MCPS teachers - what would you tell parents in your class(es) if you could?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I care about your kid. I wouldn't be here if I didn't. But we need to work as a team.

They need to show up. They need to put in the effort. I understand it's hard. I understand they aren't interested in the work. I understand that they may need to have a job, care for a sick relative, distracted by peer pressure etc etc etc etc etc. I am here to help them.

Teach them to accept help, teach them to ask for help. Teach them that in order to be successful they need to start with basic needs like food and sleep. Teach them that it's important to show up and be present. Teach them to put their phone away.

I know how to teach. I know how to form relationships. But if they don't put in the effort we're not going to make it.

You sound like a good teacher but please understand that sometimes there are reasons why kids don't ask for help. Mine will not ask for help. They had a few nasty teachers who would not help when asked or if they asked they got yelled at so even though we try to teach them every teacher is different and some are very good and want to help, they are too scared to ask for help. Maybe if you see a child struggling you can offer and just help vs. giving them the option. Once mine sees you are serious, they might be more willing to ask.

Thank you - you make a good point and it's an important reminder. I struggle though with the kids who won't even accept help. I try to give it - directly, indirectly, individually, as a group, during class, at any time that's convenient even if that means my lunchtime. And some just won't. I've reached many that way, but there are some that shut down and are so hard to reach.

We need more mental health care. And the school can't provide that except for some extreme cases. And that's where I wish some families would step up. I've had kids tell me horrific stories or just open up about anxiety and then tell me their parents don't believe in therapy. It breaks my heart, because I do know there are a million reasons why the might be shutting down.

It’s not always anxiety. It’s fear.

[Anonymous]

I would tell them the current problems in education are not the fault of teachers or unions.

10 years ago the Department of education sent a dear colleagues letter telling all school systems that could be investigated if there were differences in suspensions due to race. Schools stopped disciplining entirely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would tell them the current problems in education are not the fault of teachers or unions.

10 years ago the Department of education sent a dear colleagues letter telling all school systems that could be investigated if there were differences in suspensions due to race. Schools stopped disciplining entirely.

It’s a combination of mcps, principals, teachers and parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Depends - if they have an iep? I’d tell them that most of the services are delivered by the general Ed teacher because inclusion spec Ed teachers are stretched too thin and we spend so much time on paperwork and not with kids. I’d also tell them no matter what they “advocate for” in the iep, it doesn’t actually happen during the school day due to limited resources and time so half the time we just agree to make you go away

Sad but true. We had to do everything privately. MCPS was a joke.

Us too. We ended up giving up on the iep all together. I think it just became an excuse to pass DC along. Why attend those meetings? Just let him use a keyboard and we will go away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Depends - if they have an iep? I’d tell them that most of the services are delivered by the general Ed teacher because inclusion spec Ed teachers are stretched too thin and we spend so much time on paperwork and not with kids. I’d also tell them no matter what they “advocate for” in the iep, it doesn’t actually happen during the school day due to limited resources and time so half the time we just agree to make you go away

Sad but true. We had to do everything privately. MCPS was a joke.

Us too. We ended up giving up on the iep all together. I think it just became an excuse to pass DC along. Why attend those meetings? Just let him use a keyboard and we will go away.

We terminated ours too after a terrible iep meeting. They were furious as they worried they’d lose a sped teacher as apparently we were not the only ones to do it. They refused to provide the needed supports and therapy and I was not going to pretend anymore or stress nor agree to a useless iep.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Depends - if they have an iep? I’d tell them that most of the services are delivered by the general Ed teacher because inclusion spec Ed teachers are stretched too thin and we spend so much time on paperwork and not with kids. I’d also tell them no matter what they “advocate for” in the iep, it doesn’t actually happen during the school day due to limited resources and time so half the time we just agree to make you go away

We know. Thanks for being a failure in your life's work.

