How many people use their paid time off to help out in the classroom?

[Anonymous]

Wow. I use my paid time off for all the days school closes and I have nobody to watch DD, but thanks for jumping to the worst assumptions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow. I use my paid time off for all the days school closes and I have nobody to watch DD, but thanks for jumping to the worst assumptions.

+1

[Anonymous]

I have not used any paid time off. As someone else noted, volunteering a couple of hours means taking off more than a half a day of work as I live in a suburb just outside the Beltway and work downtown. Besides my elementary school kid, I have a younger one whose school takes off different days than the public school and has a weird inclement weather rule.

BUT, I did tell the teacher that while I can't help out in the classroom much, I am more than happy to do at-home projects whenever she needs help. She sends stuff like creating sight word index cards, collating the Scholastic fliers, cutting out bulletin board items, etc. I do these after my kids are in bed and work hard to send completed items back the next day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, I have used leave to volunteer and do things in my child's classroom.

I found that by the 2nd grade, parents were no longer really welcomed to actually come in during the day and volunteer and to me this makes sense.

I have one in 2nd and one in 3rd. Parents are very much welcome and needed. I typically help out by working with groups or coming up with activities to enhance their creative and independent side. I am not there everyday, but usually once every couple months for a couple hours. I love it, and my kids do too. I feel like I have a better relationship and communication going with my kids because I am there periodically. They can talk to me about school because they know I understand or can relate. I don't want to be in the dark. Scary things can happen when you are in the dark.

You sound mental.

The other problem with parents in the classroom is now you have untrained mental people working with your kids.

Whatever helps you sleep at night, parent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teachers don't want you there. They bitch and moan about no parental involvement but when offered, they hem and haw then turn the offer down. No teacher wants you to see what's really going on in that classroom.

I was a SAHM of 5 kids. I volunteered regularly for years, no one ever took me up on my offer. They want your money, your supplies but never want you there.

Go find out for yourself.

Wow. That is not my experience. I have a 1st and 2nd grader. They are itching for volunteers starting from Open House before school starts. Sign up sheets are out and ready.

The "they" you speak about are other moms who are over involved in every aspect of their kids lives. It's not the teachers. The moms have no life and need to be in the classroom to prove to themselves they are the best moms on earth.

The craziness ends by 4th grade. The "they" claim they no longer volunteer because "they" are sick of being the only one but the reality is it is unnecessary noise in the classroom, the teachers hate it and the kids are sick of their moms always breathing down their neck.

Indeed because our children's education should take the backseat. And the PP was right. Our school is the same way. the sign-up sheets are out there ready to be filled up, but not many people are signing up. Therefore, the teachers("they") are the ones that have to approach the parents to see if they can come and help out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Don't criticize teachers so ignorantly.

Teachers can rarely teach effectively such large classrooms, especially if they accelerate certain students and offer remediation to others.

Unfortunately, this does not mean that parents should be in the classroom, despite their urge to see their child.
The constant coming and going of unfamiliar faces can be very distracting to students, and poses a huge confidentiality issue when graded work is distributed or students are discussed by teachers (some parents even grade the students' work themselves!!!).
The most efficient help is done by trained paraeducators who are made aware of confidential information relating to some or all students and can hone in to bolster their weaknesses.

There is a lot parents CAN do to help in a school. There is artwork to arrange and put up in the corridors, library books to organize, children to shepherd to and fro, fliers to stuff in folders, booths to man, food to cook, recess to observe, money to give, the list goes on and on!

But parents do not belong in a classroom.

Correction. You do not belong in the classroom.

+1. Who are these people who see fit to speak for all teachers?

[Anonymous]

I use my annual leave to volunteer in the classroom. The main reason I want to volunteer is to be with my child. If a teacher has me making photocopies, however, that is the last time I will volunteer in that class. I am not going to take off from work to make photocopies. I want to interact with my child and the other children in the classroom. Lately, I have decided not to volunteer in the classroom because I want to save up my leave to be able to take a vacation. I am over the volunteering. If other people want to volunteer-- be my guest. BTDT.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If I wanted to be in a classroom full of other people's kids I would have become a teacher. Our school has plenty of type A SAHMs who hang out at the school all day, I'm happy to just volunteer to help out in ways that don't require me to interact with kids.

I am partly like this too. I also fundamentally disagree with the need for so many "extras" all in the name of "But the kids love it!" Cut out 1/2 the extra crap and just teach them. That is what I am paying her tuition for. Then, at the end of the school day, send her home, and I'll do the rest. I feel like type A SAHMs create so much extra and unnecessary "hubbub" over "MUSTS" like organizing the: Santa's Secret Shoppe! or Popcorn in your Jammies! or Visiting Santa with the Eighth Grade Secret Elves! I am not making up these things. These were actual events at my DD's school during the month of Dec. I do not know WHAT work they got done, I really do not.

