Mr. V called me today. He explained how the students were being so uncooperative that he felt there was a safety issue if he had activies in gym. He said bringing them back to the classroom worked well, because the next day they were very cooperative. And, yes, he does have a 10 whistle blow rule for them to settle down. He knows my daughter and says she is very helpful.

Here is the unacceptable response:

Dear Mr. & Mrs. Thinnmann,

I can understand your concerns; however, I am obligated to refer you to
Mr. V per the complaint procedure that is a Board of Education
approved procedure. As a teacher I hope you will understand that the
teacher should be given an opportunity to speak to your concerns.

I would like for you to email or call me after you contact Mr.
V. If you have continued concerns I will arrange a meeting with
all parties including his supervisor. However, at this point I must respect
the procedure that has been mutually agreed upon by the teacher's
association, administrators, and the Board of Education.

Sincerely,
Ms. Principal

I wrote this email to my daughter's principal today:

Ms. Principal,

My daughter is in Miss K D's 1st grade class. My daughter, my wife and I think she is a wonderful teacher - she is creative, communicates with home constantly, handles differentiated instruction, and obviously cares about the students and enjoys teaching.

In telling us what she did in gym class today she told us, "Nothing - we just sat there the whole time because kids wouldn't be quiet." This is not the first time she has told us this. She told us that it is Mr. V's rule: that if he has to blow the whistle more than 10 times, the class has to sit. I do understand the need to set limits to try to control behavior, but why do all the children have to suffer for the kids that will not listen? Why aren't those children removed from the activity so the others can get the exercise and activity they need? Is this really Mr. V's approved method of discipline? - to not teach a class because of loud 6 & 7 year olds? My daughter got more exercise during today's indoor recess scooter activity that the aides were running. I run a large swimming program in the summertime and I know that if one of my instructors did not teach because his or her class was "not listening", I would assure them that that is a typical characteristic of a group of 6 & 7 year olds, and advise them in ways to improve their modeling, communication skills, planning and presentation.

As a mentor teacher, I see many teachers doing the best they could with what they have, looking for ways to improve what they do however incrementally, and nurturing real growth among students; but I also see so many that just give up trying for o so many reasons. I do not know what it means to stand in the West Elementary gym and run activities for 1st graders - but I do believe I would have to be well planned, energetic, modeling athletic activity, and enjoying the level of play - and yes it might even be loud. We are hoping you take an interest in this issue and find out what is really going on in 1st grade gym class, and perhaps have discipline applied to the children who are being unruly so the rest of the class can get better physical education.

In the past we have been told to go directly to the teacher to deal with issues such as this. My wife, a physical education supervisor at a non-public institution, has already had meetings with Mr. V's supervisor, concerning the level of instruction and supervision in his classes when my son and the previous principal were at West Elementary. We feel it is not our job to go to the teacher to confront them about how they teach. That puts both the teacher and parent in awkward positions. It could even cause the teacher to take out repercussions with the child. Monitoring a teacher's performance and following up complaints on all sides is a supervisor's job. So will you please get back to me about the gym class's "10-whistle" rule and its outcome of simply not teaching when children are not listening?