Mr. Palmer is a mathematics teacher at Chenango Forks High School. He has been with Chenango Forks for 30+ years. You would assume that these years of experience as a High School teacher would have created a well-rounded, effective, and helpful teacher. But he has been actively getting worse as a teacher as each year passes. 

These issues range from refusing to let students use the bathroom to general hostility toward students. The following is a list of some of the many complaints reported by several students and parents:

• Poor teaching: A considerable number of students have failing or borderline failing grades.
• Refusal to help: Instead of helping students he disrespects their effort and claims that they simply aren't paying enough attention; Very little is done to help students and many have to teach themselves how to understand the material.
• Absence from study hall and remedial: Many students who try reaching out for help during study hall and remedial are very commonly met with no one when they arrive, this is because Mr. Palmer will leave his room without notice and leave students waiting for him to return which deters students and wastes their time.
• Hostility towards students: Regardless of what a student is doing and how they are doing in his class, he is generally rude and hateful towards students. Many have been treated poorly by Mr. Palmer or witnessed someone who has. Here are some of the stories submitted by students:
  • "Mr. Palmer yelled at me for not completing the homework I missed while I was in the hospital."
  • "Whenever anyone asks him for help, he gets an attitude and tells us to use our notes which doesn't help."
  • "He calls us stupid if we can't do something."
  • "When someone needs to use the bathroom he only lets students go if he feels like it.
    • "Not allowing students to use the bathroom is denying them their physical needs and creates the potential for embarrassment or emotional trauma. This is considered abuse and is illegal.
  • "He literally picks me out of my entire class and makes me look bad. It isn't even in a joking way or anything he is just flat-out rude."
  • "Last year I was in another teacher's class and he walked in. I had already finished the given assignment and put it away so I was talking with a friend who also finished. He came over to us and started yelling at us to get out the work and do it. Not only did this embarrass us, but he was also very rude about it, and was in no place to be talking to us like that."

These are only four of the many issues and six of the many complaints against Mr. Palmer. His behavior is extremely unprofessional and he is hurting his students both academically and mentally. The fact that even after the many complaints the school has received and nothing has been done to correct him as a teacher is shocking, to say the least.

Regardless of if you are a student, parent, or teacher, something clearly must be done to fix this. If that means putting him on leave or replacing him entirely, it must be done. He is in no place to be acting the way he does.