Why does the PP along with some of the other posters assume we are SAHM. Did you not read the original thread? This is about using paid time off. Please read before you respond with comments that don't relate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Teachers don't want you there. They bitch and moan about no parental involvement but when offered, they hem and haw then turn the offer down. No teacher wants you to see what's really going on in that classroom.

I was a SAHM of 5 kids. I volunteered regularly for years, no one ever took me up on my offer. They want your money, your supplies but never want you there.

Go find out for yourself.

Wow. That is not my experience. I have a 1st and 2nd grader. They are itching for volunteers starting from Open House before school starts. Sign up sheets are out and ready.

The "they" you speak about are other moms who are over involved in every aspect of their kids lives. It's not the teachers. The moms have no life and need to be in the classroom to prove to themselves they are the best moms on earth.

The craziness ends by 4th grade. The "they" claim they no longer volunteer because "they" are sick of being the only one but the reality is it is unnecessary noise in the classroom, the teachers hate it and the kids are sick of their moms always breathing down their neck.

Indeed because our children's education should take the backseat. And the PP was right. Our school is the same way. the sign-up sheets are out there ready to be filled up, but not many people are signing up. Therefore, the teachers("they") are the ones that have to approach the parents to see if they can come and help out.

Exactly I want trained teachers with kids not bored moms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow. I use my paid time off for all the days school closes and I have nobody to watch DD, but thanks for jumping to the worst assumptions.

I am no sure OP made the worst assumptions. Man. Some of you need to toughen up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Teachers don't want you there. They bitch and moan about no parental involvement but when offered, they hem and haw then turn the offer down. No teacher wants you to see what's really going on in that classroom.

I was a SAHM of 5 kids. I volunteered regularly for years, no one ever took me up on my offer. They want your money, your supplies but never want you there.

Go find out for yourself.

+1. I'll preface this by saying that another mom I know at an elementary school not even a mile away had parent volunteers helping especially in K. However, when I came all starry eyed all about the greater good when I started in our local public school I became jaded very quickly. They said straight out at our school that they didn't want parent volunteers in the classroom and yes, I understand the confidentiality of parents taliking about other kids grades, behaviors etc., disrupting routines with unfamiliar faces, and having a school that was already grossly overcrowded having even more people in the room. I tried taking off to go be involved in the school improvement plan (you know every MCPS school has to have one) and to their credit I was allowed to attend one meeting but it turns out they really don't expect parent involvement in the school improvement plan (SIP) and it is really an extension of a teacher team meeting I.e. we have 4 students underperforming in reading, what strategies can we use. I attended a few PTA meetings, and that would be another thread, but was asked point blank in a curious voice why I was attending since I wasn't a room parent.

I used time in the evening to attend a MCPS math work group where I left perplexed as to how the conclusions of the math work group would be rolled into the new curriculum. It was frustrating to find my questions and concerns were brushed off because it was really a presentation of how things would be, not a focus group on how can we roll this out to parents and either tweak things or communicate it better, nor was it collecting true feedback. So then I watched how a year later, people were saying the same things I raised at the math work group meeting and another year for the county to address it ...just smh. I attended board of education meetings, community involvement meetings and came to the realization unless you are a PR juggernaut and know how to motivate groups of people and get the media to cover their concerns as a group, you aren't going to get very far as a parent in MCPS in getting your concerns heard much less helping others with similar issues. So by that point I was already jaded and then my son was diagnosed with ADD. The time to get evaluations, meet at the school, meet with EMT, research and figure out what I needed to do with him... left little time to help with the village that really has shown only want my help with money, supplies and a pair of hands for PTA events and class parties. So it has worked out, we have vacations, I volunteer for two events, either DH or I attend all kid events at the school (which require us to take off or make up the time), and we donate money. There is still a small part that feels bad that I'm not helping other kids that have faced similar things as my kids but without the resources to help and I think about volunteering time at a non-profit once my kids are more self-sufficient.

[Anonymous]

I put in almost 30 hours of volunteer time at the school this year, that I used leave for. Only two hours were in the classroom as part of an organized volunteer group to help the teachers out. The other time was for scholastic book fair and a science fair.

I only sign up for specified volunteer spots, and don't push myself or ideas in people.

[Anonymous]

OP here. I just want to say thanks to all the people who help out. Every hour you contribute makes a difference. It is nice to read about people who are not jaded and have not given up on our educational system. I know that nothing is perfect but that doing nothing does nothing to make things better so know that your time and efforts are appreciated.

[Anonymous]

I use my annual leave to volunteer in DS's K class once a month for two hours. It's not a lot of time, but it's something. His teacher definitely appreciates the volunteers as she actively asks. I wish I could do more.

[Anonymous]

I work full time and have finally started to accrue enough time that I feel like I could do a lot more. That said, I am not sure I am great with little kids so I have tended to do only field trips. I did have some extra time one year and spent 4 days doing library catalog data entry for the librarian. I can understand some limitations because people just have different skill sets, but their really are a ton of things to do, it is just getting them focused enough to figure it out. I think a lot just depends on your personality, your life commitments and the personality of the school.