Why don’t teachers respond to student emails in a timely manner or not at all?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you haven't tried already, to submit the assignment in schoology, click on the "create" tab and just type in anything (for example, you can type the word "done"). That usually enables the submit button. It's one of my biggest pet peeves right now about the program. You cannot submit anything without putting something in that "create" tab.

DC1 tried that — worked for his buddy but wasn’t working for him. I watched him try a few times. I’ll have him try again. Gahhhhhhh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One MS DC has a form I need to sign online. In order to get to said form I must scan a QR code, which I did, but I get a message that I’m not authorized to open the page. I’m the only email on student contact forms. DC emailed the teacher right away and has heard crickets.

Other MS DC has class/homework through a math program, but must notify teacher through schoology that it is complete. Unfortunately he doesn’t seem able to do this without an attachment, which there is none. He’s tried leaving a comment with the assignment in Schoology, and still can’t get the submit/complete button (I forget the name) to enable. He emailed his teacher about and crickets there too.

I’m encouraging them to speak up before or during class but they say the teachers have no time to answer IRL. I am encouraging them to be more persistent this week. In any event, if these teachers want kids to self advocate and communicate with them, they need to step up on their response times.

When did he email the teacher(s)? If it was anytime after 2:45PM on Friday, it is perfectly reasonable that the teachers haven't responded.

I am a teacher who has not checked my email since Friday afternoon because I had a family commitment this weekend. I will check email again tomorrow morning. It is unusual for me to go this long without checking email, but it’s also unusual for me to put my family first, which is unhealthy. I am trying to do better this school year by putting my family first.

See above — sent Tuesday and Wednesday.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you haven't tried already, to submit the assignment in schoology, click on the "create" tab and just type in anything (for example, you can type the word "done"). That usually enables the submit button. It's one of my biggest pet peeves right now about the program. You cannot submit anything without putting something in that "create" tab.

DC1 tried that — worked for his buddy but wasn’t working for him. I watched him try a few times. I’ll have him try again. Gahhhhhhh.

Wait — maybe he didn’t do that. He tried adding a comment which works for his buddy but him. I’ll have him try your suggestion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did you use the fcps.edu email address? The Google address gets bogged down with notifications and most teachers I know don't check it. (High school teacher)

Thanks for the tip.I will look at what address my kids used. I think it was fcps, but maybe not. It would be helpful if teachers at least gave students, if not students and parents, their preferred contact info.

They do. It is in Schoology.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

How do teachers have no time to answer? Don’t they have office hours?

No. That was only during virtual learning last year. They are working every minute they are in the school building, and scarcely have time to eat or use the restroom.

Lots of planning periods are eaten up with mandatory meetings, so lunch becomes planning. You eat while you make copies, etc.

This is an accurate description. Each day is a sprint. Some teachers stay more on top of their email than others.
-Ex-FCPS teacher

[Anonymous]

When did he email the teacher(s)? If it was anytime after 2:45PM on Friday, it is perfectly reasonable that the teachers haven't responded.

I am a teacher who has not checked my email since Friday afternoon because I had a family commitment this weekend. I will check email again tomorrow morning. It is unusual for me to go this long without checking email, but it’s also unusual for me to put my family first, which is unhealthy. I am trying to do better this school year by putting my family first.

Soooo, no time to check email, but you have time for DCUM?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

When did he email the teacher(s)? If it was anytime after 2:45PM on Friday, it is perfectly reasonable that the teachers haven't responded.

I am a teacher who has not checked my email since Friday afternoon because I had a family commitment this weekend. I will check email again tomorrow morning. It is unusual for me to go this long without checking email, but it’s also unusual for me to put my family first, which is unhealthy. I am trying to do better this school year by putting my family first.

Soooo, no time to check email, but you have time for DCUM?

One of those things can draw you into working another hour handling the crisis of the day. The other thing is an outlet or a quick way to vent and maybe give a parents some quick advice. Don’t be what reddit calls a choosy beggar, lady.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

When did he email the teacher(s)? If it was anytime after 2:45PM on Friday, it is perfectly reasonable that the teachers haven't responded.

I am a teacher who has not checked my email since Friday afternoon because I had a family commitment this weekend. I will check email again tomorrow morning. It is unusual for me to go this long without checking email, but it’s also unusual for me to put my family first, which is unhealthy. I am trying to do better this school year by putting my family first.

Soooo, no time to check email, but you have time for DCUM?

Yeah, comments like these are why teachers feel disinclined to help in their off hours. Every time you give voice to this sense of entitlement, there is one less teacher willing to write a recommendation for a kid on New Year’s Eve. I’ve done the 12.31 recommendation two different years, by the way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

When did he email the teacher(s)? If it was anytime after 2:45PM on Friday, it is perfectly reasonable that the teachers haven't responded.

I am a teacher who has not checked my email since Friday afternoon because I had a family commitment this weekend. I will check email again tomorrow morning. It is unusual for me to go this long without checking email, but it’s also unusual for me to put my family first, which is unhealthy. I am trying to do better this school year by putting my family first.

