Should we complain about our teacher, or are we just 'independently learning'?

Hi guys!

I've got a bit of a question/huge rant of anger to pose to you all. I take A Level Psychology and the AQA A spec. There's six of us in the A2 class this year, pretty small when there's 15 in my History/13 in my English. At my sixth form, Psychology has a reputation as a poor subject choice, not because of the content but the teaching.
Basically, for almost all of A2, we've only had one of our two teachers, as the other had to leave for medical reasons and opted to not pick up her A Level classes when she came back after an operation at Christmas. The teacher we were left with is crap, to put it bluntly. He's inappropriate (the number of remarks he's made about the appearance of the girls in his classes is a large part of the reason so many people DON'T take Psychology), he doesn't know what he's talking about (last year, I pointed out to him that a topic we'd spent two lessons on wasn't actually on the spec anymore after it was revised a year or two earlier), and he doesn't teach us. It's got the point where we have a weekly revision class outside of lessons to actually teach ourselves the content. The school have been no help - I've complained too many times to count, and been told that it's actually because I'm "not academically able for the subject." An assistant head ACTUALLY said that to me....Psychology is the subject I've applied for at uni and I was sitting my A Levels a year early because of their fast track scheme!
Recently we realised that he's only taught us 4/9 of the topics we need to know for one section of our exam - when we spoke to him about it he just told us it was about "independent learning" and to skip the questions on the paper which obviously we aren't going to do. We've pretty much taught ourselves the entire course but after complaining AGAIN, we were told that A Levels are about independent learning. Should we take this higher (as in a written complaint to the LEA) or drop it now since it is in fact down to us to learn the course? They're offering the course for next year against everyone's opinion...I'm meant to be an ambassador for the subject but they've stopped me from doing anything to promote Year 11 choosing it cos I told them all it was crap, lol. And I love Psychology! My exam is tomorrow and I don't actually know the content for it....Terrifying.

Reply 1

Tiger Rag

Unless things have changed since I was at 6th form, we never did a huge amount of independent learning. Although when homework was set, you were expected to do more than the bare minimum.

I don't think I ever had (unless I needed it) weekly revision classes outside of the class timetable.

If you're really not happy, then take it higher. It would help you if you and the other students got together and all took it higher.

Reply 2

-aTOMic-

If you love it so much and want to do it at uni then why have you not taught yourself the other 5/9 topics in the course? I understand that your teacher is pretty naff but if you love it so much surely you would have learnt it independently by now? Just wondering.

Reply 3

2ndClass

You're in for a big shock when you go to uni. Your "tuition" fees are basically an exam entrance fee. Shame really.

Reply 4

Jabberwox

I was very lucky to have a good psychology teacher; however, I did hear that decent A-Level psychology teachers are very few and far between.

I think A-Level is meant to prepare you for university and there should be some degree of independent learning, but NOT to the point you're teaching the entire course by yourself. I think you should take this higher, especially as it's a subject you're obviously passionate about.

Reply 5

Terria

Original post by -aTOMic-

We have done, as I said we've been doing classes just as a group on a weekly basis to teach ourselves it, but one would assume that a teacher shouldn't just say 'skip it out' when asked why he's not taught us it in class

Reply 6

bananaterracottapie

are you sure it isn't one of those where you get a choice in the paper, and then your school chooses which topics to do out of those choices.
clearly he isn't a very good teacher though if he hasn't made this clear....

Reply 7

username878045

There's a difference between independent learning and not being told what you had to learn. Fair enough if he had said 'I won't teach you these topics, learn them yourselves' at the beginning of the year, but it seems like this isn't the case. I would definitely take this further - get all your parents to complain, and keep putting pressure on the senior management because this teacher is clearly incompetent.

Reply 8

username878045

Original post by bananaterracottapie

I don't think so. There are 8 topics in A2 AQA A psychology and you take 3 of them. It sounds like it's 4/9 of the subtopics.

Reply 9

Terria

Original post by bananaterracottapie

I know the specification haha don't worry...The school chooses the topic options we study, but he's not taught us all of the material that could come up on those topics.

Reply 10

Terria

Original post by PythianLegume

I don't think so. There are 8 topics in A2 AQA A psychology and you take 3 of them. It sounds like it's 4/9 of the subtopics.

I've said the word 'topic' so much it's starting to sound very strange to me

Reply 11

-aTOMic-

Original post by Terria

I was just confused as the last part of your post states that you don't know the content for it? You either know the 5/9 topics or... you don't.

And yes I acknowledge that your teacher is pretty ****.