If you're a teacher, do the PTA annoy you?

[RunAlexRun]

I have been into my DCs school this morning to help with a craft event organised by the PTA. I am not a PTA member but help out occasionally at things like sports day if I'm not working.

I, and the other volunteer parents, have spent the whole morning being spoken to like shit by teachers! Not all the teachers, I hasten to add, but some of them.

I was told by the PTA chairwoman to go to X classroom and that the teacher was expecting me. When I got there I knocked and entered the classroom only to be shouted at and told to wait in the corridor, and made to wait there for 20 minutes.

There were various other incidents over the morning where us volunteers were spoken to badly. If you are a teacher or work in a school, do PTA helpers annoy you? Would you prefer there was no PTA? My child is year 5 so not too long left at the school and I certainly won't be helping out again!

TBF lots of parents can't stand the PTA never mind the teachers
Ours definitely attracts a certain type of parent (mother) all SAHMs and very dismissive of working parents
I tend to throw money at it

an extra hour or two here or there, etc

Ha! You think teachers aren’t giving up an extra hour or two?! Check when they arrive at school and leave. Look what they’re taking home with them. Go into their classrooms and look at the hundreds of pounds’ worth of their own cushions, books, toys, resources.

They’ll be giving up their weekends to marking, planning and other crap anyway.

Possibly Aisling, although I am not in England I don't see a lot of that where I am; we see teachers leaving right after the kids regularly, although I'm not saying they aren't working at home.

My point is the sheer horror and disdain at the suggestion that they give up one or two hours, ONCE a year, was crazy. Especially as, at an estimate, the PTA might spend - I'm not really sure - maybe 20 hours each organising it, setting up, running it, clearing up, etc.

And that's just the one event; we don't ask them to help at the kid's discos or at the Christmas fair.

EstrellaDamn to be fair the average primary school teacher works 60 hours a week while being paid for 32.5 hours. School will already be cutting into their weekend hopefully doing things that directly impact on their students learning so I completely understand why they don’t want to give anymore of their limited free time to do something that probably has little or no impact on learning.

I was told by the PTA chairwoman to go to X classroom and that the teacher was expecting me. When I got there I knocked and entered the classroom only to be shouted at and told to wait in the corridor, and made to wait there for 20 minutes.

I'd have walked straight out of the school and emailed to say that I was no longer comfortable with volunteering as Ms A had shouted at me and told me to wait in the corridor as if I was an unruly pupil.

I get that @Jackshouse but also to be fair, that hour of help would be for filling their classroom with stuff they put on a wish list at the beginning of the term.

That's not really the point though - it's more the 'how dare you, don't you know we're teachers who don't have time for your SAHM-type whimsy' that put me off.

Ex-teacher here. I would never be rude, or condone rudeness, but my heart sinks at the mention of PTA. In short ‘for the school’ means to me guilt-tripping to spend lots of extra free time and energy at work at the expense of my children’s needs. I end up paying for extra childcare and coming home to miserable children for evening events for example. Weekend stuff normally means missed sport sessions etc for my kids.

I’m polite enough not to let on, but it’s a bit of teaching I don’t like. Tbh I just want a normal job where we have the resources we need to operate well, without fundraising and guilt trips.

Most of it is not with a thank you, but an air of expectation that I am delighted for the good cause and should be offering to have sponges thrown at me at a fete or up on a stage with a microphone whilst I’m critiqued on every aspect. Maybe I’ll even have the joy on Monday if walking into a classroom with a bbq in one corner, every item of furniture stacked in piles (yay Monday backache) and detritus from foam clay or glitter tattoos.

Tbf more of the resentment is from a small minority of pushy parents coupled with the fact my kids are being left and I just want family time. And I hate pamper nights, especially if as above my classroom on Monday is going to require half and hour of tidying and heavy lifting to be useable...

Rant 😳

I also, if I’m being honest, don’t feel totally wow over the £50 or whatever stuff I can buy for MY classroom. I just want the glue sticks and pencils as part of the job. And if I don’t order through school catalogues I can generally find it in the works, poundshops or home bargains for less than the extra babysitting cost. I was a bit excited for a few years, but after over a decade of primary teaching it starts to blend together.

Sorry to be miserable, but I was asked! It’s my honest feelings on a forum- remember I’m not actually saying it to our PTA or shouting it in real life, and I maintain and smile and politeness. I can see how some people may crack though...

