Can't do or say anything anymore

[splatattack]

So in my management role today I spoke to a student about the fact she was rude to a teacher the other day and that she needed to apologise as she refused to apologise at the time. She said ok, but had a face like thunder when I was speaking to her. It was a very calm and rational conversation. About half an hour later I am cc'd into an email from parent saying that he is coming straight into school to discuss, that we have put her confidence at an all time low and that she is is floods of tears and great distress. Another member of staff then also received an email asking if they knew about this meeting and the impact it had on daughter.

I feel like I am going mad. Have things gotten so snowflaked that I cannot even have a normal conversation with a student and enforce some mild discipline without receiving an onslaught of words, questions and accusations from parents? I give up!!!! Am I being unreasonable??

[noblegiraffe]

2 possibilities: 1) The parent's behaviour explains the behaviour of the child.
2) The parent has heard a pack of lies from the kid about what has happened and may actually be reasonable when they hear what happened.

Fingers crossed for 2)!

[TheFallenMadonna]

Honestly, there have always been parents like this. Or at least, since I started teaching about 20 years ago. Email has just made them more prolific I think.

[Maudlinmaud]

I've had this recently, almost identical situation. Parents where not quite so sure of themselves after hearing the other side of things. I believe the phrase "we know they're no angel" was used. Do not minimise the situation, if behaviour has been unacceptable, it's unacceptable. Bottom line. Just think what would happen in a working environment if this same behaviour went unchecked.
For what it's worth most students I work with are diligent and polite and they find this sort of thing disruptive.

[CuckooCuckooClock]

Totally.
In each of my classes there are at least 3 or 4 students who will storm off to pastoral if you so much as tell them to write the date and title. Usually claiming that I'm picking on them.
There is no way that happened half as much when I was at school in the 90s. And I went to a rough school. Email does make it easier for parents to whinge though.