Anonymous
Post 02/27/2020 21:21     Subject: Parents, please don’t ask me to stay after school and tutor your child.
Anonymous wrote:My son's middle school teachers are available one lunch and one day afterschool a week for an hour to help students who need it. We know which day each teacher is available. I don't feel like that is a lot to ask of the teachers and is extremely helpful, especially to middle schoolers who are adjusting to having so many different teachers and subjects.



Um yes, asking teachers to work with your kid in their personal time or during their lunch is a lot to ask. Do you have any idea how much work teachers do after school?




Anonymous
Post 02/27/2020 21:17     Subject: Parents, please don’t ask me to stay after school and tutor your child.
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Huh? Teacher here. Staying til 4 was actually part of our contract for this reason. You're supposed to help the kids who are having trouble with the content material.

I also had to help kids who came during my lunch and free periods.


+ 1

I've never heard of teachers being allowed to say no to students who are coming to them for extra help after school. That's part of their job!!!

They're not supposed to leave at 2:30 when the last bell rings and students leave.


Yes we can. We have contract hours. They cannot require us to work beyond them. Your kids can come to us during their study hall or before school when we are more likely to be there. Staying after contract hours is NOT REQUIRED and to insist we do it for free is ludicrous. We are humans with lives and families of our own. Have your kid ask help during the day or pay for tutoring. Those are your options.


We are not required to work with kids during our planning times either.
Anonymous
Post 02/27/2020 21:11     Subject: Re:Parents, please don’t ask me to stay after school and tutor your child.
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Our teachers are always available after school to help kids in middle school and high school. Even an elementary teacher could find some time at the end of the day to help some students. Maybe you should ask for a mentor and see what’s up.


Of course I could “find time” and I do. It’s just that time is my unpaid for personal time and I’m resentful of people simply treating it like an expectation. I would bet a great many teachers at your school who do it aren’t happy about it as well.


Welcome to being a working adult.

At least you only have to deal with this 10 months out of the year while others deal with it year round.

Teachers are not more out upon than other professions. Most teachers simply don’t understand what being a working professional is actually like because they start out as teachers and don’t work in professional jobs prior to teaching.

I actually think no teacher should be hired straight out of school and all should be required to have a minimum of two years work experience in a professional setting first. This would improve the quality of teachers and teaching tremendously since it would allow recent grads the chance to learn some professional work skills prior to coming to the classroom and reducing the learning curve of just being a working adult. This impacts new teachers quite a bit as they have to suddenly be a full time working adult, deal with admin and teachers , and actually manage and teach.



Op here, I am a career switcher, and yes I did work in the private sector as a salaried employee. Yeah sure there were times where I would work beyond what my hours were on paper, but it was absolutely nothing like this. And yes, that even includes summer break.
Anonymous
Post 02/27/2020 18:39     Subject: Re:Parents, please don’t ask me to stay after school and tutor your child.
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I have to offer a once a week coach class for an hour after school according to my contract. Nobody shows up ever.


Planning time I guess?

It would be annoying to not have anyone use it.


So many missed opportunities. Most of the students at my school walk to school do transportation after school isn’t an issue.
Anonymous
Post 02/27/2020 17:59     Subject: Parents, please don’t ask me to stay after school and tutor your child.
Anonymous wrote:I always do it when asked because I would feel bitchy saying no, but I have to admit. I really resent it. That is my personal time, that I don’t get paid for and takes time away from my family. Plus I have hours and hours of work to do after school just to do the basics of my job. No one would dream of asking their attorney or accountant to stay after work and work with them for free. It’s really unfair for you to put teachers in that awkward place of either having to work for free and feel resentful, or feel bad for saying no.


Tell them it's against the rules because it IS against the rules
Anonymous
Post 02/27/2020 17:59     Subject: Parents, please don’t ask me to stay after school and tutor your child.
Who is asking you to tutor their child after school? You must be a REAL pushover for that to happen. I would never do that, and I don't know anyone that would ever do that.
Anonymous
Post 02/27/2020 17:34     Subject: Parents, please don’t ask me to stay after school and tutor your child.
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Maybe they aren’t paying attention during class. I get parents asking me to work after school with their kids before tests, because the student hasn’t done the homework, hasn’t used his class time well, goofs off with friends or plays computer games while I am teaching, and then I am asked to re-teach the whole chapter to the kid on my own time.


Situations like this is why the word “no” was invented. Have a list of tutors ready when you decline. Done.




I’m at a low income school.




Is there a math honor society at your school? Could these students then help/"tutor" those students needing help?

The school admin. could incentivize this by offering these students SSL hours. Just a thought.

My student loves math and I wish he would actually tutor during lunchtime at his school, as I know it's offered.
Anonymous
Post 02/27/2020 17:28     Subject: Re:Parents, please don’t ask me to stay after school and tutor your child.
Anonymous wrote:I have to offer a once a week coach class for an hour after school according to my contract. Nobody shows up ever.


