It is hard when your teenager doesn’t like their teacher, but it is incredibly important that this doesn't have an effect on their motivation to work hard.
The good news is they usually are only in class with them for no more than an hour a day. This helps greatly when they feel like they don't like their teacher and can't connect with them positively.
Here are some tips to help you to encourage your teen to learn when they don’t like their teacher:
How to encourage your teen to learn when they don’t like their teacher:
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Keep your opinion to yourself
Try not to let your teenager know that you are worried about their teacher and that you too, feel a little concerned about their teacher.
Your teenager needs you to be understanding but also, keep a good and professional attitude. If you start berating their teacher it won’t help your teenager, in fact, it will only add fuel to the fire. -
Listen to your teen
A lot of times your teenager just wants someone to listen and you can fill that role by listening to their worries and helping them find a solution to the problem.
Your teen may worry about not doing well in the subject if they can’t get along with their teacher and some teenagers may think the teacher will treat them unfairly because they don’t like each other.
Reassure your teenager that it’ll be ok and take notes of things your teenager says about their teacher too in case you need to go to the school. -
Offer advice to your teenager
If your teenager is struggling with their teacher there are a few options you could offer them. One would be encouraging your teenager to continue doing their work as normal and seeing if the issues blow over.
In most cases, they do blow over and while your teenager may not like their teacher, they can make the effort to manage it. Remind your teenager of what they have achieved so far in their class and how it is important for them to continue learning, even if they don’t like their teacher.
Try and find out from other parents if it is problem with their teenagers too and see how they feel about things. If all students are reporting difficulty, this may be something you should run by with the school as a group.
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Talk to your teenager’s teacher
As mentioned, if you and other parents are having problems it may be useful to run through it with the school as a group. If the problem is only affecting your teenager, you should talk directly to your teenager’s teacher to see what can be done.
Usually, flagging this is enough to get a teacher to meet your teenager halfway and start afresh which is what is needed. -
Encourage your teenager to learn
If your teenager is experiencing anxiety or stress in the class by a certain teacher, they will find it hard to do their work. They might become stressed at the thought of doing it wrong and might feel they will get into trouble.
Check-in with your teenager and make sure you ask about things. Don’t berate them for doing bad in tests and offer grinds if it makes them feel better. Remind your teenager of how one subject is not going to ruin their opportunities but that they should work on it as hard as they can regardless of not liking their teacher.
