Click … click … click … click. You can hear her all the way down a deserted hall.

You can just barely see her face over the stack of suggested references she’s chosen for your paper on J. Alfred Prufrock. You can watch her beat you out the door after the last bell has rung. The “Problem Teacher” comes in a variety of shapes, sizes and colors. She is characteristically unreasonable, unapproachable, unrelenting and sometimes, even incompetent.

Parent Involvement in Education Is Important

In education, learning styles vary, and some students simply don't work well with certain teachers. So, what advice can you offer to relieve your teenager's stress and help with the situation?

1. Drop the class pronto before the problem becomes a real issue
2. Work like crazy for a mediocre grade
3. Give up trying and just take a bad grade
4. Give up trying, take a bad grade and then make up the class in summer school
5. Follow the tips listed below

My Suggestion—Pick Five

All kids have the misfortune of having issues with student teacher relationships during their days in school—but parents shouldn't just accept this as a fact of life. Research shows that teachers make a big difference when it comes to achievement.

In fact, a 2004 study by Nye, Konstantanopoulos and Hedges found that when it comes to how much your child learns in a school year, the teacher your child gets is much more important than the school he or she attends. So what can be done if your child has a less-than-stellar teacher this year?

1. If you know your child has a “problem teacher,” go to the counselor within the first two weeks of school and request a transfer to another teacher’s class.

If No. 1 simply won’t work, don’t fret. More hints are on the way …

1. Make sure your child is on time for class and is in his own seat every day.
2. Get a syllabus of the topics to be covered, the teacher’s grading profile and list of classroom rules and expectations within the first two weeks of school. Go over them with your child and make sure they are carefully observed.
3. Have your child save all her work (no matter how insignificant it may seem) in a special box or folder in a safe place at home. If the teacher forgets to record a grade or two or miscalculates a grade, you have proof to warrant recalculation.
4. Help your child develop excellent note-taking skills. If he misses a day be sure to get a copy of another student’s notes. Your child should study the notes daily, not just for a test. And be sure to hand in all assignments -- even make-up work -- on time.
5. Arrange for the teacher to send home a progress report every other Friday. Schedule a conference with the teacher if there is a problem. Follow through on the teacher’s suggestions.

Will following my ideas get your child a good grade in a class with a “problem teacher?” There are no guarantees.

But it’s a lot easier to try a sane approach to a bad situation than to watch your child march to summer school each day.

Source: Nye, B., Konstantanopoulos, S. and Hedges, L.V. (2004) “How large are teacher effects?" Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis. 26:3 pp. 237-257.