Does the teacher in mcps check his or her school emails at home?
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Anonymous
So what do you do when a student forgets to do something because of the same excuse you are saying? Just curious |
Anonymous
Well, I think nothing would motivate someone to do work off the clock than calling them "lazy as fuck." If I thought I would checking emails at home could expose me to people like these two posters, then I also would limit my interaction with email to the day. |
Anonymous
Agree. They never fire teachers. They just shuffle them around. Heck, even teachers that molest don't get fired in MCPS |
Anonymous
I'm a different poster, but below our principal's pay grade. However, our counselor knows which parents do this and asks that we cc her on our replies. Then the parents flip out and want to know why the counselor has to be involved. Because you emailed me ten times in two days! |
Anonymous
If that child was managing 150 other children and differentiating their interactions while completing all their work and this was an unusual occurrence (she used the word occasionally), I'd give them a pass on it. I think most teachers in my experience would. It's the ones who are constantly forgetting things that don't get one. |
Anonymous
In MCPS, you do nothing. It's not even worth giving a late penalty when you know that a kid didn't even try the assignment until a week after it was due. And, if you are even thinking about not accepting work that is weeks past the deadline, give up. The parents will bully the principal into forcing you to grade it. |
Anonymous
I'm the first poster, and we have a similar strategy. If the child is in special education, the case manager (at least) gets cc'd on any emails. If the child is gen-ed, the counselor or assistant principal gets cc'd, depending on the parent's concerns. And yes, the parents tend to get upset about that, but it's all about those boundaries again. I want to have a good relationship with the parents of all of my kids, but there has to be a line. |
Anonymous
| Some will check, some won't. I would check and reply during regular hours. |
Anonymous
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In a 40 hour work week if you divide my time evenly with all students each one gets 14 minutes (providing I don't eat, attend department/staff meetings or use the bathroom). In that time I need to do everything for that student: teach them the content, make their lessons, make their tests, grade their papers, attend their IEP meetings, meet with their counselors, co-plan with team members, adopt new materials, disaggregate data to inform instruction, etc. When you take into consideration all of the "back-end" stuff that takes place it takes it down to maybe 4 or 5 minutes per student. If each email takes 2-5 minutes it eats into my most limited of resources: time.
Of course I spend more time than this working because their are more needs than will fit into a 40 hour week, but their are not enough hours in the day to get everything done to high standards all the time. I'm not trying to justify it because I try really, really hard to get everything done to the best of my ability (like almost all of the teachers I know). The reality is that something has to give. And if something has to give it will never, ever be the well-being of my students or the teaching quality they receive. |
Anonymous
| Wow, there are a lot of teachers in MCPS that really don't like their jobs. |
Anonymous
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Hey, can this work both ways? If I promise to get back to you within 1 business day will you promise to return my phone calls and emails when I am trying to get ahold of you when there's something to discuss regarding your child?
Will you promise to update your phone numbers and email addresses with the office when they change so that when your child is sick or has missed the bus I can actually get in touch with you and not have to call every person listed on your emergency form to find someone who has a way to contact you? Will you promise to send your child to school knowing how they'll get home each day so I don't have to make that phone call 5 minutes before dismissal numerous times per week? Will you promise to follow protocol and send in a written note when your child is going home with someone else and not just send me an email at 2pm then get mad that I was teaching your child and not reading email at 2pm so I sent them home the usual way? For the record--I check my email at home once before I leave in the morning and once in the evening. I will get back to you if I have the answer on hand and I'll at least respond to say I need to find out if that's the case. But this relationship works both ways. |
Anonymous
I absolutely love my job. I'm just trying to say this as gently as possible: without question, parent emails are the lowest priority item in my day 95% of the time. Add to that the amount of energy required to be truthful, concise and tactful, and it is sometimes a time-sucking task. I know this may sound offensive, and for that I am sorry. But if you child's teacher isn't getting back to you ASAP it might mean they are busy or they may have forgotten (they don't sit at a desktop and check email all day). Other possibilities could be that your request doesn't even make it onto the radar in grand scheme of things of his/her tasks, or that you are somehow off-putting and it's hard for the teacher to shift gears from working with kids to trying to placate an adult. |
Anonymous
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Another public school educator here. In the very rare instance I don't respond right away, it's because I need admin. to advise, or I need access to files not in my possession--or I want to think about my response so it's thoughtful. It is absolutely a two-way street. I will do my best to help, but please consider thIs:
If it is in regards to a grade dispute or a request to grade a late assignment: Please, consider letting your child experience a setback. Let them do it now, while they are young. It's an important lesson, and often reveals areas for growth, like time management or organization or lack of understanding. If it is about a procedural issue like dismissal, follow school rules/expectations. Remember that your kids are not always reliable narrators. Approach teachers with a tone of patience and collaboration. And be reasonable and try to see the big picture. If you are petty or demanding, the teacher will be distracted by the tone and less able to strategize. I say this as an educator who is as well-educated and credentialed as they come. I also am very devoted, passionate, and hard working--I feel deserving of parents' respect. This is anonymous so I will say it here: you probably want people like me to want to continue educating your children. I find the comments on this board very demoralizing at times. I stay in the profession because I absolutely love what I do. I certainly could make a better living doing something else. I am not sure why teachers are scrutinized and judged so harshly in comparison to other fields. |
Anonymous
I love my job! My job is educating children. My job is not catering to emotionally unstable helicopter parents or disrespectful parents on power trips. I'll be honest, if you are easy to work with and I get an email from you between 3 and 8 pm, I probably email you back within 15 minutes. If you are difficult to work with, I wait until the next morning. If you are a complete douche or a raving maniac, I forward your email to the counselor first, wait for her decide what if any response is merited, and I'll reply to you at 3 pm: "Thanks for your email and appraising me of this concern. Unfortunately, I will need to consult _____ before I can address this matter. I will contact you ASAP." |
Anonymous
That made me laugh  .
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