Quote from my2cents on 01/28/08 at 9:16am:

 
If it were me in this situation, I would go to the principal of the school (not bypassing the assistant principal - he or she is more than welcome to attend the meeting, but my discussion is with the principal) and let him be aware of it and ask him to resolve it.  I would document the meeting.  If you don't feel comfortable with that course, then I would suggest meeting with Mrs. Barber or Mr. Craig.  Either way, document, document, document.  Nothing goes unsaid without you writing it down.  Names, dates, times, locations, quotes.  Everything.  If there is ANY type of retribution from the teacher, your child should be transferred out of the class.  He the teacher has any brains, he will not harass your child.  
 
There is zero reason why a child should have to endure ANY bullying by ANY teacher.  Bullying is abuse.  Abuse, whether verbal or sexual, is not allowed.  Cut him off at the pass so that perhaps he won't subject other kids to this in the future.
 
 

Don't cell phones have the ability to record video?  I wonder what would happen if this jerk was videotaped while acting this way and then the video somehow found it's way on to the internet?
 
googling has more faith in the administration than i do.

Okay, 2 Cents, here is my reply to your question.
 
First, I would advise you not to take everything your child says is happening at face value.  Please don't misunderstand -- I'm not saying your child is intentionally misrepresenting the stituation.  However, children, even older teens, often lack the experience, maturity and perception to interpret actions and attitudes accurately.  And students may not always have all the information necessary to make an informed judgment about an adult's intentions.  If you have not already done so, talk with your child calmly to elicit specifics:  exactly what has the teacher actually done and said and when and where did this happen?  Write down the specifics.
 
Second, before you go to the principal or superintendent, make an appointment with the teacher.  Give the teacher a chance to present his or her side of the situation.  Be calm and matter of fact.  Report what you're hearing and give the teacher a chance to respond.  I have had the experience several times of a child completely misinterpreting something I said or did and then me being totally blindsided by first hearing there was any kind of problem when I was called into the principal's office after the parent complained.  The issue could have been resolved very simply with the parent and the child if the parent had simply talked with me first.  An honest attempt to communicate with the teacher may indicate that something else is going on than what you might think based only on what you are hearing from your child.  It may not. The teacher may just be a jerk.  It happens.  Document the meeting.
 
If your concern persists after talking with the teacher, then make an appointment to see the appropriate assistant principal and/or head principal.  Again, present your concerns calmly.  Give specifics.  Indicate the reasons for your continued concern after discussing the matter with the teacher.  Have a plan ready to suggest for what you'd like the principal to do to resolve the issue -- talk with the teacher?  remove your child?  Document the meeting and what the principal indicates he/she will do.  This should be as far as you need to pursue the issue to solve the problem.  If you feel that there is any negative fall-out from the teacher toward your child as a result of this, then do not hesitate to contact the principal again (but be sure of specifics before you do).
 
The behavior you have described is definitely not business as usual at Hoover High.  All organizations have their bad eggs (and Hoover has its share), but overall I work with some of the most competent, caring, and conscientious educators I have ever had the privilege of being associated with.  Sometimes people (and teachers are people, too)  behave uncharacteristically under stress, and that may be the case here.  A reminder of the possible far-reaching effects of thoughtless actions or words on young minds may be all that's needed for the teacher to reconsider his or her behavior.
 
I hope you have every success in resolving this issue.

Quote from googling on 01/28/08 at 2:10pm:

 
 
Nothing wrong with a digital voice recorder slipped into a binder, clipped on a backpack compartment or on a side pocket either...

Take the recorder. It will provide hard evidence if it exists. Otherwise, this would turn into a "he said she said" situation where the kid will be the biggest loser while the investigation (if any) unfolds.
 
Exhausting all other options is just that - exhausting. Trust your kid's intuitions. Cut to the chase and gather the facts if they exist. Then, take them to an administrator and demand a new teacher for your child.
 
Feel free to send a recording to the teacher's new employer as well.
 
And yes, VOR, if I'm charged to supervise your child you can feel free to send him/her w/ enough audio/video equipment to film a good documentary.
 
Dr. J is very busy. This will save his valuable time as well.

