Kids' teachers won't leave me alone!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Work with your kids. Why are they needing so much support at this point? If they are misplacing materials, help them organize themselves each night as homework. Are they having trouble turning things in? Make sure they know that you will help after work. Reward them for being independent. They can get a special reward if they do not bother you all day.

Teachers are not reaching out unless there are large problems. If they are constantly reaching out- you have an issue that needs to be solved. You might also consider a parent- teacher conference to discuss how to make your children more independent.

You can’t ignore young children, but you can help them gain the skills they need to fend for themselves for a few hours.

\

Not true, not even close. Some teachers are relying on parents to do their jobs for them.

As a parent, it does sound like OP has not taken sufficient time or care in getting her kids set up every day for school. If a child is having consistent technology problems then those need to be resolved. Before the school day begins, the parent needs to make sure the kid/s have what they need in terms of pen & paper, notebook, folders, assigned work, what have you. It is analogous to getting the kids' backpacks ready the night before. It would behoove OP to make sure the kids are ready before school begins. It sounds like OP is pretty disorganized and highly stressed out; a little pre-work on her part will help with both of those.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:YOU need to have all of the supplies that your children need in an easily accessible place so that your children can be more self-sufficient. The teachers are not in your home and your children are not handling this well themselves. If you took some time to prepare, like teachers do in their classrooms, then your children and their teachers wouldn't need to 'bother' you so often. Even something as simple as being able to see your child's face to better TEACH your child is reasonable - for example, if your child isn't speaking clearly or loud enough, teachers can read body language and lips to see if s/he is understanding the material. How on earth do you expect them to fix some of these problems from a distance?!

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think you need to do a couple of things.

(1) Set up a specific place where all school materials are always kept in some organized fashion. Include basic school supplies -- pencils, composition books, scissors, glue sticks, construction paper, white board, etc.
(2) The night before or in the morning, look at the schedule and make sure that the materials for each class are ready to hand. Older kids can help with this.
(3) Check the chair/desk setup to make sure that your kid's face is clearly visible on video. Adjust chair/desk height or get a booster or whatever so that the setup is correct.
(4) Check their tech setup in general -- volume, working headphones, etc. Remind them not to mess with the settings.
(5) Defer responding to all emails about homework/assignments. They might just be emailing you about missing work when they have a minute between classes; that doesn't mean you need to handle it that moment.
(6) Ignore all emails that are not actually urgent. Check them at lunch and the end of the day. If you ignore them, they don't disrupt your day.

I think if OP does 1-4 with diligence then she won't have to worry about 5-6.

[Anonymous]

Are you FCPS? Is your 5 year old going back to school this week? Or if you are LCPS, could the 5 and 7 year old go to school since K-2 are back from LCPS? If they are remaining to DL I think you need to sit down with your kids and let them know whats expected of them. I have 2 in ES and my husband and I work from home. My son would come every break he had and want to play. After we talked to both of the kids it was a little less. But I have never received any email from the teachers this year about anything like that. What about the parents that are going to work and the kids are home alone (yes it does happen). No parent is getting an email and no behavior will change during the day. Maybe just reach out to the teacher one last time and copy the AP and let them know you really have a lot going on and please pick up the phone and call if there is a real problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have 3 children in elementary school. I also work a full-time, demanding job which has been all telework since March.
In the morning, I get the kids set up with their materials at their work stations, make sure everyone is logged in, and then I go to my bedroom to work at my desk. Every 20 minutes, I either get an email from a teacher asking me for something ("Can you help them upload this?" "Where is their pamphlet? They say they can't find it." "Can you move them to a higher desk so I can see their face?" "They haven't completed X, Y, or Z. Can you make them do that?") I mean, it is unrelenting. I am falling so far behind at work because I can't get a stretch of more than 20-30 minutes of work done at a time that I'm considering pulling the kids out of school to "homeschool" them completely. I cannot take the constant teacher bombardment. I have told all of their teachers explicitly that I am extremely busy, can help if it's an emergency, but there are responsibilities I have at work that cannot be pushed aside.

It happened today to a really extensive degree, and I have a huge deadline tomorrow, so I'll be working through the night because of the disruptions from the teachers. Is there a way for me to reiterate this without being rude (because I'm almost to the point of being rude)?

Where IS their pamphlet? Why haven't they completed X,Y,Z?

Take some time in the evening out of your busy life to make sure THEIR work is done and what they need is easily accessible. If assignments are completed in the evening and uploaded, that's two less emails.

This is mainly a you problem. The 5 year old can't manage all day on their own.

Take time in the evening to get them ready for the day. Set up an email account for school only, check that at lunch and in the evening. Take the time to deal with anything that comes up, either at lunch or after supper. You may need to take a lunch break from your own schedule to check in with your kids.

[Anonymous]

OP, I am with you.

My kid’s teacher is struggling to manage her classroom and blames it on the parents over email. It is absurd.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have 3 children in elementary school. I also work a full-time, demanding job which has been all telework since March.
In the morning, I get the kids set up with their materials at their work stations, make sure everyone is logged in, and then I go to my bedroom to work at my desk. Every 20 minutes, I either get an email from a teacher asking me for something ("Can you help them upload this?" "Where is their pamphlet? They say they can't find it." "Can you move them to a higher desk so I can see their face?" "They haven't completed X, Y, or Z. Can you make them do that?") I mean, it is unrelenting. I am falling so far behind at work because I can't get a stretch of more than 20-30 minutes of work done at a time that I'm considering pulling the kids out of school to "homeschool" them completely. I cannot take the constant teacher bombardment. I have told all of their teachers explicitly that I am extremely busy, can help if it's an emergency, but there are responsibilities I have at work that cannot be pushed aside.

It happened today to a really extensive degree, and I have a huge deadline tomorrow, so I'll be working through the night because of the disruptions from the teachers. Is there a way for me to reiterate this without being rude (because I'm almost to the point of being rude)?

Where IS their pamphlet? Why haven't they completed X,Y,Z?

Take some time in the evening out of your busy life to make sure THEIR work is done and what they need is easily accessible. If assignments are completed in the evening and uploaded, that's two less emails.

This is mainly a you problem. The 5 year old can't manage all day on their own.

Take time in the evening to get them ready for the day. Set up an email account for school only, check that at lunch and in the evening. Take the time to deal with anything that comes up, either at lunch or after supper. You may need to take a lunch break from your own schedule to check in with your kids.

are you in a fantasy world?

[Anonymous]

What is your DH doing?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a teacher and I do not disturb parents during their work day. I will send an email at 5p or after letting them know what needs to be done and a video I make that shows them how to get to whatever needs finishing and tell them to allow the child to do the work but you can just verify that it is done. I do not want the parents helping the kids too much (3rd grade). Also, during the day, I try to troubleshoot to keep the kids from bothering their parents or whomever is watching them. They have a job to do just as well, and income is needed in times like these. I would send the teacher an email stating the times that you can be reached or setup a side email and that way you do not see the emails until you want to see them. I set up one for my daughter's emails and I go through them to keep a vigilant eye on what is going on with her but she is almost in high school so it is different. Also, have the kids write what they need on a sticky note and stick it on your door so they are not vocally bothering you. When you have a break, you can check the notes and respond. I hope this helps and things get better,

You sound like a wonderful teacher and person. Thank you for doing what you do!!