying the “Oops, I forgot my homework” form for students to fill out every time they forget their homework. It keeps them accountable and helps me keep better track of who is missing what. Once they complete it, I cut off the bottom portion of the form and staple it to their assignment. I keep the top copy for my records and for parent/teacher conferences.

Here is an instant digital download of the form. It’s editable in case you need different fields.

Thanks again for your blog. I love the balance you strike between rapport and respect.

Your site is a godsend for a newbie teacher! Thank you for your clear, step-by-step, approach!

I G+ your articles to my PLN all the time.

You’re welcome, TeachNich! And thank you for sharing the articles.

Hi Michael, I’m going into my first year and some people have told me to try and get parents involved as much as I can – even home visits and things like that. But my gut says that negligent parents cannot be influenced by me. Still, do you see any value in having parents initial their student’s planner every night so they stay up to date on homework assignments? I could also write them notes.

Personally, no. I’ll write about this in the future, but when you hold parents accountable for what are student responsibilities, you lighten their load and miss an opportunity to improve independence.

I am teaching at a school where students constantly don’t take work home. I rarely give homework in math but when I do it is usually something small and I still have to chase at least 7 kids down to get their homework. My way of holding them accountable is to record a homework completion grade as part of their overall grade. Is this wrong to do? Do you believe homework should never be graded for a grade and just be for practice?

No, I think marking a completion grade is a good idea.

I’ve been teaching since 2014 and we need to take special care when assigning homework. If the homework assignment is too hard, is perceived as busy work, or takes too long to complete, students might tune out and resist doing it. Never send home any assignment that students cannot do. Homework should be an extension of what students have learned in class. To ensure that homework is clear and appropriate, consider the following tips for assigning homework:

Assign homework in small units. Explain the assignment clearly. Establish a routine at the beginning of the year for how homework will be assigned. Remind students of due dates periodically. And Make sure students and parents have information regarding the policy on missed and late assignments, extra credit, and available adaptations. Establish a set routine at the beginning of the year.

Thanks Nancie L Beckett

Dear Michael,

I love your approach! Do you have any ideas for homework collection for lower grades? K-3 are not so ready for independent work first thing in the morning, so I do not necessarily have time to check then; but it is vitally important to me to teach the integrity of completing work on time.

Also, I used to want parents involved in homework but my thinking has really changed, and your comments confirm it!

Hi Meredith,

I’ll be sure and write about this topic in an upcoming article (or work it into an article). 🙂

Overall, this article provides valuable insights and strategies for teachers to implement in their classrooms. I look forward to reading Part 2 and learning more about how to make homework a simple and effective process. Thanks

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Home » Letters » School » Letter to Teacher About Homework – Sample Letter to School Teacher Regarding Homework

Letter to Teacher About Homework – Sample Letter to School Teacher Regarding Homework

To, The Class Teacher, _______ (School Name) _______ (School Address)

Date: __/__/____ (Date)

Subject: Complaint regarding homework

Respected Sir/ Madam,

I am writing this letter in reference to ____________ (mention child’s name) studying in _________ (class) of your reputed school.

I write this letter in order to inform you that the homework that is being provided to my ward for class ___________ (mention subject) is __________ (much more/ less/ inappropriate) with the syllabus. The subject is taught by you and holds a good importance in the academics of my child. It is to request you to kindly look into the same and take the appropriate action.

I expect a quick response from your side.

In case, you have any queries, you may contact me at the contact details mentioned below.

Regards, _________ (Mention your name) _________ (Address) _________ (Contact Number)

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Homework Letter to Parents | Email Templates

As a teacher, communicating with parents about the homework expectations for their children is crucial for fostering a successful learning environment. Crafting a homework letter that is both informative and engaging can be a challenging task. That’s why we’ve created a list of homework letter-to-parents templates that you can use to effectively communicate with parents about the assignments, expectations, and goals for their child’s homework. In this article, we’ll go over the key elements of a successful homework letter, and provide you with a customizable template that you can use for your classroom.