Planning time I guess?

It would be annoying to not have anyone use it.
Anonymous
Post 02/27/2020 17:07     Subject: Re:Parents, please don’t ask me to stay after school and tutor your child.
I have to offer a once a week coach class for an hour after school according to my contract. Nobody shows up ever.
Anonymous
Post 02/27/2020 15:37     Subject: Parents, please don’t ask me to stay after school and tutor your child.
My son's middle school teachers are available one lunch and one day afterschool a week for an hour to help students who need it. We know which day each teacher is available. I don't feel like that is a lot to ask of the teachers and is extremely helpful, especially to middle schoolers who are adjusting to having so many different teachers and subjects.
Anonymous
Post 02/27/2020 14:07     Subject: Re:Parents, please don’t ask me to stay after school and tutor your child.
Yes. Twice this week parents who have their students in after care asked me to pull them from after care.

Umm, if you are paying someone else to watch your kid because it is beyond the school day, don't assume teachers are waiting around to spend MORE time with your kid. Also, to do so, I would have to put my own kid IN AFTER CARE.

Anonymous
Post 02/27/2020 10:10     Subject: Parents, please don’t ask me to stay after school and tutor your child.
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Huh? Teacher here. Staying til 4 was actually part of our contract for this reason. You're supposed to help the kids who are having trouble with the content material.

I also had to help kids who came during my lunch and free periods.


+ 1

I've never heard of teachers being allowed to say no to students who are coming to them for extra help after school. That's part of their job!!!

They're not supposed to leave at 2:30 when the last bell rings and students leave.


Yes we can. We have contract hours. They cannot require us to work beyond them. Your kids can come to us during their study hall or before school when we are more likely to be there. Staying after contract hours is NOT REQUIRED and to insist we do it for free is ludicrous. We are humans with lives and families of our own. Have your kid ask help during the day or pay for tutoring. Those are your options.


I think you are unaware that different schools have different contract policies. I think you may also want to review yours just in case before you assert your case so strongly.--teacher



Agreed. I have so much sympathy for good teachers, and absolutely wouldn’t want my kid to intrude on their personal time. But saying that school hours or tutoring are a student’s only options for help is not a universal truth. At least half of my freshman’s teachers offer help for an hour after the last bell rings, at least on certain days of the week.

I think it’s important for a teacher to let families know exactly when s/he is available for extra help to avoid that personal time intrusion- not anonymously on DCUM. You don’t speak for all teachers, and I doubt many of your student’s parents are reading this.
Anonymous
Post 02/27/2020 09:26     Subject: Parents, please don’t ask me to stay after school and tutor your child.
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Huh? Teacher here. Staying til 4 was actually part of our contract for this reason. You're supposed to help the kids who are having trouble with the content material.

I also had to help kids who came during my lunch and free periods.


+ 1

I've never heard of teachers being allowed to say no to students who are coming to them for extra help after school. That's part of their job!!!

They're not supposed to leave at 2:30 when the last bell rings and students leave.


Yes we can. We have contract hours. They cannot require us to work beyond them. Your kids can come to us during their study hall or before school when we are more likely to be there. Staying after contract hours is NOT REQUIRED and to insist we do it for free is ludicrous. We are humans with lives and families of our own. Have your kid ask help during the day or pay for tutoring. Those are your options.


I think you are unaware that different schools have different contract policies. I think you may also want to review yours just in case before you assert your case so strongly.--teacher

Anonymous
Post 02/26/2020 17:58     Subject: Parents, please don’t ask me to stay after school and tutor your child.
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Huh? Teacher here. Staying til 4 was actually part of our contract for this reason. You're supposed to help the kids who are having trouble with the content material.

I also had to help kids who came during my lunch and free periods.


+ 1

I've never heard of teachers being allowed to say no to students who are coming to them for extra help after school. That's part of their job!!!

They're not supposed to leave at 2:30 when the last bell rings and students leave.


Yes we can. We have contract hours. They cannot require us to work beyond them. Your kids can come to us during their study hall or before school when we are more likely to be there. Staying after contract hours is NOT REQUIRED and to insist we do it for free is ludicrous. We are humans with lives and families of our own. Have your kid ask help during the day or pay for tutoring. Those are your options.
Anonymous
Post 02/26/2020 17:56     Subject: Parents, please don’t ask me to stay after school and tutor your child.
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Is it really your personal time? I don’t think teachers workday is done at the ringing of the last bell.


Oh yes it is. My contract hours end at 4:15 and I am DONE. Teachers who work hours after that for free are why we get paid crap. Of course they won’t raise our pay when martyrs will do it for free. I love my job but I am not a 24/7 employee and your kid’s essay is not more important than me spending time with my own children. When the bell rings, I’m off just like anyone else.


Why can’t you have them from 3 to 4


That is my last block of the day. I teach high school. I am in class at that time.