<p>My D is a freshman in HS. She is a "high achiever" and is currently taking the most rigorous courses her HS allows. She has, or should I say "had" a 3.89 GPA until this past report card, of which she got a "D" in honors geometry. This is where I need the advice.... Her first 9 weeks, she got a "B", which she was very disappointed with, but o.k., she'll just pick it up. Then the next 9 weeks... a "C", ugh... she was devastated. She started going to tutoring 3 times per week in the afternoon, and twice in the mornings with the teacher. So 5 times a week for tutoring... and then, reports cards are issued this week and low and behold a very big fat "D". She walked in the house off the bus hysterical crying, confused and beaten. All other classes she received an "A". So, I then call the school, set an appt with the GC and the teacher, we have the meeting yesterday and the teacher was and I'm sorry for this, but a complete B. OMG... the teacher is saying just come to me in the AM before classes start, and my D is like, Ms. so and so, I have been and you don't help me. You blow me off. If I ask a question, you tell me to refer to my notes.... UGH! The GC is trying to intervene and keep the peace and help my D, but also get the teacher's back too. I said to the teacher, my D needs to comprehend geometry for the ACT and SAT, and she obviously isn't getting it, what else can you recommend, and she just basically blew us off. I am so frustrated. I think my next call is obviously to the principal, but how does that help my D with only 8 weeks of school left? BTW... one more piece to this is that I've spoken to other kids who have this particular teacher, and they are all failing. What to do???</p>
<p>Blaming the teacher isn’t going to get your D a passing grade. You need a different plan.</p>
<p>A math teacher friend tells me that a lot of students are good at algebra or geometry… but not both.</p>
<p>Try to figure out if she is having problems with concepts or with doing memorization on proofs. Her tutor may have hints. I’ve heard some students say Kahn website (for many subjects) is good. <a href=“https://www.khanacademy.org/math/geometry[/url]”>https://www.khanacademy.org/math/geometry</a></p>
<p>Don’t fret now of SAT/ACT. There’s lots of time to catch up there. Just try to keep your D calm so she can pass the course, not have too big an impact to her GPA.</p>
<p>LOL… that’s what the post is about. Are you a teacher? If so, what more could we do to help my daughter? Sylvan? Private tutor? Pay money that we don’t have because the teacher isn’t doing her job effectively? If you have a bright student (which is obvious because they have to be recommended in our district for honors classes), and she starts out as a B student, falls over time to a D, at what point do you intervene??? BTW, I’ve called this teacher and left her messages to no avail, sent her emails which she said she never got, joke, and sent her notes which she never responded too. There are bad apples in every bunch. BUT… what now?</p>
<p>Best thing you can do is hire the best private tutor you can find and do as much tutoring as you can do ASAP. Might want to review the coursework over the summer as prep for SAT/ACT. I had a daughter in a similar situation with Algebra II–just wish I had caught it sooner. I would keep the tutor on hand for weekly tutoring next year.</p>
<p>Thank you Colorado Mom and MWMom2. I will check out the website and speak to my D. I posted on this forum because of ppl like you that are willing to help out with their very knowledgeable advice. The sarcasm from some I can do without. ;)</p>
<p>First, my condolences on a lousy teacher. Hopefully they are far and few between.
But as to geometry–try Khan academy on-line and see if it doesn’t help.