Quote from voiceofreason on 01/29/08 at 1:49pm:

 
VOR, I've always thought you bring to this forum exactly what your name says, a voice of reason.  Allow me to give you a point of view from a parent for a minute regarding this topic.
 
Many years ago I had a child at one of the Hoover middle schools.  I don't want to name the school, so we'll just use the initials "SMS" to identify it for now.  This child had been a pretty good student for the first seven years of her schooling, always maintaining a A-B average.  Then she ended up in a 7th grade math class at this school.  Again, I don't want to use names, so I'll just give the teacher's initials, in this case KM.  My child would come home every day and tell me that KM would raise her voice, yell, belittle students.  This was not isolated to my child, but others as well.  I went to the principal (initials CB) and complained.  I was informed that this teacher was "tenured" (a term I was unfamiliar with at that time, but soon came to know as "untouchable"), and nothing could be done about this behavior.  My child's math grades plummeted that year, going as low as a high D, low C (she ended up with a C) and a strong dislike for the one subject she always enjoyed the most: math.  It turned out that I was not the only one who had a problem with KM.  Many parents voiced the same complaints, some even came up with stats to show CB.  Nothing could be done about KM.
 
My child went on to HHS and regained her love of math in her junior year, excelling in all of the math classes she took, never getting anything lower than a 95.  When my second child went to SMS he was assigned KM in 7th grade.  I had his schedule changed as soon as I saw it.  My last child will be in 7th grade next year.  She also will not have KM as her math teacher.  The person is a disgrace to the teaching profession.  But she's covered by "tenure".
 
I tell you this long story to tell you this:  Your method is correct under normal circumstances.  Sometimes as a parent you have a "gut feeling" that something is not right.  I had that feeling with KM and didn't act on it.  I have acted on it since then with my other children and have basically pulled by child out of the offenders class.  I'm not going to go head to head with a teacher who's tenured.  There's no point.  I realize that the good teachers outnumber the bad ones 100 to 1, so I have just found it easier to pull my child out instead of getting into a losing fight.  It sounds to me like my2cents is having one of those "gut feelings" and wants to side with his/her child.  I can't fault him/her.
 
As far as the method that BSH suggests, I'm sorry, but I like it.  Things have changed at schools today.  A student's person and property can be searched without a warrant.  Most statements made by students are not believed, and often the side of the teacher is taken.  If a student wants to prove his/her case, he/she needs solid evidence.  The digital voice recorder is an outstanding idea.  I realize as a *good* teacher you don't like it.  Unfortunately you are paying the price for working with not-so-good teachers.   Just like the *good* students are subject to the same rules as the not-so-good students.    
 
There are many factors to blame for this:  tenure, schools size, teacher inexperience, student obstinance, parent apathy, teacher apathy, and others.  Which one applies in this case?  Who knows.  But it's not relevant.  The main thing is to protect the student from further abuse from the teacher.  I have given my suggestions.  You've given yours.  BSH has given his.  Now it's up to my2cents to do what he/she feels is right.
 
Please rest assured that this is just my opinion and I still regard yours as very important.

Thank you all so much for your different views on my problem.  I understand exactly how googling felt with the problem at SMS.  Been there, done that, have the t-shirt.  That is why I hesitate to speak to this teacher.  He sounds like an egomaniac from what my child says.  With the information that I get at least three times a week, I do not believe that my child is upset and exaggerating on this issue.  
 
I may be wrong, but I think if you change a class in high school it can change your entire schedule or classes you may not want to change.  My child should not have to change classes to avoid a teacher that bullies.
 
What I would love to do is tell this teacher what a jerk I think he is.  I would love to tell him how much the serious students hate to attend his class.  I would love for him to know that we don't care that he is going to a great school next year and yes I do care if my child makes an A as they are so very capable of it.  I would love to ask him why he is teaching and to tell him that he does affect the children that he is in charge of everyday.  He has made my child hate his class with his insults.  He makes my child come in the door three days a week saying can you believe this stupid teacher said this today?  
 
