Why do schools ask us to do so much extra crap?!?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Usually it's private schools and schools in wealthier areas that do all this stuff.

My kid's high school is public with about 66% FARMS and they do these things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What a bunch of whiners! Its optional! Don't do it if you don't want to! Oh but wait you can't handle the FOMO for your kid. Well, I guess you have a choice to make.

If half the kids are experiencing FOMO or whatever, then it isn’t building a school community. So what’s the point?

It’s not though - most kids are participating because it’s fun. Even if you don’t think so. Sorry!!

Yeah. I’ve been a kid. It’s fun to exclude other people and tell yourself that you and your friends are better/cooler than kids who have fewer friends, SN, or uninvolved parents. Kids are jerks.
But maybe, just maybe, school administrators shouldn’t create these opportunities.

[Anonymous]

I think participation for most of these things is really low in big public schools, even in UMC areas.

The spirit days are 100% driven by student government. It's kind of funny/sad. Schools think its important to have student governments, as a little exercise in democracy. But these elected officials have zero power and there's nothing they can really give a fifth grader to do. AFAIK, their only authority is to come up with spirit days and make an occasional speech. They are more pointless than the British royal family, but they need to have something to do to justify their existence. Outside of the student government members, I'm not sure many kids participate - either because they don't care, forget, don't have parents who can supply them with 80s stuff at the last minute, etc.

But totally agree on the long emails from school. Please start with a bullet point of action items at the top, and then add all the detail that a small number of parents need to know. I don't need to know that it's Mental Health Awareness week again, or whatever week it is this week. And I don't need to get the information about how to contact the attendance secretary, and where the bus lane is, in every single email. Or at least put that stuff at the waaay bottom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think participation for most of these things is really low in big public schools, even in UMC areas.

The spirit days are 100% driven by student government. It's kind of funny/sad. Schools think its important to have student governments, as a little exercise in democracy. But these elected officials have zero power and there's nothing they can really give a fifth grader to do. AFAIK, their only authority is to come up with spirit days and make an occasional speech. They are more pointless than the British royal family, but they need to have something to do to justify their existence. Outside of the student government members, I'm not sure many kids participate - either because they don't care, forget, don't have parents who can supply them with 80s stuff at the last minute, etc.

But totally agree on the long emails from school. Please start with a bullet point of action items at the top, and then add all the detail that a small number of parents need to know. I don't need to know that it's Mental Health Awareness week again, or whatever week it is this week. And I don't need to get the information about how to contact the attendance secretary, and where the bus lane is, in every single email. Or at least put that stuff at the waaay bottom.

Yes! And if one of those things is that there is randomly no school one day that week, or that everyone is going to be in green underwear on Tuesday, then that should be the subject of its own separate email!

Subject: Green Underwear Tuesday 3/29

Body: In celebration of the beginning of spring, we invite all of the students to wear green underwear on Tuesday 3/29. We will be doing several green activities and planting seeds donated by the city in our school garden.

Thank you.
<signature>


My sister is in business, and I showed her one of the school emails while I was visiting. I had missed something that was important to my daughter, and I showed her where it was buried in the email. My sister then took about ten seconds to tell me four or five things that would have vastly improved the communication in that email, and I would have known to either do the thing or tell my daughter why it couldn’t happen. Instead, I just missed it.

Probably everyone that has to disseminate information to large groups of people (including all school administrators) should have a yearly twenty minute training on writing emails.

[Anonymous]

^ good point

It's cringeworthy when educated adults use sloppy communication.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What a bunch of whiners! Its optional! Don't do it if you don't want to! Oh but wait you can't handle the FOMO for your kid. Well, I guess you have a choice to make.

If half the kids are experiencing FOMO or whatever, then it isn’t building a school community. So what’s the point?

It’s not though - most kids are participating because it’s fun. Even if you don’t think so. Sorry!!

Sigh. Why can’t you try to understand?

A. I’m not in charge of the decisions at the school
B. My kids and their friends like spirit days

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^ good point

It's cringeworthy when educated adults use sloppy communication.

Oh that's not all! Mine regularly includes multiple grammatical mistakes, punctuation, and misspellings in every email. UMC school in a good pyramid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What a bunch of whiners! Its optional! Don't do it if you don't want to! Oh but wait you can't handle the FOMO for your kid. Well, I guess you have a choice to make.

If half the kids are experiencing FOMO or whatever, then it isn’t building a school community. So what’s the point?

It’s not though - most kids are participating because it’s fun. Even if you don’t think so. Sorry!!

Yeah. I’ve been a kid. It’s fun to exclude other people and tell yourself that you and your friends are better/cooler than kids who have fewer friends, SN, or uninvolved parents. Kids are jerks.
But maybe, just maybe, school administrators shouldn’t create these opportunities.

Yes. Whatever happened to equity?!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What a bunch of whiners! Its optional! Don't do it if you don't want to! Oh but wait you can't handle the FOMO for your kid. Well, I guess you have a choice to make.

If half the kids are experiencing FOMO or whatever, then it isn’t building a school community. So what’s the point?

It’s not though - most kids are participating because it’s fun. Even if you don’t think so. Sorry!!

Yeah. I’ve been a kid. It’s fun to exclude other people and tell yourself that you and your friends are better/cooler than kids who have fewer friends, SN, or uninvolved parents. Kids are jerks.
But maybe, just maybe, school administrators shouldn’t create these opportunities.

Yes. Whatever happened to equity?!

Nobody actually wants equity. It’s just a nice political talking point. Everyone wants what’s best for their own children. Obviously.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sometimes you need to learn to have a little fun in life, participate in the activities that build communities. Not everyone is going to love it, or so it, but building traditions builds community and memories. And lots of kids look forward to these things.

- grumpy non PTA mom of 3 who musters up some enthusiasm when provided a reasonable amount of notice and explanation

Don't turn your kids into lifelong debbie downers, you don't have to spend a fortune to help them at least appear to participate.

You know, my kids’ school manages to create a community without any of this stuff.
They celebrate when someone in the school has a new baby in the family and have moments of silence whenever someone has a family member pass away. If they have to bring anything, it’s toiletries for the homeless or my middle schoolers are all having a “feast” to celebrate something they are learning about or an elementary schooler brings in a favorite toy to share with the class.

“Twin Day” is fun for a few kids who are really into it. But it makes more kids feel rejected than included.

I'm the PP. I haven't heard of twin day but I agree that one seems good to put on the cutting room floor. Anything that promotes cliques in general I'd rather see go away

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ good point

It's cringeworthy when educated adults use sloppy communication.

Oh that's not all! Mine regularly includes multiple grammatical mistakes, punctuation, and misspellings in every email. UMC school in a good pyramid.

I saw a teacher profile with multiple mistakes on the website of a (not highly regarded) private school. Now I understand why tuition is so low there.

[Anonymous]

Would you all like some cheese with your whine? Bunch of ingrates.