Reply to Attendance pressure

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote]This may be one reason parents are fed up— in the past, teachers weren’t all over social media sharing their Disney vacations in February. It may be that the actual instances of teachers taking midyear vacations hasn’t changed much, just the awareness of the phenomenon has.[/quote]

Like the posts sitting on the beach during COVID and talking about how much they missed the kids?

Had a neighbor who did that.  
[/quote]

I don’t even think it has to be something egregious. Family photo of kids with Mickey gets posted to Facebook, even if settings are private, a friend shows it in their mom’s group has “this is what the teachers are doing” and now the credibility is gone.

I think there’s a message about minimizing absences that also respects the need for time with family, economic conditions, and working with parents to minimize academic impact . It just certainly wasn’t this.[/quote]

Teachers are allowed vacations.[/quote]

Absolutely! So is every other parent. If policy supports one it must support the other.[/quote]

Take your kid on a vacation but don't ask for work packets and make ups when you come back. Your vacation should not mean extra work for the teacher. And don't complain if your kids grade drops or they are struggling with the material. The teacher shouldn't 
have to tutor your kid because you chose a vacation.

I saw a post on the FCPS facebook page where a parent was worried that the teacher wouldn't sign off on the form saying the kid was going to miss extended time for a vacation. The teacher wrote on the form that the child was struggling with the class and missing extra time was going to make it harder for the kid. The parents concern wasn't the struggling kid but the fact that the teacher didn't sign the form. The advice from posters was that the form was a courtesy and to go ahead and enjoy the vacation, no concerns about the kid struggling with the class and then missing more class. [/quote]

Here is the unsupportable double standard. When the teacher goes on vacation for a week, it makes additional work for all 28 families in their class. That’s OK! The same policy which supports a February Disney trip for a teacher supports an extra week at Spring Break for a student.

If that bothers you, you’ll have to fix it at the administration level which allows teachers to travel midyear. Because if you push back at providing work and make ups, parents will simply get the absences excused and it will no longer be at your discretion. [/quote]

I would love to see some data on this. Who are all these teachers going to Disney for a week? If we were to take this thread as fact, then Disney is filled with American educators all winter long!!! The place must be packed. Yet I know of only one teacher who has gone to Disney during the winter, and I’ve been teaching for over 20 years. She missed two days of school and felt guilty about it.

And inconveniencing families with our absences? I missed two days this year. (Sorry, DCUM. I caught the flu. I apologize for my absence, but my 102 fever and aching muscles made it a bit hard to get out of bed. I’ll do better.) I left meticulous plans and had the work graded with comments by the end of the evening. I’m sorry that was such an inconvenience. [/quote]

Did you profusely thank every parent who may have been inconvenienced? Did you recognize the time they spent finding tutoring and getting their? The resources they lost paying those tutors? The hours they could have been spending in quality time with their children instead of teaching?

Doesn’t that say something about you if you didn’t?

Because thats how ridiculous your idea that a teacher is going above and beyond by providing material upon a students return is.

Teachers who go above and beyond absolutely deserve thanks and recognition and appreciation from parents (who should also send the praise to administrators). What you’re describing is not above and beyond. [/quote]

Are you seriously suggesting that parents had to pay for tutors because I missed two days due to the flu? SERIOUSLY? And they missed “quality time” with their kids because I was sick?

This may be the most absurd post on this thread. We’ve jumped the shark.

This is the most ridiculous and delusional post. You illustrated quite nicely what teachers put up with.

Hey my fellow teachers who have helped my own child: THANK YOU. I see you helping students, off hours and beyond the duties of your contract. PP may not, but I do. 
[/quote]

I’m saying it’s exactly as plausible that they’re inconvenienced by your absences as you are by theres. You’re not thanking/appreciating their sacrifices, but you think they should thank you for yours.[/quote]

These aren’t remotely equivalent.

When I’m absent, I leave detailed sub plans. Students are able to complete the work independently because I have sufficiently prepped them. Then I provide prompt feedback, and follow up as necessary. This is my job. You were not asked to sacrifice. You probably didn’t even know I was gone because I do my job so well.

When you take a vacation, you are asking me to provide individualized work above and beyond the scope of my job for your unexcused absence. You are expecting me to do more, sacrificing my personal time, so you can relax.

And I’ll do it. But let’s not for a second pretend that the two situations are the same.

And the fact you are fighting so dang hard against a “thank you” shows your extreme sense of entitlement. And that’s okay. Just own it.

[/quote]

No, I’m really not. Providing the work is your job. Its not “individualized” its what the rest of the class receives.

Some teachers go above and beyond. They provide the work in advance, tailor it to the trip the student is taking, provide other supplements. If you’re doing that I hope the kids parents are thanking you.

But in the same way you don’t thank parents for their sacrifices when you’re out, [b]its absurd to expect thanks for simply providing work[/b].[/quote]

This exactly. I’m not asking for special treating. Just tell my kid what they missed without the attitude.[/quote]

What’s the attitude?

This is where the recent posts lose me:

Recently, I’ve been asked by two different families for individualized work. In both cases, I rewrote a week of lessons and packaged them with additional notes and resources. In both cases, I met individually with the student to make sure they understood the lessons’ structure and progression. I wanted to make sure they won’t be behind since AP classes move fast. I emailed the parents multiple times. This took a lot of time.

And all I wrote above is that a “thank you” seems warranted because this is well beyond the scope of my job. And instead? I was told I am “demanding a parade” and if I had refused to do this work, they’ll “get the vacation excused to force me to do it.”

There’s a disconnect here in which some parents don’t see that your vacation becomes a teacher’s inconvenience. A “thank you” for the additional work isn’t a big ask, yet it seems to be a step too far. It’s 8 letters and simple to write, so I’m guessing it’s the appreciation behind it that the teachers don’t deserve?[/quote]

The attitude is poor me, I’m an overworked teacher and asking to get a kid caught up who misses school due to a vacation with their grandparents overseas is too much to ask of me. How dare you. But if I choose to help (in other words do my job), I expect a huge thank you and if you don’t thank me, you’re not respecting teachers. But if it’s for an illness it’s ok. I’ll help. Oh fyi, I’m going to Disney for a week in February and you’ll have a sub.[/quote]

Cute.

My argument was that I’ll help for ANY and ALL absences, but it would be nice to hear the occasional “thank you” when you’re asking me to do extra work.

But I’ve been told time and time again on this thread that saying “thank you” to a teacher is WAY too big of an ask. That makes me entitled, rude, and disrespectful.

And since I’ll do the work for you even if you are this demanding and disrespectful in real life, I guess you “win”… since this became a competition between teachers and parents somehow.

- a teacher who has never been to Disney World and doesn’t use leave if I can help it, since that apparently seems to matter [/quote]

You get an entire bloated week of thank yous during Teacher Appreciation week. Is that not enough for you? You also often get holiday gifts and end of the year gifts. Parents are asked to contribute all year long to things like snacks or treats for the teachers in the lounge.  Those are times parents may thank you. I’m not going to thank you for providing makeup work to my child who happened to miss your class for whatever reason. That’s part of your job. If my child missed a week of your class due to illness, I’m also not sending thank you to you when my child returns. Get over yourself![/quote]
Wow. I (and my kid) have always thanked the teachers for providing materials prior to a planned absence and for helping him catch up when he's been out sick. My kid's teachers have also thanked parents regularly for all they do to help their kids succeed. [/quote]

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