The key elements of an effective homework letter to parents include

• A clear introduction that establishes your purpose and goals for the homework,
• A detailed explanation of the assignments, expectations, and grading policies,
• A schedule outlining when homework is due, and a section dedicated to answering frequently asked questions or addressing concerns.
• Additionally, adding information or resources about how parents can support their child’s learning at home and providing resources for additional support can also be helpful.

These elements will help ensure that parents are well-informed about their child’s homework and can effectively support their child’s academic success.

Example of detailed Homework letter to parents

I hope this email finds you, your child, and in good health. I wanted to take the time to talk about the value of homework and how it may aid in your child’s development as we begin the new school year. I’ve designed a template for a homework letter to parents that I’ll be using this year to assist keep you informed about your child’s homework requirements.

The homework template was created to give you succinct, clear information about the homework assignments, goals, and expectations for your child. It will also include a schedule explaining when homework is due, as well as a part devoted to addressing any worries you might have or frequently asked questions.

I’ll explain how the assignment helps your child learn in the introduction, as well as its purpose and goals. You can have a clear grasp of what is expected of your child by reading the thorough explanation section. This section defines the assignments, expectations, and grading guidelines. You may assist your child manage their time by giving them the due dates as per the timetable area.

I have also included some resources to help your child’s learning at home. You can learn how to support your child’s academic success.

I am aware that parents and students alike may find the topic of homework to be difficult, which is why I am providing this homework letter. I hope that this template will make it easier for you to support your child’s learning by having a clear understanding of the homework expectations.

If you have any questions or concerns about the homework letter to parents template, please do not hesitate to reach out to me. I am always available to discuss your child’s academic progress and answer any questions you may have.

Thank you for your continued support in your child’s education.

Homework letter to parents templates

• Dear parent, This is a reminder that it is your child’s responsibility to bring their homework assignments home. We encourage you to make sure your child has their work ready with them each day so we all spend less time on this task and more time on teaching. Missing homework assignments may result in a lower grade for the assignment or even being taken out points from the report card altogether. Please see attached a list of missing homework assignments from your child’s class.
• Dear Parent, We are writing to inform you that we have not received homework from your child for the following subjects [list]. If we do not receive this assignment by 2024, your child will receive a zero grade on all assignments until the missing homework is submitted. We thank you in advance and appreciate your help with this matter.
• Dear parent, we noticed that your child did not hand in his/her homework. We will do our best to ensure your child does not miss out on learning from this lesson. Please ensure that your child brings home their homework next week. Thank you for your time and cooperation.
• Dear Parent, It is important that your child complete their homework on time each night. Please help them by discussing the importance of homework completion and encouraging it to be done every night. Thank you.
• Dear Parent, It has been brought to our attention that your child has been missing homework. We are asking that you remind your child of the importance of homework. Please ensure it is being completed daily, as this greatly helps your child in the classroom. Thank you for your time and cooperation.
• Dear parents, Please see below a list of your child’s missing homework assignments. Please check if there are any questions you may have and then sign the form at the end. We apologize for any inconvenience. Thank You,
• Dear Parent, Your student has not turned in the homework assignment. Please see that they bring it with them tomorrow. If you have any questions or concerns please contact me at [number]. Thank you for your time. Sincerely,
• Dear parent, this is our weekly homework reminder. We would appreciate it if you could check and make sure that your children have their homework completed. That way, they will be capable of focusing on school work instead of struggling to complete missing assignments in class. Thank you for your help.
• Dear Parent, your child has been marked absent for missing homework. Please see the attached document for more information.
• Dear Parent, I am sending this email to notify parents that the assignment [name] was not turned in. I hope that the assignment will be returned soon.
• Dear Parent, We noticed that you missed the lesson titled [name] on Monday. This lesson was designed to help your child develop a better understanding of grammar and sentence structure, which are crucial skills to learn as they grow into successful adults. To access this lesson again and complete the homework assignment please visit the link. If you have any questions or concerns during this process please do not hesitate to contact me. 

More Simplestic Templates: 

• Email to parents about academic concerns
• Positive Email to Parents from Teacher: 15 Example Emails

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