What could his response to me be if I decided to speak to him?  Your child is not telling the truth or yes, you are correct, I am a big, fat jerk.  I do not know what I will do, but my faith in the school system is not strong when it comes to dealing with a teacher that is problem.

Quote from BucStopsHere on 01/29/08 at 6:12pm:

 
I have never understood why teachers are so terribly threatened by others knowing what they actually do during the day.  They're so freaked out that someone might, God forbid, actually criticize their teaching methods.  Like, we're all too stupid and too inept to even weigh in on how to deal with these students/children. We're their parents.  Who better knows how to "deal" with them?  
 
The teacher-parent trust bond was broken years ago.  Great teachers work hard to develop that trust between parents and teachers.  Mediocre teachers just want to show up at 7:30 and go home at 3:30.  They don't want to be bothered by us.
 
I liken it to doctors feeling so da*& superior to the rest of us.  Remember when Ralph Nader and the consumer advocates started advocating for patients to ask questions about their health and about why doctors were prescribing the medications they were prescribing and telling us that we weren't betraying our doctors if we asked for a second opinion?  Remember when patients started actually taking responsibility for their health instead of blindly trusting that doctors were doing the right thing?
 
I see that happening with public education.  We're sick of being defrauded.  Millions of dollars, hell, billions of dollars of our money are being spent----wasted----every year on inadequate and even LOSER teachers wasting our children's time in schools that aren't being run by qualified, competent people.  I could name a few in Hoover suffering from incompetent administrators right now.
 
I am sick of being defrauded by educators who claim to know how to teach our children and who don't really give a crap about anything but following their textbooks and getting to 3:30 every day.  Oh, and don't forget those fabulous benefits that Pauly-boy has gotten them.  
 
Every classroom should be videotaped every day.  Every teacher should have an honest and complete critique of their abilities to communicate and educate children every year, based on those videotapes.
 
How many times have ya'll heard your children say "whenever the principal or visitors come in to watch our class, our teacher is a whole different person"?  I hear it every stinking year.  Every stinking year.  These teachers defraud their supervisors and get away with it.
 
I'm sick of it.  I say pass around the digital recorders.  

Quote from voiceofreason on 01/29/08 at 12:05pm:

 
I disagree. If a person of authority is bullying students and it comes to a he said/she said, who are the powers that be going to believe? The student?
How is proof of a conversation underhanded?
Obviously, in this case, it is not a first course of action -- it has happened several times.
if a teacher does this 19 times, and you finally decide to tape it - that enough is enough - where is the guarantee of a 20th time?
Sorry, but protecting a bully at any level is not acceptable. And that, to me, is what your suggesting. If a teacher needs to worry about a derisive conversation they have with a student being taped, a recording should be the least of their concerns.  
It's not a clandestine plot, it's offering proof to a school system that stacks the odds against the accuser (thank YOU AEA) that a rotten apple needs to be exposed.
ANd did you ever think that a recorded version of the "derisive" conversation might just work against the student?
If the Hoover School System had such a wonderful record of caring for it's students and "quality" teachers it had, there might not be a need for 2cents to express frustration with the ones who go through the motions.

Okay, folks, I'm obviously outnumbered here, so I'll say one last thing and then shut up.  You're obviously not actually listening to what I'm saying here -- I think some of you (not all) are so wrapped up in pursuing your vengeance that you aren't hearing me.  I am honestly appalled and deeply troubled (not threatened, but troubled) by the things some of you are suggesting here.  (Blanket videotaping of all classrooms?  To what end?  And who gets to judge?  Based on what criteria?)  You are making sweeping judgments and assumptions about people you have never even met, the vast majority of whom work tirelessly and with little compensation of any kind to educate your children in the face of such attitudes as you express.  Believe me, if I didn't care about your children, I wouldn't still be doing this after 22 years, and I resent all teachers being portrayed as uncaring and incompetent, not just for myself, but for all the caring and competent teachers I work with.  Are there a few bad ones?  Sure.  Deal with them individually.  But don't paint us all with that brush.  (And I realize not all of you are.)  Absolutely do whatever you need to to protect your children, just make a good faith effort to ensure that there actually is something to protect them from before you go to such extreme measures.