Responding calmly and helpfully to a parent whose student waited until the day after the project was due to ask for help

Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Hi, teacher here. I would not respond in writing. I would call the parent directly and calmly state that you'll meet with the student one time and give one extra week to submit. Tone is hard to read in even the most carefully worded emails. But, I would let your principal know, in writing, what you said and what the parent said on the call.


Oh, I absolutely would put it in writing. That sounds like the kind of parent to misrepresent what OP told her. OP, you have gotten good advice and we want to hear the update!


Yes, I'd do it in writing to document that you are offering to help.
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Hi, teacher here. I would not respond in writing. I would call the parent directly and calmly state that you'll meet with the student one time and give one extra week to submit. Tone is hard to read in even the most carefully worded emails. But, I would let your principal know, in writing, what you said and what the parent said on the call.


Attorney here and that’s totally wrong. A person like that mom, with the unhinged demand for an immediate zoom call after school hours and the express threat of legal action, is not going to be appeased by the nice tone on a phone call. She wants an A for her kid and does not care for anything else. She has already blamed OP for her child’s shortcomings. If the teacher called her She would misrepresent what the teacher said in the call and i bet she would also be verbally aggressive. With this kind of people: everything in writing; supervisor alerted of the mom’s message before the response is sent and supervisor must see and approved the response is sent; no meeting ir talking to this mom alone, teacher should always have at least another person present (particularly if the mom comes with the dad or another person).

I agree with the poster who said the main goal should be dodge and disengage. Live the snarky or fun response out, winning here is having the least to do with this person
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