She started with a B and went down–somewhere is some concept she started missing. Start at the beginning of the book and go straight through until you hit the stumbling block. I’m making the assumption that you would be able to help her with this. That sounds daunting but it doesn’t take that long. Mostly it would be a review.</p>
<p>So what did the GC say at the end of the meeting? Any suggestions for her? Switch teachers (bit extreme but better than failing)? Tough it out?</p>
<p>@gouf78 - I got a text from my D at her last tutoring session that stated and I quote “mom, 3 teachers and 7 students couldn’t help me with my geometry homework questions”. I thought the same thing as you… what the heck kind of h.w. questions are these? All I know is what I see. I have a young girl who strides to do her best at everything. If she forgets something at school, she calls a friend to email it or we go to pick it up. She never, ever wants to miss anything. The GC said for her to go to the teacher ONLY for tutoring. That the teacher might be teaching things a certain way and the tutors are just confusing her. Plausible, I guess. I’m willing to follow that advice, but I don’t want to rely to much on that. I think my biggest frustration is that she needs to grasp this stuff now because I know how much it plays in her future as far as the SAT and ACT. Thank you for listening to me vent.</p>
<p>A couple of thoughts: first Khan Academy is a really great website. It is free and offers multiple ways to practice every level of math. My D’s school even allows kids to use it in class to practice or to prove their mastery of the topic (they are a non-traditional school). </p>
<p>Second, my older D had a math teacher in HS for pre-calc and ALL the kids were not doing well. Many complained and we parents took turns sitting in on the class-the teacher really WAS terrible-it was far more than just “blaming the teacher”. With proof that he was uninterested in actually teaching the kids anything, we got him replaced by a long-term sub for the rest of the year. The sub got to them in time to reverse the damage but it was a shame that it had to come to that. However, it was MUCH earlier in the year. At this point I’m wondering if it might make more sense to just retake the class over the summer?</p>
<p>I don’t know the size of the school, but are there other geometry teachers she could go to tutoring with instead of going to that particular teacher? In my district, all the teachers teach off the same lessons (and give the same tests across the department), and it was pretty common for one teacher a day to hold tutoring sessions that all Geometry/Alg II/whatever match class students would go to.</p>
<p>If the problem is teacher-specific, does your D knows any sophomores/upperclassmen who took the teacher and did well? There’s typically that ‘one kid’ who gets it, and all of the people I knew in that situtiation were always willing to help (especially if there’s money involved).</p>
<p>As for the SAT/ACT geometry, I wouldn’t worr about it so much. That work is very light on the proofs and pretty heavy on the pictures/shapes, and that can be taught in a session or two with a good tutor.</p>
<p>@sseamom - thank you for your thoughts. I think you answered my question. I don’t feel confidant at this point that even if the teacher gives her a an A or B at the end of this quarter because of our “noise”, that my D gets it. She is definitely going to need another go at geometry. (with a competent teacher) You’re right. Thank you.</p>
<p>Trust me. Things will be ok on the long term problem of SAT/ACT. There will be other math teachers that click better in the future. Over the summer sign up for “SAT question of the day” emails - that will give an idea of geometry areas that need do-over. </p>
<p>For the short term issue, continue to seek guidance from the GC. Good luck!</p>
<p>My son is also a freshman and taking Geometry this semester. His teacher told the class NOT to get any outside help because they teach the class differently and that the outside tutoring would just confuse them. They must teach Geometry differently these days. I agree with post #9 to retake in the summer and in the meantime I agree with post #10 to get help from a classmate that “gets it”.</p>
<p>a. not every student is failing.
b. why exactly does she have a D? Is it homework? Exams? pop quizes?
c. Geometry isnt <em>that</em> hard. You should get involved to see what exactly she is having a problem with. Is it proofs? Constructions? Is she just not getting similarity and congruence? </p>
<p>You have to get a handle on what is going wrong before you can fix it. For instance- if she is having a problem with complementary angles and the teacher always asks those exam questions a certain way, then make sure you drill that topic.</p>
<p>@ argbargy -
a. - you’re right, just the few very bright students I’ve spoken too.
b. - no. no. and yes.