Likewise for being a failure at actual life. (Lack of empathy is the first sign of being a psychopath)

"I decided to use an anonymous forum to taunt distraught parents of special needs kids in a blasé manner about how we fail their children. But you're the psychopath! Poor me!"
PP

The thread is what we would tell parents if we could. I appreciated that teachers transparency and didn't read it as a taunt. You're clearly dissatisfied with your child's service, but you're lashing out to someone who is telling you there is literally nothing they can do to solve your problem.

I’m the one who posted about spec Ed. Not a taunt just the hard truth. And I’m not a failure at my job, I’m actually a really good spec Ed teacher and I advocate hard for the kids on my caseload. But these are the truths of the conditions in mcps and that’s what the thread asked about. Sometimes I wish parents knew so they didn’t believe the BS . That being said, parents should not be angry at the teachers - it’s the system and lack of appropriate resources

If you really wanted parents to know, why not tell them instead of lying to them to get them to “go away”? I don’t get it. That’s something that is absolutely in your power to do, and doesn’t even take a lot of effort.

And get fired ? Or written up by my boss/ supervisor for telling you that? No way

People outside teaching have no idea what pressures teachers face. No idea at all. I wish it were as simple as the PPs suggest re: just talking to parents.

In that case, let’s at least agree that the public school staff knowingly lying to parents of children with special needs don’t own the moral high ground.

I still don't understand the support in this thread for teachers actively participating in covering-up malfeasance, but I guess some people think that's ok for... reasons.

DCUM asks for the truth from real teachers and just cannot handle it.

I guess that’s it. I expected that they would at least try to act in good faith, and be remorseful when they don’t. Apparently that wasn’t a realistic expectation. As you suggested, it’s a bit shocking.

I’m the OP who shocked everyone with comments about spec Ed. I never said there is lack of good faith or lack of attempt to implement. There is. But at the end of the day, there are many unreasonable requests from parents , advocates and lawyers and they just cannot be provided the way the iep is written. But I can’t say that and there is no way my admin will say it. Some admin will say it depending on the parent but if they have representation (lawyer or advocate) we agree to it all usually. It’s just not worth fighting. But this forum asked what I want you to know. I want you to know that if you have a case manager with 20 kids on a caseload , serving 3 grade levels or more, and large class sizes …. It might not be happening!

20 kids is not a huge number especially when it’s very mixed needs. You are making excuses

If you don’t think 20 ieps on a caseload is a lot to casemanage plus the responsibility of teaching , planning for those students with ieps and providing interventions for general education students who are struggling…. Then you really are clueless. Each iep is a thirty page document that requires quarterly review, there will inevitably be about a third that needs re evaluation and assessment, and then you have initial assessments to consider.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Depends - if they have an iep? I’d tell them that most of the services are delivered by the general Ed teacher because inclusion spec Ed teachers are stretched too thin and we spend so much time on paperwork and not with kids. I’d also tell them no matter what they “advocate for” in the iep, it doesn’t actually happen during the school day due to limited resources and time so half the time we just agree to make you go away

We know. Thanks for being a failure in your life's work.

Likewise for being a failure at actual life. (Lack of empathy is the first sign of being a psychopath)

"I decided to use an anonymous forum to taunt distraught parents of special needs kids in a blasé manner about how we fail their children. But you're the psychopath! Poor me!"
PP

The thread is what we would tell parents if we could. I appreciated that teachers transparency and didn't read it as a taunt. You're clearly dissatisfied with your child's service, but you're lashing out to someone who is telling you there is literally nothing they can do to solve your problem.

I’m the one who posted about spec Ed. Not a taunt just the hard truth. And I’m not a failure at my job, I’m actually a really good spec Ed teacher and I advocate hard for the kids on my caseload. But these are the truths of the conditions in mcps and that’s what the thread asked about. Sometimes I wish parents knew so they didn’t believe the BS . That being said, parents should not be angry at the teachers - it’s the system and lack of appropriate resources

If you really wanted parents to know, why not tell them instead of lying to them to get them to “go away”? I don’t get it. That’s something that is absolutely in your power to do, and doesn’t even take a lot of effort.

