RANT - I Hate the PTA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree completely OP. I can’t imagine that question would have been asked of a dad. It’s more unnecessary expectations on women by women. I appreciate the women (usually it’s women) who step up to be on the pta but I wish they would be mindful of creating unnecessary sh*t to do. Unnecessary because I don’t think the teachers even care about this stuff.

Ding! We really don't.

Our week is laid out like this:

Monday - early breakfast; yes, arriving at school 45 mins. is exactly how I want to start off my week. Especially for some greasy Chick-fil-A.
Tuesday - flower day; my favorites are the hand-drawn flowers instead of real ones as most flowers give me an instant headache. I tell the kids I'm taking them home to brighten up my house but immediately toss them in the trash. I do feel bad for .02 seconds after tossing them.
Wednesday - gift card day; this one makes me most uncomfortable because I always feel like I'm being bribed. 99% of the gift cards received will be for Starbucks, which is awesome, but again, I just don't think that money, even in gift card form, should be exchanged with teachers.
Thursday - card day; they're supposed to be handmade, but most are storebought. Some aren't even signed by the kid and are instead signed by the parent as the kid. To make up for immediately tossing the flowers, I usually keep and display the cards for a week.
Friday - lunch & cake day; catered lunch & cake is fine and probably all that's ever really needed for this week. Some years the room parents will take up a separate collection for a larger gift card and give it to you on this day. Again, it makes me super uncomfortable. I'd rather parents just donated that gift card money to the PTA fund that covers field trip fees for the kids whose parents can't.

Uncomfortable is a valid complaint. Then you should communicate that to your PTA and Principal.

The rest of your post is obnoxiously rude. The breakfast at our school is not "chik-fil-a" but homemade casseroles and Panera items. And they are set out about 20 min before the doors open. They teachers an partake or not. But, after reading a post like yours, I def won't be contributing this year.

As for the gifts, you're ungrateful and make some ridiculous assumptions. Nothing more to be said.

So...because some anonymous teacher expresses that she(?) doesn't find the TAW an effective show of appreciation--in alliance with parents who feel they are being forced to appreciate in ways teachers don't appreciate--she is now obnoxiously rude and you're going to withhold your largesse from all other teachers? The dynamics of this all just feel weird.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a former ES PTA President, I agree. There's always a small percentage who do the lions share if the work. You BEG other parents to help, and some can't, some would rather "writer a check" than give their time, and others just wont. Trust me when I tell you, none of those PTA parents are wanting to so it all, they just can't get others to step up and help.

For the record, no one ever BEGGED me to do anything.

I have, at the beginning, begged to be included, then gave up.

I did once in high school, work very hard to get included on the booster list for the parents of kids working on the play. Again, not included.

I did my share of volunteering. But not for the PTA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:RANT: PTA prob "hates" you too, OP. Classic freeloader who lives in the fantasyland of pretending all the PTA mom's are SAHMs. We're not.

The assumption that nonvolunteers are all freeloaders is obnoxious. Many are people who choose to participate in the community a different way. It takes a village. The PTA is not the only thing out there that helps our kids.

It makes the PTA seems like an obnoxious bunch of judgmental harpies when distain is expressed for those who don't participate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why can’t you drop off the food for the 7 AM breakfast the night before? Having everyone drop off at 7 AM sounds chaotic. DS’s ES had us drop off the afternoon / Evening before.

Because who wants to eat a shelf stable, unhealthy breakfast. Doesn't sound like appreciation to me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PTA mom here who also works. At our pta it’s mostly the working parents who put the most time in. I know each school varies. So please don’t make this a sahm/wohm issue.

You can just do the card and send a box of store bought muffins with your kid the day before and ask them to drop it in the office. Done.

Don’t do anything and don’t worry about it like most parents. 75% of our school doesn’t do a damn thing for pta and if each family contributed just one hour a week to the school, it would make it a hell of a lot easier on those 15 parents who literally do everything because no one else is volunteering.

