Teachers.....I have a ? for you.

[Wishing on a star]

Sorry, but I asked a valid question for those teachers who have proudly insisted that they are out the door at 2:45 when the bell rings.

Still waiting for an answer........

 

[Wishing on a star]

Frankly, I think your attitude shows a complete lack of respect for the school, my job, and especially the teachers.

Hhhhmmm, so asking exactly when I am supposed to be able to speak to my childs teacher is now a "complete lack of respect".

 

[declansdad]

Sorry, but I asked a valid question for those teachers who have proudly insisted that they are out the door at 2:45 when the bell rings.

Still waiting for an answer........

Read all the posts and you will have your answer. Or are you just trying to stir the pot?

 

[In a hurry]

Hhhhmmm, so asking exactly when I am supposed to be able to speak to my childs teacher is now a "complete lack of respect".

Yep...when you do it with a snarl in your voice and your nose in the air, treating the teacher as a lower class citizen...

Gee, you didn't mention whether you stay late to take calls at work...

Still waiting...

 

[crazee4mickey]

I like to hear that a teacher will give up his own time for his students well being...DH must really, trulyt care for his students. Although there should be designated times set up such as "contact me until 5:30 to discuss your child as I have to catch the train"--a teacher doesn't sign up to "be on call" but there has to be flexibilty because not all parents can phone or set up meetings when it is convenient for only the teacher.
We have parents who figure that whenever you are out in public(grocery store, ice rink, where ever)--that they can approach and discuss their child's progress and school "problems".
Don't flame me on this one but I work within the school and whenever someone outside our work environment comments on "it must be nice having to only work 6 hours a day, have weekends, Christmas off, and then have all summer off" (and yes in most cases this is not the case)---a huge of majority of the teachers get very insulted to hear this and reply "That anyone who thinks our school day ends just because the bell rings is crazy...we work so many hours--just because we're not behind our desk doesn't mean we're not working. We work evenings, weekends, all holidays..."
So in one breath, yes I can understand why it would be very upsetting considering that DH misses the train and it takes away from family time but on the other........

 

[CheshireVal]

Sorry, but I asked a valid question for those teachers who have proudly insisted that they are out the door at 2:45 when the bell rings.

Still waiting for an answer........

You see the teacher at your appointment time that you have scheduled via email.

 

[vettechick99]

What exactly is your question? Is this it?

Just when in the heck am I supposed to be able to see you as my child's teacher.

If the teacher can't see you then, then you make an appointment. Do you like it when people stop by unexpectedly into your office at 5 pm? Do you drop everything and always see them - even when you have other pressing things to do?

If a teacher wants to leave at 2:45 (or whenever the school day ends) and a parent comes by, they have every right to reschedule. Nowhere in any handbook does it say that teachers must meet with parents at the parent's convenience.

Overall, I'm confused by your tone and comments.

P/S I just looked at your previous posts because I remember your name. You sure do like education/teacher threads. Are you the "Wishing" DIS'r that disliked her daughter's teacher and became "that mother" or the one that sent the email about her son getting in trouble for not having his book (and nearly became "that mother"?

 

[tkd lisa]

I am always amazed at the range of responses that come out to threads like this.

To the original question, yes, it does seem like your DH is being over-accomodating. But it sounds like most of the discussions on this happen when he comes home later than you expected, with an overly tired child.

It's probably worth setting up a time for you and your DH to figure out how to deal with this. Maybe on a holiday or Saturday when you're both fresh and able to work through it.

As to what's reasonable? Obviously, this depends on the situation.

I will say that I have a pretty fair amount of experience in talking with teachers/admin people. My kids do have their share of problems, and I don't let them fester. My kids are both middle school aged.

My first approach in this school system (and I thank God for this option!) is to email the applicable teacher/admin person and tell them what I'm concerned about. If I think it's simple, I'll ask for their opinion. If I think it's more involved (or needs 2 or more peoples input) I'll ask for a meeting. I have NEVER had a teacher who didn't answer me within a day or two at the most.

Now I had one specific issue this year that I did things a little differently. When I spoke with DS at the end of the school day (I always call to check in that they got home), he told me that he had a really bad day because two boys were bullying him, had thrown his book in the trash, and actually threatened him in his Math class. He said that the teacher had heard it. This boy lives in our neighborhood, and the threat was specifically that he was coming over to our house to get him.

I tried calling the teacher (they all have an extension listed on their web page), and she wasn't there. I left a message with my work, cell, and home phone. I then sent an email explaining what DS had told me, and told her I was concerned.

The next morning, I took a few hours off of work, and drove DS to school. I told the vice principal that I needed to speak to him and was willing to wait. After about 20 minutes, he called me in. It turned out that the teacher had forwarded my email to him, had written the child up for suspension, etc. They took this very seriously, and told DS what he should do if this was still a problem when the boy came back to school. He told us that if anything happened at home, we should call the police.

Bottom line to all this? Normal problems, I email and schedule appointments. Urgent issue, I expect it to be handled immediately.

And yes, my expectations have always been met.

 

[barkley]

i've taught in public and private and parent kids that have attended both. i've yet to encounter a teacher or school that did'nt have published guidlines on what hours teachers were available to parents either face to face or via phone. if a parent has'nt been given this information they need to ask for it.

i worked in public service after i left teaching and one thing we had to end up implementing was "protected time" for staff. while we had to be available to people for emergencies, so many folks ignored our established appointment and drop in time just for their own convenience we could never address our regular day to day duties as well as the real emergencies that came up.

while a teacher may be mandated to be at a school during certain hours, there are expectations of what has to be accomplished during that time frame. so it may appear that a teacher always has that 2 hours before or after school open for parents, there may be very little of it that is not already obligated to staff meetings, schedualed p/t conferences and in-staff training. i don't think any teacher would fault a parent who has an urgent or emergent situation/question for dropping in-but to just assume the teacher is available "at will" during these times is misguided.

p.s. dd has a teacher right now who regularly communicates standard stuff (field trip info, class event stuff...) with parents by phone during her "off hours". i would actualy prefer if it's not a pressing issue to get a note or newsletter. while i appreciate the personal contact it's not always easy for me to take an evening phone call without kids interupting.

 

[lilostitch]

So, these wonderful, dedicated, caring, teachers see this as a "work from home" opportunity?

wth?

I will gladly accomodate any parent who calls and wants to meet with me. I will NOT be sitting around in my office for hours and hours after school just IN CASE someone may pop in.

Maybe you are suffering from a little case of entitlement? Are school staff supposed to stay all hours of the night to cater to your every whim? Treat the staff as professionals, call or e-mail and make an appointment.

 

[dennis99ss]

Sounds like hubby enjoys his job, and likes to talk to the parents, when they want to, because it might help him get through to the kids.

and, yes, I admit, I did not look at the whole thread. Just my errant thoughts.