Kids' teachers won't leave me alone!
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Anonymous
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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)? |
Anonymous
Sorry, I didn't finish my thought! I'm quite frazzled. I meant to say "Every 20 minutes, I either get an email from a teacher...." OR my child walks down the hallway yelling "Mommy, MS. SO AND SO WANTS YOU TO HELP ME DO X, Y, Z...." |
Anonymous
| Ignore the emails. At the end of the day, deal with the things that need dealt with (uploading their homework, etc.) and respond to the rest that you are not available (except for emergencies) from 9-12 and from 1-5 or whatever. Homework stuff isn't urgent, it's just the teachers letting you know, but you can deal with it on your own time. The higher desk stuff isn't critical -- make sure that the seat/desk heights are right and then let it go. |
Anonymous
| Turn off email while you are working (check it at lunch and end of day), teach your kids to tell the teacher that your aren’t available until x time, tell them not to bother you if the door is shut unless it’s an emergency. |
Anonymous
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My kids' teachers don't email me, but I feel you. I haven't been able to finish a thought in months. I have developed ADHD. It's my kids who interrupt me with questions, problems, help logging to ___ or need tape, foil, scissors, whatever.
I would ignore the emails. Seriously. |
Anonymous
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Anonymous
| Ignore. Teachers are not your boss |
Anonymous
| 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, |
Anonymous
They are your kids bosses. You don't ignore your kids and teach them to ignore the teacher. |
Anonymous
But sometimes you do. |
Anonymous
Particularly in this case. OP, tell the teachers they're on their own during school hours. Remember this is what they wanted. |
Anonymous
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My kids' teachers never bother me or my husband during the day, even when my kids have technical difficulties, but then again, I don't have very young children (my youngest is in 5th grade), so perhaps there are workarounds available in the upper grades that teachers cannot implement in the lower grades? There is no good answer here, OP. Is there another adult in the house who can help supervise? In the end, since your kids are all in elementary, I suppose it doesn't matter that much that they're missing out of some academic work. They will catch up easily. Elementary school is mind-numbingly easy. And don't be afraid of sending a strongly worded email to the teachers! Just because you work from home, and are, I suppose, female, doesn't mean that your work isn't critically important!!! |
Anonymous
| You need to copy the principal in your reply!!! |
Anonymous
They are your kids. |
Anonymous
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I'd wonder how in Earth a teacher would have time for that. Have all school emails go to a non work email account, and don't check it during office hours.
As for your kids, if you set them up, if they're 2nd grade or up, they can probably handle all this. |