c. - LOL… what??? proofs? constructions? similarity? I cannot pretend to know what any of that is. </p>
<p>I agree with you about the rest. If the teacher knows that my D is having a problem with complementary angles, she should make sure she and the whole class gets it. And yes, the teacher should drill that topic.</p>
<p>Out of curiosity, does the teacher grade those pop quizzes/class on a curve? </p>
<p>There’s also the possibility the teacher is teaching at a far faster pace than your D and other bright students are used to because they are in an honors/accelerated academic program. Was this the case?</p>
<p>Plenty of formerly topflight students from public and private middle schools who were admitted by examination to my math/science-centered NYC public magnet HS ended up with first semester grades in the C, D, or even F range. </p>
<p>I was one of them and had to learn to adjust and persevere in the much more academically competitive environment.</p>
<p>There is a book that is written for teen girls specifically that explains geometry in an extremely clear and understandable way. Search this and read the reviews (it is worth every penny): Girls Get Curves, Geometry Takes Shape by Danica McKellar. If your daughter is motivated at all this book will be a lifesaver. As far as this year, can she take geometry over the summer as an online course and use that grade? Maybe you can work something out at the school. Or possibly you can meet with the principal and work out some sort of solution. I would send an email to her with a summary of what has transpired this year and also point out that your daughter normally has very high grades and there is something wrong here. I would also ask her why a struggling student is not helped? Obviously the teacher referring you daughter to look at her notes isn’t working and the teacher may actually have to work to earn her paycheck and teach geometry to her student. I hope this works out for your daughter.</p>
<p>The good news is that if one going to blow a class then Frosh year is the time to do it. The bad news is that a D grade just doesn’t sneak up. It comes from a lot of bad homework and tests so your daughter had to know that it was coming. The ultra bad news is that (the way I remember it) 1/4 teachers just aren’t very good, so there will be plenty more bad teachers in the future including college. This teacher is just one of many to come.</p>
<p>I think another poster was right about the pace.</p>
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<p>Unfortunately, in an honors setting, there’s not always that kind of time, especially if the teacher is teaching on a lesson plan set by the district. There is so, so much to cover these days in these classes that there is often no time to review or double back-- the sheer amount of material that must be covered (before the district exam/end of year testing) is just too much.</p>
<p>Has your D tried forming study groups? I just realized your D is a freshman. This may also be a result that she has not had to study before in the past… things came naturally (especially if it had been algebra). I love algebra (and love, love, loved calculus), but I hated geometry. Can’t visualize in three dimensions to save my life. I have a friend who rocks at this type of stuff and is super artistic. For some, geometry is just more difficult (I am more logical and like the minutia of algebra). I hated geometry when I took it, and needed every bit of help I could get. With the 3-D stuff, I couldn’t do HW without getting out cups/pencils/papers/blocks to visualize the points/planes/etc. Breezed through Algebra II and Pre-Calc. It sounds like your D is trying, but what if you tried a different approach to studying?</p>
<p>A good tactic we learn as tutors is to have the student teach whatever topic it is back to us. Can your D ‘teach’ you about proofs/constructions/etc the night she learns it (to help her prepare for the pop quizzes)? She will have to fully understand it to ‘teach’ it to you; not knowing it, you will be able to stop her where things don’t make sense when she explains it, and she’ll have to make sense of them (or she’ll realize where the problem lies).</p>
<p>It’s very, very rare that a pop quiz grade would bring down the average to a D that quickly, especially if HW and exams are going well. Try to make sure your D assimilates new material quicker, the day she learns it. It’s entirely possible to fly through HW and cram before a exam and still be lost for those pop quizzes.</p>
<p>OP, my S went thru this. same. thing. Feel your pain. S was very good math student. Honors Geometry. Worthless teacher. Teacher would assign chapters & HW and read from the textbook…but did not answer questions! Asking for help would get same response that your D got. When I got involved, teacher said basically that it’s a fast moving class, he can’t keep up, his problem. Argh! To complicate matters, she was department head (first year), and getting any honors and AP classes had to have her approval, so had to tread carefully for future placement. </p>
<p>S eked out a C in this class. Got a neighbor who actually explained just a few things. Must have clicked, because S aced math portion of PSAT. My discussions with Principal (after final grades posted) led me to believe I wasn’t the first to complain. Pointed out that it was a bit sad that 13 of the 28 kids were getting outside tutors! (She blamed that on a “bunch of Type A, overachieving parents”!!!
S did not have to deal with her again…and got the classes he wanted without incident. </p>
<p>Tutor, older student, Khan, …all good suggestions. I hope she doesn’t get discouraged by this one teacher. Good luck to her.</p>