Am I being too sensitive?

Today, in my French class, one of the usual troublemakers was acting up. He eventually shut up, but our teacher told he was failing and I guess he said something along the lines of he'll still pass or he doesn't care. I'm not sure. Anyway, somehow, the topic of my teacher's 16-year-old daughter slid into this little dispute. Her daughter is younger than this student, but will graduate before him as junior next year due to pretty much having exceeded her requirements. Apparently, she also has enough qualifications to get into colleges like Harvard, Princeton, Yale and NYU (yes, my teacher said these specific ones).

Obviously, her daughter's brilliant and that's good and I know my teacher was only saying this toward the troublemaking student (who, for whatever reason, started laughing), but I couldn't help but feel like she was implying her daughter was better than most students because she's so far ahead (she has said before they don't accept anything below B+ in her house).

Maybe I'm just being oversensitive because of my own difficulties in school that I struggle with, along with the fact that I will graduate at 19 instead of 18 (I was forced to repeat 10th grade due to transferring school districts; not my fault, but it's always upset me a bit).

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"Be yourself, no matter what. Some will adore you, and some will hate everything about you, but who cares?

It's your life. Make the most out of it."

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brown-eyed diamond
Obviously, her daughter's brilliant and that's good and I know my teacher was only saying this toward the troublemaking student (who, for whatever reason, started laughing), but I couldn't help but feel like she was implying her daughter was better than most students because she's so far ahead

At the least, the teacher is being tacky. It's a lesson in showing that intelligence and gauche can co-exist.

It's also an ineffective teaching tool, IMO. Her daughter's accomplishments should have absolutely no bearing on the goals she sets for her students. That's mixing her personal life with her professional life.

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brown-eyed diamond
(she has said before they don't accept anything below B+ in her house).

Ugh. Sounds like a Tiger Mom. She better watch out; karma has a way of catching up to insufferable braggarts. She may end up mother to a college dropout living on welfare who pumped out a gaggle of kids fathered by multiple men.

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Dorisan

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brown-eyed diamond
(she has said before they don't accept anything below B+ in her house).

Ugh. Sounds like a Tiger Mom. She better watch out; karma has a way of catching up to insufferable braggarts. She may end up mother to a college dropout living on welfare who pumped out a gaggle of kids fathered by multiple men.

I was thinking that her daughter is going to party too hard and get kicked out. It's common in very strict families.

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What is a home without children? Quiet. ~Henny Youngman

I don't want people who want to dance, I want people who have to dance. ~George Balanchine

"I took the batteries out of my biological clock and put them in my vibrator"

I was one of those kids that went to 'advanced' private school and was done at 16. I then attended fairly prestigious Uni's.

Am I a rocket scientist? Er, no. Much closer to a lazy slacker bum

I consider myself to have only a narrow band of intelligence, also. I probably could build a rocket if I had to. Bake a cake? Yeah then there *will be!* multiple explosions!!!

Or something like Fine Art, or Antiques, or Classical Literature - I know virtually nothing of these things. "Dogs Playing Poker" done in metallic paint on black velvet? I might buy such a thing

I think IKEA and Value City Furniture is - really not too bad!

So, yeah. It'd be pretty ridiculous of me to think I know 'everything'. I do consider myself to be one of those 'over educated idiot' types.

Try as best you can and focus on the subjects that you are interested in and have a knack for.

Ignore idle boasting. 99% of the time that comes from insecurity. If you can already 'see through' some of this bragging, or what motives may lie behind it - that shows you have intelligence wink

Don't let people like this get under your skin.

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Zzelda
I was one of those kids that went to 'advanced' private school and was done at 16. I then attended fairly prestigious Uni's.

Am I a rocket scientist? Er, no. Much closer to a lazy slacker bum

I had high scores as well. My parents were advised to send me to an advanced school but they were too busy with their imploding marriage to pay much attention to their offspring. I still did well with my life, but know that having a successful existence cannot be owned up entirely to smarts. Factors such as common sense, maturity and the ability to take responsibility for one's life play into that as well.

ETA: gawd, a sense of humor - that is also a requirement for a successful life, in my book. Sometimes you just gotta be able to laugh at the absurdities of life.

That teacher might brag about her daughter's scholastic achievements, but that doesn't mean the kid is going to have a successful life (unless her mother - as I suspect - decides to map the path her daughter takes.)

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brown-eyed diamond
Maybe I'm just being oversensitive because of my own difficulties in school that I struggle with, along with the fact that I will graduate at 19 instead of 18 (I was forced to repeat 10th grade due to transferring school districts; not my fault, but it's always upset me a bit).

Don't take it too hard. I flunked most of high school due to undiagnosed depression issues. Didn't mean I was stupid, just sick. I've been in and out of college since I was 17, changed majors a hundred times, and just now am looking at completing my BA over 10 years later.

Your personal successes don't have to match up to anyone else's.

That is totally out of line. I don't know what she's trying to accomplish telling all the kids in class her daughter is better than all of them. I've learned that academics and school in general aren't everything. There are some people who can do well in school, but nowhere else.

I agree that in many cases, children from overly strict households sometimes party too much and end up with problems because they can't handle all that freedom. I also think a lot people who binge drink in college come from households with locked liquor cabinets or no liquor in the house at all.

Just my view.

JD

I don't feel you're being oversensitive at all. Your teacher has absolutely no business standing in front of your class and bragging about her own kid. It was unprofessional and out of line. If she keeps it up you might want to write an anonymous note to your principal.

Dear Teacher,


Remember Gen Robert E Lee graduated at the top of his class at West Point. Gen Ulysses S Grant finished at the bottom.


Who won the war?

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“There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man.”

Yes, you are being too sensitive. Over time you will likely learn the more someone brags about something or someone, then the less likely it is to be true. Her kid probably isn't any smarter or more studious than most anyone else and even if she was, it sounds like her mother is setting some unreasonably high standards for her if she's calling her and her alleged achievements out in a class room full of students who know her identity. I wouldn't fret over it, but would just continue doing my best and remember you won't have to deal with her after you graduate but her poor daughter is stuck with her for life. Be glad your mom isn't bragging to everyone she knows about what great things you have or will accomplish and cause everyone to keep a watchful eye on your successes, or failure.

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If YOU are the "exception" to what I am saying, then why does my commentary bother you so much?
I don't hate your kids, I HATE YOU!

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thom_c
Dear Teacher,


Remember Gen Robert E Lee graduated at the top of his class at West Point. Gen Ulysses S Grant finished at the bottom.


Who won the war?

Excellent example from history!

:beer

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kidlesskim
Yes, you are being too sensitive. Over time you will likely learn the more someone brags about something or someone, then the less likely it is to be true. Her kid probably isn't any smarter or more studious than most anyone else and even if she was, it sounds like her mother is setting some unreasonably high standards for her if she's calling her and her alleged achievements out in a class room full of students who know her identity. I wouldn't fret over it, but would just continue doing my best and remember you won't have to deal with her after you graduate but her poor daughter is stuck with her for life. Be glad your mom isn't bragging to everyone she knows about what great things you have or will accomplish and cause everyone to keep a watchful eye on your successes, or failure.

Kim, as always, is right on the mark. I'd let it roll off your back and just try and survive the rest of high school. That being said, the teacher was being tacky and completely unprofessional, and you're not in the wrong for thinking so.