And get fired ? Or written up by my boss/ supervisor for telling you that? No way

People outside teaching have no idea what pressures teachers face. No idea at all. I wish it were as simple as the PPs suggest re: just talking to parents.

In that case, let’s at least agree that the public school staff knowingly lying to parents of children with special needs don’t own the moral high ground.

I still don't understand the support in this thread for teachers actively participating in covering-up malfeasance, but I guess some people think that's ok for... reasons.

DCUM asks for the truth from real teachers and just cannot handle it.

I guess that’s it. I expected that they would at least try to act in good faith, and be remorseful when they don’t. Apparently that wasn’t a realistic expectation. As you suggested, it’s a bit shocking.

I’m the OP who shocked everyone with comments about spec Ed. I never said there is lack of good faith or lack of attempt to implement. There is. But at the end of the day, there are many unreasonable requests from parents , advocates and lawyers and they just cannot be provided the way the iep is written. But I can’t say that and there is no way my admin will say it. Some admin will say it depending on the parent but if they have representation (lawyer or advocate) we agree to it all usually. It’s just not worth fighting. But this forum asked what I want you to know. I want you to know that if you have a case manager with 20 kids on a caseload , serving 3 grade levels or more, and large class sizes …. It might not be happening!

I'm a np. Can you give us some examples of unreasonable requests by parents? It seems like parents of sped students rightfully are so focused on fighting for their kids (understandable) that they aren't looking at the bigger picture.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t expect much. I literally only get 18 seconds per school day to think and plan for YOUR kid. 0.8 part time teacher = 36 minutes/day planning time with over 100 students

This would be my message, too. We are overwhelmed and we get very little time during the work day to actually get work done. I’m lucky if I get 30 minutes a day to respond to emails, look at data for all 140 students, plan lessons, grade papers, call parents, eat lunch, and go to the bathroom.

I’m not arguing but can you explain what happens to your time? You are supposed to get an hour planning/grading time per day plus a 45 minute lunch. And then some time after school. Are they making you cover other classes during your break? Or attend meetings? This seems like the kind of thing that could be grieved.

What contract are you reading this from? We are only guaranteed a 30 minute lunch and even then it doesn’t have to be 30 consecutive minutes.

[Anonymous]

Please set up Synergy and include an active email address. Please check your Synergy email. This is the easiest way for teachers to contact parents and it immediately documents the contact in Synergy.

Please check your child's grade prior to the last week of the marking period. If you want me to do something to help your child pass the class, do not email me the last week of the marking period (and check your Synergy email, because I have already emailed you about it). Know that I am doing everything in my power to help your child pass the class. I provide small group support, reteaching, modified assignments, options for responding orally to demonstrate understanding, anything and everything possible to help support your child.

If you want your child to earn an A, and you plan on emailing me about it, please include what your child has done to demonstrate exceeding standards on assignments throughout the marking period. Just because your child turned in all of the work, doesn't mean that they earn an A. Remember it is about how well they are demonstrating understanding of the standards, not just earning points.

Be willing to answer unlisted phone calls. I can't always call home during the school day, so I have to use my personal phone to call you. If I am doing that, there is an issue. I have probably sent emails about the issue, but you didn't respond because you haven't sent up an email in Synergy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would tell parents to be more respectful of everyone’s time and space in the car loop and at arrival/ dismissal. People are so rude

Exactly! I have witnessed parents getting pretty combative with staff because they want to do what they want to do:

1. Pull up all the way! We are trying to reduce congestion on the street where we have many families walking to school, so we need to fit as many cars in the drop off loop as possible.
2. Get off your cell phones! I have seen parents almost run into the car in front of them far too many times.
3. Please have your children exit the passenger side of the car. See number two about distracted drivers.
4. I know each school is different but an issue at my school, a parent parks in the handicap parking spot to brush her child’s hair and clean up her face. She’s been asked multiple times to park in the main lot but she argues that others are doing it and we are racist for speaking to her about it but not others. Note, the other cars are dropping off children with physical handicaps but she’s not entitled to that information.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t expect much. I literally only get 18 seconds per school day to think and plan for YOUR kid. 0.8 part time teacher = 36 minutes/day planning time with over 100 students

