Reply to NY times op ed on the teacher crisis

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Some parents constantly email, about every little thing. I don’t need to know why Susie has a band-aid on her knee. Believe me, she’s going to tell the whole class. I don’t care that a week from Tuesday Jose will be leaving early to see his grandparents. Just send him with a note that morning. There’s nothing worse than opening your computer in the morning and having to take time to read and respond. Ask yourself, if this was in your childhood, would your mom have called the teacher on the phone about it? If it’s that important, go ahead and email. Otherwise, let it go. [/quote]

I am so tired of this complaint. You are the seasoned professional. They are not. They don't know what you need to know and what you don't need to know. They don't know if emails are annoying or useful. Who remember or even knew under what circumstances their parents contacted the teacher or the school when they were a kid? I was a child, I have no idea how my mom handled that stuff, and she has dementia now so I can't ask her.

I genuinely try not to waste teacher's time but sometimes I honestly do not know what is expected of me. And many teachers are so bad at setting expectations and making it clear. Sometimes I'll just ask "Hey do you need me to let you know about absence or should I just let the office know?" Because I don't want to pester them but I also don't know if it might be useful for them to know in advance how many kids they'll have or if they want to send homework home early. You know what response I get most often when I ask teachers explicitly whether they need me to contact them regarding certain things? "Oh either way is fine." WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?

Look, I am deeply appreciative for the work teachers do with my kids and I think y'all are performing a really fundamental, important job for society. I think pretty much all of you should be paid more and I get pissed about stuff like failing facilities and bad district-level leadership too. But when I read these screeds about stupid parents doing stupid things like... letting you know their kid won't be in class? informing you of an injury? That's not so obviously unimportant as you think it is. If it's a problem, tell parents in advance once things are important to hear from them and what aren't.

If teachers are quitting because parents are emailing them about why their kid has a bandage on their knee, then I don't know what to tell you. This truly cannot be the central problem in education today. Literally just select the predictive text response that best matches (thumbs up emoji is the one I use when people tell me things I don't really need to know) and move on with your day.[/quote]

Has it occurred to you that OP isn't talking about parents like you and/or that your teachers haven't been representative of all teachers? I have never had to email my teachers about those kinds of things because in my district they make the school nurses and the office staff take care of those things, and they communicate that to parents. Teachers don't have to worry about attendance and bandaids unless a parent hasn't been paying attention. Also please remember that when teachers complain of one thing that is taking up too much of their time, that doesn't mean it's the only thing taking up too much of their time. If you are concerned about your child's education you might want to take a step back and realize you probably aren't contributing to the teacher shortage crisis and be kinder and more understanding. [/quote]

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