The Nanny : Ah, the glorified babysitter. You’re not exactly sure what your child is learning. They don’t seem to know what on earth they are doing at homework time. Usually a year or two from retirement, they just want to make it out alive at this point!
The Downgrade: This teacher used to teach at a university and has ‘downgraded’ to teaching 3rd grade due to stress. Somehow he/she has not grasped that 8 year olds and 16 year olds don’t have the same work ethic. This tends to result in insane expectations and potential tears for the kiddos. Remember that mean teacher from elementary school that ruined multiplication for you? Thats the one!
Excuse Me Have You Seen the Teacher?: This teacher is likely a recent college grad, looks about 12 and is questionably experienced in actually dealing with children. They make up for this with big ideas and boundless energy- great qualities in a teacher. They aren’t yet jaded by unpaid overtime, thankless parents or berated for standardized test results. Despite not having as much experience as other teachers, these are the teachers your child will likely remember fondly.
The Inspirer: The diamond of all teachers, the inspirer opens your child’s eyes to new experiences and new learning strategies. Children that previously hated math or reading suddenly have a whole new world open to them thanks to this special teacher. A great teacher in general, those of us who have children struggling in a certain area are especially grateful when these people enter our children’s lives.
The Project Queen (or King): This teacher will assign what appear to be projects that they are passionate about but have absolutely nothing to do with the subject they are teaching. Pick your battles, but if a project is totally out of the ‘scope of work’ for a particular subject, bring it up with the teacher or administration. Children have enough homework these days!
