Teacher Response Time

[Anonymous]

Sorry, I have read the whole thread but I may have missed something--is it OP who asked for lesson plans? Do we know what OP's e-mail is about?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have emailed the teacher if my ES child has had multiple "bad days". A bad day is when he has interactions with other children that make him upset. I write the teacher to get both sides of the story and use their experience to see how we can help our child navigate those situations better.

Now imagine a teacher having to write a narrative of a child's day, multiplied by 25 times.

This is once or twice in an entire school year, and it's not a narrative of an entire day, it's information about a specific interaction so that I am not taking the word of an eight-year-old as the whole truth. I would presume that the teacher would appreciate help from us in correcting any inappropriate behavior or contributing to providing coping mechanisms if needed. If the teacher says, "Everything was good, it was a normal, everyday interaction", that is all I need. It also provides the opportunity for them to say, "yes, we have been having problems with your child lately, we could really use some help in dealing with some situations they find themselves in."

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Why are so many parents emailing the teachers? I have honestly never done this for either child except for advising of a pre planned absence. Which is like once in 3 years.

to up date the gradebook to check how things are going on at school, to see lesson plans etc.

I did not think these were things we could even ask. Seems like it would be annoying for the teacher to answer all these types of inquiries individually. As much as I would love to know what is going on in the classroom and be able to support the educational process as has been mentioned in this thread, school is a literal black hole except what my kids tell me. And no there are not classroom volunteers allowed and we have had no in person school events this year. We are not allowed in the building at all.

Is your child in ES? Our teacher sends a weekly email to all parents with important info and a brief description of what the kids worked on that week in each subject area. Most teachers at our school have done this.

Nope, we don’t get this. Nor do we get a weekly folder that I also hear goes out in other classes in the school. One teacher doesn’t send home completed work either.

Wow. Sorry you are experiencing this. There should be some basic information shared with parents. I would ask principal what school policy is.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Why are so many parents emailing the teachers? I have honestly never done this for either child except for advising of a pre planned absence. Which is like once in 3 years.

to up date the gradebook to check how things are going on at school, to see lesson plans etc.

To see lesson plans? Seriously?

Teachers can’t complain that parents are uninvolved and then turn around and be aghast when they want to see lesson plans.

Yes, they can. Pretending you can’t “be involved” without demanding to see lesson plans which you are absolutely not entitled to see is asinine.

So we should be involved but only to the extent and in the manner in which the teacher seems fit. Gotcha.

Yes. Look at the other thread where parents are popping off about a teacher quitting. There's this weird power shift where parents think that teachers work for THEM. We don't. We work for our school If my principal or coach wants to see lesson plans, they have a right to ask. You don't. If you'd like a general idea of what we are working on any given week, I provide those in a weekly update.

This attitude is why Youngkin’s hotline exists.

True, it’s there to make you feel you have power that you don’t actually have.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Why are so many parents emailing the teachers? I have honestly never done this for either child except for advising of a pre planned absence. Which is like once in 3 years.

to up date the gradebook to check how things are going on at school, to see lesson plans etc.

To see lesson plans? Seriously?

Teachers can’t complain that parents are uninvolved and then turn around and be aghast when they want to see lesson plans.

Yes, they can. Pretending you can’t “be involved” without demanding to see lesson plans which you are absolutely not entitled to see is asinine.

So we should be involved but only to the extent and in the manner in which the teacher seems fit. Gotcha.

Pretty much. Parents do the same. Do we hear about major life change that affect their time at school…rarely.

Then don’t complain. The double standard is shocking.

Agreed, the parents are out of control.

[Anonymous]

So teachers don’t think they should have to tell parents what lesson plans contain? Wow. This is the first place I’ve seen that overtly stated.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Why are so many parents emailing the teachers? I have honestly never done this for either child except for advising of a pre planned absence. Which is like once in 3 years.

to up date the gradebook to check how things are going on at school, to see lesson plans etc.[/quote]

Seriously?

There is page after page on this site of teachers complaining that parents don't want to get involved with their child's education. That we are disconnected from the classroom and not offering appropriate instructional support at home. Yet...yet....you get snotty when a parent says they check to see lesson plans. THIS is why teachers have the PR problems they do right now.

Do you even know what lesson plans are? Hint: You are not entitled to them.

Doctor can I take a second look at those X-rays I'm an expert what do I do ummm I'm government contractor.

If those are the X-rays of my child? Yeah. I’d like to see them to know the full situation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So teachers don’t think they should have to tell parents what lesson plans contain? Wow. This is the first place I’ve seen that overtly stated.

Good morning

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I learned a long time ago not to email because I rarely get a response.

One time I didn't get a respond after that I CC the principal and they told me that she didn't mind getting CC in every email.

Well well.

You and she are jerks. And she must be really ineffective if she has time to micromanage all e-mail traffic between teachers are parents.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Is there any sort of required response time regarding a parent email at FCPS? Been waiting for over a week for response from an ES classroom teacher (with a second follow-up last week), but no reply or even acknowledgment of the email. Teacher has sent other classroom-wide communications in the meantime.

Email again saying this is the third time you’ve emailed in a week. Copy the principal. Sounds like the teacher needs some support.