Soooo, no time to check email, but you have time for DCUM?

You have no idea how much this comment upset me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

When did he email the teacher(s)? If it was anytime after 2:45PM on Friday, it is perfectly reasonable that the teachers haven't responded.

I am a teacher who has not checked my email since Friday afternoon because I had a family commitment this weekend. I will check email again tomorrow morning. It is unusual for me to go this long without checking email, but it’s also unusual for me to put my family first, which is unhealthy. I am trying to do better this school year by putting my family first.

Soooo, no time to check email, but you have time for DCUM?

One of those things can draw you into working another hour handling the crisis of the day. The other thing is an outlet or a quick way to vent and maybe give a parents some quick advice. Don’t be what reddit calls a choosy beggar, lady.

I agree. -OP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did you use the fcps.edu email address? The Google address gets bogged down with notifications and most teachers I know don't check it. (High school teacher)

Thanks for the tip.I will look at what address my kids used. I think it was fcps, but maybe not. It would be helpful if teachers at least gave students, if not students and parents, their preferred contact info.

Most of us do give our correct address. Unfortunately, many students and parents don't read the communications going out and therefore don't know what the correct email is. I cannot tell you how many times I communicate my email and yet parents don't seem to be able to keep track of it

[Anonymous]

Kids are in-person, have him ask the teacher when he gets to class or before he leaves.

[Anonymous]

My 9th grade child emailed the distance learning coordinator 1.5 weeks ago with 3 specific questions about the Schoology platform and attendance processes for virtual students. She has followed up twice. Since then she has received no answer except for 3 reminders sent to all of the virtual students reminding them to reply to all of their emails each day.

It would be funny if the questions weren’t important. She has asked others the same questions and was referred back to the coordinator. She has also requested a virtual meeting, and no response. I am trying really hard not to get involved. I suggested she leave a voicemail, but there isn’t an option to leave a message.

(This isn't a local school, and it is private which is why it started 2 weeks ago now.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 9th grade child emailed the distance learning coordinator 1.5 weeks ago with 3 specific questions about the Schoology platform and attendance processes for virtual students. She has followed up twice. Since then she has received no answer except for 3 reminders sent to all of the virtual students reminding them to reply to all of their emails each day.

It would be funny if the questions weren’t important. She has asked others the same questions and was referred back to the coordinator. She has also requested a virtual meeting, and no response. I am trying really hard not to get involved. I suggested she leave a voicemail, but there isn’t an option to leave a message.

(This isn't a local school, and it is private which is why it started 2 weeks ago now.)

Well, that’s when you can feel perfectly justified sending the email with a cc to all her superiors.

[Anonymous]

Because it’s impossible to keep up for some disciplines and ages. Impossible. We have to focus on planning lessons, being great teachers when the class is actually happening, participating in meetings during our planning times, completing required documentation (like IEP’s), responding to paperwork for which there are hard deadlines, assessing student work, responding to emails from our colleagues and administration, and THEN there is email from students. If you teach secondary or you’re a specialist in ES, you have over a hundred or many hundreds of students. Do you know what that volume of email is like, especially when a lot of it is tech support?

There are student and parent tech support lines. Try there first, please, for the tech one. Many times teachers have no idea how to fix things either, and we wait to reply while we ask our SBTS for help, who is also inundated and buried in incoming requests.

Parents often compare our email response times to their emails from an office job. I’ve worked in the software industry and in politics and it doesn’t remotely compare to the pace of teaching. There are kids at you EVERY SECOND when they are in the room. Then you have a couple of minutes transition between classes, maybe. (as a specialist this year, I have none.) There is no time to check email during the day. No time. When I finally get to my inbox after school, it’s triage: who are the bleeders? Who need replies immediately? Which replies will take more work than I have time to do right now? Those get flagged for answer later. I do what I can in the time I have, but I have to focus on getting ready for all my classes tomorrow. I have to be prepared for ALL of them with materials and lessons. If that means emails go unanswered, it is what is is. I have a lot do classes coming in tomorrow. The damage to them is much worse if I am unprepared than the harm of not replying to a single non urgent student email.

The problem is, there are more tomorrow, and more the next day. And there is no catch up day. There is no day they stop coming. So some…I just have to let go of. I can’t work 24/7. I work at least 11 hour days plus 8 or so on the weekend. It’s enough.

If it’s been a few days, and it’s urgent, the kid thing to do would be to send it again to the teacher’s @fcps.edu address from the student’s @fcpsschools.net email. Please be kind. We are doing our best.

Btw, for the Google Form, click to sign it while your are signed in under your child’s FCPS Google account. It’s probably set to only be open to FCPS users. It’s a setting you can ask the teacher to change but it’s easier for you to just log in to Google as your kid than stew here waiting for a reply.

(I’m a mom of an FCPS kid, too.)