Bad Teachers: The Essential Guide for Concerned Parents (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This handbook for parents is sure to spark controversy. "In the legal definition of incompetence, the children are irrelevant," the author correctly points out in his discussion of our nation's public schools. He is careful to remind us that teaching is an almost impossible task, and that most teachers range from competent to excellent. School administrators will still panic when they see how Strickland educates parents in how to handle a parent-teacher conference and, when that fails, how to bypass on-site administrators and seek aid from the school board. More anecdotal and less academic than most books in this field, Strickland proves his points with a series of hypothetical vignettes, including realistic translations from a teacher's lingo to English. Before he became an educational consultant, Strickland was clearly a good teacher and a savvy administrator; he incorporates learning styles, learning disabilities, legal caveats and behind-the-scenes politics in this helpful guide. He reminds us that "teaching is a service industry" and that increasingly the best college students avoid teaching, while many of the best teachers leave the profession. Most importantly, Strickland drives home the grave importance of protecting children from bad teachers and answers the specter of the public school bureaucracy with a refreshing dose of realpolitik. "Save your own," Strickland says. And he tells parents just how to do just that.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Award-winning teacher Strickland comes down hard on fellow professionals who don't have their students' needs at heart. In fact, although he acknowledges some teachers' selfless dedication, the assortment of examples of bad teaching he has assembled is so mind-boggling that it is hard not to think he has a secondary agenda. Still, there is no question that Strickland is concerned about kids, and he provides some useful tips for parents who need to advocate on their child's behalf, whether about behavioral or academic concerns. He is particularly thorough in discussing parent-teacher conferences, including a goodly amount about how to cut through superficial verbiage to get to the real problem. His suggestions seem primarily geared to parents of elementary-school children, but some of them may also work well for parents whose kids are further up the educational ladder. He devotes a separate section to private schools. His is a sobering view of education, to say the least, but one that opens possibilities for change. Stephanie Zvirin

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Pocket; 2nd printing edition (March 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 067152934X
• ISBN-13: 978-0671529345
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #914,754 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars How to Effectively Address Problems w/ Your Child's Teacher, July 9, 2001

By A Customer

I wish I would have read this book prior to my daughter attending elementary school! My daughter had the unfortunate experience of having a "bad" teacher for fourth grade - I felt it was me against our local educational system. I was up against a "valued" member of the staff, but unfortuately she did not know how to reach my daughter. She was labeled "unwilling to participate" or "not trying hard enough". I truely beleive I could have been more effective in any of the numerous conferences had I read this first. I knew from the onset of the problems that my daughter's learning style did not coincide with the teacher's teaching style. But as a parent, how do you turn this situation around and how do you approach this problem without creating a bigger one?? This is a handbook all parents should read if they are having difficultly with a teacher.

Guy Strickland gives straight forward advice on how to maneveur through conferences to actually obtain useful information. The book is full of practical situations that every parent could use advice.

As Guy points out in the first part of the book, Poor schoolwork is not the problem - only a symptom. But as most parents don't know, how do you constructively work with the educational system to find the true problem? It is too often blamed upon the child when in fact, the child is not the problem!

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Right on target, November 10, 2002

By	Charles Engen (Simi Valley, CA USA) - See all my reviews

I'd like to believe that the majority of teachers are wonderful, but the reality is that a bad teacher can really damage a child. This book gave us real examples of the exact situations we were going through (delay tactics, union reps) and some inside knowledge on protecting ourselves and our child. Teachers have unions and large administrative supports behind them - parents need the info in the book to stand a fighting chance of working with or hopefully eliminating a bad teacher.

I recommend this book highly. We learned a lot about the unspoken pressures and motives regarding dealing with such an unpleasant situation.

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bad Teachers, April 2, 2002

By	C. Meredith "wishlady2" (N.J.) - See all my reviews

Unfortunately there is a real need for this book. It is a shame that this kind of information is so limited. No one wants to touch this very important topic, although most of us know this exists-including the good teachers. I have been amazed and extremely disappointed with professional educators we have come across since our children started school. I wish someone would write a book about what to do when your child is unlucky enough to get the "Mean Teacher".