This would be my message, too. We are overwhelmed and we get very little time during the work day to actually get work done. I’m lucky if I get 30 minutes a day to respond to emails, look at data for all 140 students, plan lessons, grade papers, call parents, eat lunch, and go to the bathroom.

I’m not arguing but can you explain what happens to your time? You are supposed to get an hour planning/grading time per day plus a 45 minute lunch. And then some time after school. Are they making you cover other classes during your break? Or attend meetings? This seems like the kind of thing that could be grieved.

Do you understand that a 30 minute duty free lunch means that we should not be using that time to email/plan? We are using that time to eat. All of the planning time is not individual planning, some is sitting in meetings, analyzing data. Admin wants us to work on some new initiative, so we need to revamp our lessons to fit this new initiative. Think about all of the things that go into a lesson. It isn't just planning the lesson, it is making copies (we are lucky if we have a working copier, then add in waiting in line, fixing the jam), setting up the room, etc. This is day after day. Each lesson requires this set up. All of this takes time. And the sub shortage hasn't gone away, so we are covering classes. And for every student with an IEP we are completing teacher reports, quarterly reports and gathering data. If I have 30 students with IEPs, that takes up a significant amount of time. I have to contact parents of students who are failing. All of this comes out of my planning time. Throw in some student issue, now I have to contact the counselor and the parent. That quick phone call ends up taking 30 minutes, there goes my planning time.

[Anonymous]

Parent here - does your principal/school admin support you in your work or hinder you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would tell parents to be more respectful of everyone’s time and space in the car loop and at arrival/ dismissal. People are so rude

Exactly! I have witnessed parents getting pretty combative with staff because they want to do what they want to do:

1. Pull up all the way! We are trying to reduce congestion on the street where we have many families walking to school, so we need to fit as many cars in the drop off loop as possible.
2. Get off your cell phones! I have seen parents almost run into the car in front of them far too many times.
3. Please have your children exit the passenger side of the car. See number two about distracted drivers.
4. I know each school is different but an issue at my school, a parent parks in the handicap parking spot to brush her child’s hair and clean up her face. She’s been asked multiple times to park in the main lot but she argues that others are doing it and we are racist for speaking to her about it but not others. Note, the other cars are dropping off children with physical handicaps but she’s not entitled to that information.

5. Teach your children to open their own door.

[Anonymous]

That they should be supplementing at home. We aren't allowed to give ELA homework in the early grades (maybe that will change if we ever get a new curriculum) so instead we tell families to “read” when what I really want them to do is a few minutes of fluency drills to reinforce what I’m teaching in class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would tell parents to be more respectful of everyone’s time and space in the car loop and at arrival/ dismissal. People are so rude

Exactly! I have witnessed parents getting pretty combative with staff because they want to do what they want to do:

1. Pull up all the way! We are trying to reduce congestion on the street where we have many families walking to school, so we need to fit as many cars in the drop off loop as possible.
2. Get off your cell phones! I have seen parents almost run into the car in front of them far too many times.
3. Please have your children exit the passenger side of the car. See number two about distracted drivers.
4. I know each school is different but an issue at my school, a parent parks in the handicap parking spot to brush her child’s hair and clean up her face. She’s been asked multiple times to park in the main lot but she argues that others are doing it and we are racist for speaking to her about it but not others. Note, the other cars are dropping off children with physical handicaps but she’s not entitled to that information.

5. Teach your children to open their own door.

+1 for the love of god pmfi you’re going to be a car rider teach them to do it or get off your a$$ yourself and open it for them!! We are not chauffeurs here to open your door for your kids one by one