—an ES principal

You’re a principal? Maybe a troll? I would be so pissed if you were my admin. That’s not the type of support we need.
-a real ES Teacher

Seems like a reasonable step to me. The teacher has had two opportunities to reply. The admin above is probably correct and this teacher may need support.
- a real HS teacher

In your “real” experience, what kind of “support” have you gotten when a parent complained to an administrator that you didn’t reply promptly enough to an email? I have literally never gotten *support* of this kind.

Principal: what kind of support would you give to one of your teachers who was so busy ans working so many hours that she literally did not have time to reply to all of her parent emails?

How I'd support the teacher:
First, I'd start by being curious and finding out what's getting in the way of responding to the parent...

Maybe she's new and was unaware of the professional obligation to respond by the end of the next business day. I'd let her know that moving forward this is the expectation and that I'm always happy to help write a response if she isn't sure what to say or set up a meeting with the parent.
Maybe she needs help setting up her Outlook account in a way that makes it easier to organize emails.
Maybe the parent is bothering her with endless emails. I'd work with her to either craft a response to cut back on the responses or simply step in and let the parent know that it's too much. I'd give the teacher permission to only respond to the parent once a week or whatever we both feel is appropriate.
Maybe the teacher is struggling with other issues that I can help with--maybe she needs help with planning or classroom management. I could work with her and/or have one of our content specialists work with her.
Maybe the teacher is going through some personal issues and could use a sick day to set up an appointment with a counselor.
Maybe the teacher is struggling with her teammates and needs some coaching for how to make those relationships more collaborative and productive.

It's too bad you have never received this kind of support.

I’m the PP, and thanks for responding. I certainly never have gotten support anything like this, and I have struggled. I really appreciate your presumption of goodwill and love that you approach the situation with curiosity rather than condemnation. That is how I approach my students who may be struggling with homework completion of behavior, too.

Your teachers are lucky to have you. That said, I think missing an email here or there is no big deal (esp when they are non urgent emails) and I would never, ever sicc a administrator on one of my son’s teachers for not responding within the next business day. I trust my son’s teachers to triage email as needed. I emailed last Friday in response to a classroom newsletter and asked a non-urgent question about an end of year party. I didn’t hear back until today (Wed) and I am TOTALLY fine with that. She is really busy and my email was not urgent. I trust she would have responded more quickly if it was time sensitive. If I had alerted the principal because I didn’t get a response by COB Monday, I would be a Class A jerk. Even if my kid’s principal was as great as you seem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are so many parents emailing the teachers? I have honestly never done this for either child except for advising of a pre planned absence. Which is like once in 3 years.

to up date the gradebook to check how things are going on at school, to see lesson plans etc.

I did not think these were things we could even ask. Seems like it would be annoying for the teacher to answer all these types of inquiries individually. As much as I would love to know what is going on in the classroom and be able to support the educational process as has been mentioned in this thread, school is a literal black hole except what my kids tell me. And no there are not classroom volunteers allowed and we have had no in person school events this year. We are not allowed in the building at all.

In FCPS? Why? I’m a librarian and I have parent volunteers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are so many parents emailing the teachers? I have honestly never done this for either child except for advising of a pre planned absence. Which is like once in 3 years.

to up date the gradebook to check how things are going on at school, to see lesson plans etc.

To see lesson plans? Seriously?

Teachers can’t complain that parents are uninvolved and then turn around and be aghast when they want to see lesson plans.

Are you joking? Your kid is acting up in my class. And falling behind. I would like to see your parenting plans. Would you please send me your weekly goals and daily strategies, as well as your planned activities to support your child at home? If you think it is reasonable to have access to my lesson plans, I’m sure you will think this is reasonable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have emailed the teacher if my ES child has had multiple "bad days". A bad day is when he has interactions with other children that make him upset. I write the teacher to get both sides of the story and use their experience to see how we can help our child navigate those situations better.

Now imagine a teacher having to write a narrative of a child's day, multiplied by 25 times.

Precisely. When during a teacher’s 10 minutes at the end of the day does she have time to respond to even 3 or 4 parents asking these kinds of detail, much less more than that?! I could see writing this email maybe ONCE a year. Maybe. But I would rather have my son’s teacher spend her scant non-instructional time planning, not giving me a blow by blow playback of Johnny’s altercation with Freddie in the line on the way to specials.

FFS, I grew up in the 1970’s and 1980’s. Somehow we all managed to get an education not only without email..,but with it teaches even having phones in the classroom. Kids had negative experiences at school and dealt with them. How parents think “parental involvement” means that a teacher must be an individual therapist, tutor, and personal growth coach for each child, and be 100% on call for every parent…it’s insane. That is why teachers are leaving. It is an impossible profession.

You know how I stay involved as a parent? Not by email. I ask my kid what they are studying. This week? a
Adding fractions, Ancient Greece, persuasive writing. So we talk about fractions all the time in what we do at home. We watched an Amazon Prime feature about Greek architecture. I got him a graphic novel about Greek myths from the library.

That’s parental involvement. Not harassing a teacher for lesson plans!!! WTH.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So teachers don’t think they should have to tell parents what lesson plans contain? Wow. This is the first place I’ve seen that overtly stated.

Who makes detailed lesson plans? Ours is a Google doc with hyperlinks to worksheets and tests. So no you can’t see it and preview the test.

[Anonymous]

Ok. Let's try this another way. Teachers: What is acceptable for parents to email you about?