Really? Maybe the rules at home are a lot different. Maybe the child never has to wait his turn at home, maybe there are no siblings, maybe the child is never asked to do anything hard or boring at home. You might not approve of their parenting style at home, but I can absolutely imagine a scenario when a child is well-behaved at home by that home's standards, but not in your classroom following your rules and to your standards.

Anonymous wrote:As a first grade teacher, I cannot tell you how many times in conferences that, when we were done, the parent would ask "that's all?" And, I would say yes, and ask what the concern was. Parent would reply--"what about the behavior?" I would say "she/he's great! No problems." Parent would be stunned.

And, then, there is the parent who you contact because the behavior is a problem and the parent says: "He's never a problem at home."

As a parent myself, I know which one is lying. "Never a problem at home?" Seriously?

Anonymous wrote:I am a parent and my experience is that parents lie outright to teachers, whereas teachers and administration omit information.

Anonymous wrote:This is probably a case where you don't notice all the parents who tell the truth because for you it's normal, but you do notice and get aggravated by parents who lie, and therefore they seem like a numerous bunch, when actually they represent a small minority of people.

Also I want to point out that you might get a different version from the children just because the kid understands the situation differently (and maybe erroneously), not because the parent is lying.

Also, the parent might be telling just part of the truth, or putting the best spin on the truth. When does it become a lie?

My point is that when you assume good faith, life becomes so much more bearable

+1 to all of the above, but especially the bolded. Also, lying about their kids being fever-free or diarrhea free before returning to school. I help out in the clinic at my kids' school and the kids rat their parents out on this one all.the.time.

Anonymous wrote:I'm a teacher and I've seen parents lie, other teachers lie and admins lie.
Parents tend to lie about: Their address, that they completely got rid of the lice, that they help their kids with sight words at home, that they read to their kids at home, that no- no other teacher has ever had trouble with Johnny's behavior. They tend to lie and say their kid doesn't have any issues. Mostly, though, what I see is parents who promise to help their kid at home and don't.
Teachers tend to lie about: some of the interventions they are supposed to be doing in the classroom, some falsify data
Principals: I've seen principals lie to Child protective services "No, I never told teacher X not to report child abuse my the priest" (this actually happened to me as a teacher, I reported anyways). I've seen principals cheat on state exams.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Full disclosure: I'm a teacher, but this isn't a vent. I am just trying to understand the motivation and the moral rationale of lying to teachers. Doesn't it do more harm to your DC in the long run? Not to mention the damage done to the parent-teacher relationship when the teacher either knows off the bat you are lying or learns the truth later. I guess I see it the same as lying to your child's pediatrician ("Of course, Larlo had the measles vaccine. Your records must be wrong! Just fill out the preschool form.") or dentist ("I swear Larla flosses!"). Wait... do parents lie to the pediatrician and dentist, too? My kids never floss. It's embarrassing, but the dentist can tell anyway so why embarrass all three of us by lying? In some weird almost counter-intuitive way, am I actually failing in my parental duty by not lying for my kids since so many others are doing it?

The lies I've been told as a teacher are mostly about reasons for a week off (they don't want to admit it's Disney), an address change (they don't want to change schools), or have been by illegal immigrants just in general not trusting any authority with any information, from a work place to a phone number.

Now teachers lying to parents....that takes it to a whole new level. I've heard teachers insist they took actions to stop bullying that they never took and don't plan to take, have heard them swear they let the kid use the bathroom whenever he wants and they don't know why he goes in his pants every day, when actually they strictly forbid use of the bathroom for up to 4 hours at a time, and have heard many of them try to make the child sound like he or she is at fault for some misbehavior, while completely omitting their own part in it. I've heard teachers deny that incidents occurred and insist the child is lying, when I saw the incident occur with my own eyes. I've heard them insist the child is at fault when the child is a victim of bullying (by the teacher's pet). Have heard them deny that a sexual assault by another student took place, when I saw it take place and so did the teacher. Some of these lies were even told at the insistence of the principal. So don't talk about the damage to the parent-teacher relationship to me - I know better than to trust teachers without question, and you should too.