Honest Reponse & Things Sometime Just Work-Out

I have a student who has an IEP for math. I teach her alone everyday except one day a week we go into her regular pre-Algebra class. She follows along and gives me a signal if there is something she doesn't understand, and I write it down.We talk about it later. Part of her IEP is that she is mainstreamed full-time by the 4th quarter.
The regular math teacher is a new teacher. He allows the kids to shout out answers and questions and an atmosphere somewhere between student control and chaos develops. The new teacher and I usually talk about how my student is doing and if she is following along. I am comfortable with those conversations. Today he asked if I had any suggestions about his teaching. I was the director of elementary science education in a university for 3 years. Each semester I had a load of student teachers to supervise and had no problem giving them feedback to the point of occasionally having to say, "You have got to change this, now!" I was uncomfortable with my colleagues question, though. I asked him a question about what he covered before the test and let his question fade away.
I suppose I will address this with him later. I don't want him worrying that I am thinking he is a bad teacher everytime I am sitting in his room.
Earlier in this blog I wrote an article about adolescent insolence. The student who stimulated that article started being left at school 30-45 minutes early each day. My wife and I are usually the first faculty to arrive. The maintenance folks talked to me about how early this kid was being left and that they couldn't do their jobs and watch him. I spoke with the kid and said I would have to speak with the principal, but if it was o.k. with the principal, he could come and wait in my room until it was time for students to arrive at school. This has turned him around. He is helpful in the morning and much more cooperative in class. His whole class seems to have improved. Sometimes there is great opportunity lurking behind what at first seems an unpleasant responsibility and things will just work-out. Maybe such an opportunity will pop-up with the new math teacher.