If you’re that upset about it, go to PTA meetings, offer ideas, offer to run just one event or at least spend one hour a year at the book fair or whatever your school has. Maybe it’ll give you an appreciation of the parents who do so much on their own time.

Our PTA is not welcoming nor is our school. I'm happy to help but got turned off after being told no, we don't need help, etc. each year. Show up to volunteer at things like the book fair when they do request it and they say they are fine and no help needed. Why ask and waste my time coming in?

Same happened to me. The school was very welcoming. Just not the PTA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why can’t you drop off the food for the 7 AM breakfast the night before? Having everyone drop off at 7 AM sounds chaotic. DS’s ES had us drop off the afternoon / Evening before.

Because who wants to eat a shelf stable, unhealthy breakfast. Doesn't sound like appreciation to me.

It’s a school

With a Kitchen

And a giant walk in Refrigerator when everything was stored until the AM

So making something the night before would certainly solve some logistical problems but it would not allow you to properly martyr yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why can’t you drop off the food for the 7 AM breakfast the night before? Having everyone drop off at 7 AM sounds chaotic. DS’s ES had us drop off the afternoon / Evening before.

Because who wants to eat a shelf stable, unhealthy breakfast. Doesn't sound like appreciation to me.

It’s a school

With a Kitchen

And a giant walk in Refrigerator when everything was stored until the AM

So making something the night before would certainly solve some logistical problems but it would not allow you to properly martyr yourself.

Our school only had a filthy staff fridge in the teachers lounge. Some stuff can be bought the day before but not things like donuts or bagels.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PTA mom here who also works. At our pta it’s mostly the working parents who put the most time in. I know each school varies. So please don’t make this a sahm/wohm issue.

You can just do the card and send a box of store bought muffins with your kid the day before and ask them to drop it in the office. Done.

Don’t do anything and don’t worry about it like most parents. 75% of our school doesn’t do a damn thing for pta and if each family contributed just one hour a week to the school, it would make it a hell of a lot easier on those 15 parents who literally do everything because no one else is volunteering.

If you’re that upset about it, go to PTA meetings, offer ideas, offer to run just one event or at least spend one hour a year at the book fair or whatever your school has. Maybe it’ll give you an appreciation of the parents who do so much on their own time.

Our PTA is not welcoming nor is our school. I'm happy to help but got turned off after being told no, we don't need help, etc. each year. Show up to volunteer at things like the book fair when they do request it and they say they are fine and no help needed. Why ask and waste my time coming in?

Same happened to me. The school was very welcoming. Just not the PTA.

Our school was not welcoming either. They wonder why they cannot get volunteers and donations but don't realize most of us gave.

[Anonymous]

Wow. PTA hating trolls are out in full force on this Mother's Day. My school's PTA is great (and I say that as a non-officer, infrequent volunteer). Can't you find something more productive to do than complain about people doing a volunteer job that helps your kids?

[Anonymous]

Is it THAT hard? You’re the first to run into the office angry about something your kid reports but you can’t get it together for this? Get over yourself!

[Anonymous]

I’ll do your part and mine before work. Gladly. Ungrateful complainer!

[Anonymous]

I think it’s fantastic and my children do too! Every year. So special. What’s wrong with that plan? Have you ever worked in a school? With these kids and these stupid limitations and rules? If you had you’d wonder why it was ONLY a week!

[Anonymous]

Why so crabby?

[Anonymous]

Sheesh, cut OP some slack. She's clearly running on empty. Don't think it was the PTA request so much as the obnoxious comment by the SAHM that sent her over the edge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why can’t you drop off the food for the 7 AM breakfast the night before? Having everyone drop off at 7 AM sounds chaotic. DS’s ES had us drop off the afternoon / Evening before.

Because who wants to eat a shelf stable, unhealthy breakfast. Doesn't sound like appreciation to me.

The night time dumpster raccoons do!!