A new school year brings new experiences and new teachers with the hope that all will go well. We all want our kids to head to school and thoroughly enjoy the whole experience, but there may come a time when your child comes home from school and breaks the news that they just don't like their teacher. They may even come home and declare that they hate their teacher and that this will be the worst school year yet. This isn't what any mom wants to hear but when it does happen it's important to take these complaints seriously and empathize with your child.
Find Out Why Your Child Feels That Way
There could be a number of reasons why your child just isn't meshing with their teacher. The teacher could have a stricter classroom environment than your child is used to and there are higher expectations than they've had before. Maybe the teacher's teaching style doesn't work for your child's learning style. Perhaps the lessons the teacher is doing just aren't interesting to your child or maybe your child is having a hard time keeping up.
Sometimes a child's personality just naturally doesn't get along with their teacher's personality. It's also possible they may just have a bad teacher. These are few and far between, but there are some people out there teaching who shouldn't be or whose passion for the job disappeared a long time ago. A student who doesn't like their teacher should be listened to because if there's a way to fix this problem, it should be fixed.
Support Your Child
Even if you have the feeling that your child's comments and opinions may be superficial, hear them out and listen to their concerns and complaints with open ears. When they're speaking, don't interrupt them or even react aside from nodding your head to show you're listening. If they reveal that they don't like their teacher, you need to get to the root of it. Once you know the issue at hand, you can address the next steps that need to be taken.
Talk To The Teacher
It's the beginning of the school year and there's always an adjustment period to getting into school mode. If the problem is something like the teacher is mean or strict, it may just take a few weeks for your child to adjust. If it gets to a certain point, it's completely rational to talk it out with a teacher. Any good teacher will be willing to have this conversation and seek a solution.
It's entirely possible that your child's teacher doesn't even know they have a problem. Your child's teacher may need to get to know them better or be aware that something they're doing makes your child not like them. There's also the harsh reality that some teachers just aren't well-liked.
This is extremely hard for younger kids who do have one teacher all day but if your child isn't alone in their feelings about the teacher, it can be addressed at an administrative level. It's perfectly fine to escalate this issue if your child and their teacher can't reach a mutual understanding on their own.
Source: Today, Very Well Family, Cleveland Clinic