Why are you not active in your elementary school's parent organization?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Stay away because of the mean PTA moms!

+1. I collided with one last week. Completely turned me off of the pta.

[Anonymous]

I have a full-time job;

They do inefficient, labor-intensive fundraisers when asking for checks would get them farther (and I write a check);

Pot luck for teacher appreciation day does nothing for my child and the teachers would appreciate chipotle just as much;

They're queen bees who are not open to anything other than the stuff they've always done, so you can either take time off for the inefficient fundraiser or stfu and write a check;

They solicited me and all of my female friends but ignored my husband, who actually has more time because he's a consultant and works from home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am trying to figure this out, since parent engagement is notoriously difficult. What is preventing you? Is it that events are of no interest to you? Is it that events are held at times that are inconvenient for you? Is it that you just don't feel that that kind of engagement is important?

I am talking about events at all times. Some people can't make morning meetings. Some people can't make evening meetings. Some people don't care about anything beyond their own child's classroom but are very involved there. Some people feel that it's enough to just send a check and leave it at that. Some people donate $0 but a lot of time. Some people donate $0 and also 0 time.

What is stopping you?

I wake at 5 AM every day. Take middle school kid to ridiculously early bus in the dark. Drop off elementary kid. Drive an hour to work. At work for 8.5 hours. drive an hour home. Cook dinner. Try to stay on top of absurd amounts of homework not to mention cleaning house. Oh and unfortunately I am a single parent.

So no. Can't do anything else. My plate is too full already.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stay away because of the mean PTA moms!

+1. I collided with one last week. Completely turned me off of the pta.

+2. I wish there was a way to avoid them at pick-up.

[Anonymous]

I LOVE our PA moms: they do so much that I don't have to!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Solution: more PTA dads

No kidding. My DH was president of our PTO one year. Shorter meetings, fewer 'community building events', same level of $ raised.

Oops, your misogyny is showing. How embarrassing.

[Anonymous]

Its now a few weeks into school. I signed up to volunteer for a bunch of stuff. Haven't gotten any email or call about it. I'm not chasing them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Stay away because of the mean PTA moms!

+1. I collided with one last week. Completely turned me off of the pta.

+2. I wish there was a way to avoid them at pick-up.

New to a school this year, haven't gotten involved yet. Would love to know what these horrible interaction are exactly? Everyone at our school seems nice and normal. Sure you guys aren't projecting?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Solution: more PTA dads

No kidding. My DH was president of our PTO one year. Shorter meetings, fewer 'community building events', same level of $ raised.

Oops, your misogyny is showing. How embarrassing.

I'm a woman and I completely agree. At our school the parent group is basically an outlet for the mothers in it. They corner you at back to school night and drop off and wear you down.

It's not about being female. It's about not having other commitments during school hours.

The ones in my school give dads a pass for working but moms who don't live like them are not their cup of tea. It's their own sexism that turns me off.

[Anonymous]

One of the new leaders last year was a mom with a PK kid and it was her first year at the school. She was horrible and in everyone's face selling her "merch" as she called it. She was either a SAHM or made her money from selling stuff.

It was a big turn off to the parents who had been there for years or parents in the older grades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Its now a few weeks into school. I signed up to volunteer for a bunch of stuff. Haven't gotten any email or call about it. I'm not chasing them.

Sounds familiar. Busy work on steroids = no real impact on the school or DC. Smh

[Anonymous]

If the meetings provided child care- I would go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One of the new leaders last year was a mom with a PK kid and it was her first year at the school. She was horrible and in everyone's face selling her "merch" as she called it. She was either a SAHM or made her money from selling stuff.

It was a big turn off to the parents who had been there for years or parents in the older grades.

yikes!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If the meetings provided child care- I would go.

Our school does provide childcare and dinner for your children. When I go, I see 90% of the moms/dads there doing pick-up from the afterschool program and leaving. They don't want to stay an extra hour, because they are exhausted and need to get home (walk the dog, deal with life). The moms/dads who do make the meetings picked up their children hours earlier when school ended and have to make the commute all the ways back to campus. I think meetings should be at different times each month. Maybe one late for working parents, one after drop-off, one after pick-up, one on a weekend. I think PTAs should rotate meeting times so different people can make it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If the meetings provided child care- I would go.

Our school does provide childcare and dinner for your children. When I go, I see 90% of the moms/dads there doing pick-up from the afterschool program and leaving. They don't want to stay an extra hour, because they are exhausted and need to get home (walk the dog, deal with life). The moms/dads who do make the meetings picked up their children hours earlier when school ended and have to make the commute all the ways back to campus. I think meetings should be at different times each month. Maybe one late for working parents, one after drop-off, one after pick-up, one on a weekend. I think PTAs should rotate meeting times so different people can make it.

I went to my first one this year. They had food and child care. No one said hi, I tried to ask several people at tables what I was supposed to do and they said sit down. No one ever suggested getting dinner, welcoming me, or telling me to take the paperwork on the table in front of them (I was the only one once it started without paperwork). Hmm... would you go back?

To avoid the PTA moms, use the pick up line.