As a final point, I spent A LOT of my own money on resources. Properly more than people realise. Usually I can’t get books of interest from library, over half the literacy book I use I buy with my own money. I top up glue sticks and consumables. I buy puppets, bits of fabric, laminators , split pins for DT... it’s the norm in primary teaching. If I didn’t I simply couldn’t do half the learning we do and education would suffer. I’m more constrained than many

Was the teacher teaching a class, and did you just walk in after entering?

Personally, as a parent, I couldn't be arsed dealing with the pta, it always attracted a certain type of parent, the smug self congratulatory ones, so I too avoided them and threw money when required.

If we ever used a classroom, we used to take photos of it beforehand, and then do our level best to put it back the way it was afterwards.

I think sometimes the PTA can forget that they aren't doing things for the benefit of the teachers, but for the benefit of the children. Yes, ipads might help teachers in a lesson, but it is still for the kids.

I’ve name changed for this.

I’ll start by saying that the teachers should not talk to anyone in the school like that, be they a pupil, parent or fellow staff member. That’s not on.

But yeah, we hate the PTA. I’ve worked in 5 schools over the years and without exception the PTA has invoked eye rolls of annoyance. It’s not that we don’t appreciate everything that they do - we honestly do. They raise a lot of money for schools which means that we can have equipment that we could never afford otherwise. That’s amazing.

But oh God, the PTA really attracts a certain type of parent and they are always the parents that are a teacher’s worst nightmare. It’s always the ones who want insider information, see value in being seen to be ‘close’ to school staff, are really pushy with their children and have to take over everything like a particularly irritating head girl/boy for head pats. They seek validation through ostentatiously volunteering for everything.

Not everyone on the PTA is like that (many are lovely), but they always contain a fair amount of that type ad they ride roughshod over everyone who just wants to help out a bit. That’s why they wind teachers up.

Lots of different perspectives on here, and it's been really interesting, so thank you to all that replied 👍🏻

It's a shame that PTAs attract some irritating parents. I can see how that type of person would grate on teachers. I can honestly say though that there are none of those types on the PTA at my DCs school currently. In fact, there aren't many PTA members or helpers at all. I guess they've all been spoken to like crap by the teachers and drifted away.

I did actually complain after a trip out. Parents were asked to volunteer as without more adults the trip could not take place.
DH, who had plenty of better things to do, volunteered. He was ignored throughout, although making up the numbers as a favour, and at the end of the day the teacher walked off without a goodbye or a thank you. He said never again.

I haven't been treated rudely, but on many pre-arranged occasions have been greeted with total surprise and nothing there to do.

I guess they've all been spoken to like crap by the teachers and drifted away.

that’s presumptuous. You seem inordinately upset about what sounds like a fairly small deal!

I don't think it's a small deal; I gave up my morning to help out and was spoken to rudely, as were other parent helpers. It's not something I'm prepared to tolerate.

I joined the PTA when DC started and have to say this was one of the first things I noticed. Couldn't understand it as PTA raise thousands for the school but massively underappreciated when you spoke to the teachers face to face. I would say there were 2 or 3 teachers who would be super helpful, work with us and friendly but the rest would treat PTA at best as an inconvenience and at worst like shit on their shoe. It's bizarre.
Have to say I still help as I've got skin like a rhino and know that it's ultimately benefitting my kids schooling.

I don't think it's a small deal; I gave up my morning to help out and was spoken to rudely, as were other parent helpers. It's not something I'm prepared to tolerate

So, what are you planning on doing?!

As I said several times Ivanapee, I will just not be helping out at the school again. One of the other volunteers this morning said she will not be either.

Oh right. Well, good for you! It would be silly to continue after being treated rudely.

My first experience of being a PTA volunteer was awful. It was a Christmas Craft thing and I walked in to a table full of TAs who gave off a fug of resentment so thick it was almost solid. We folded sparkly stars and made crackers in an uncomfortable silence for a couple of hours then the rest of the PTA rocked up, having been for a jolly old pub lunch together.
I did stick at it and it became apparent that the sense of entitlement from the PTA had put the staff’s backs up so much that it led to a real Us and Them situation that took quite some time to get over.
So I don’t blame you, OP, for not wanting to give your time any more, but the offhandedness toward you is most likely historic and not not personal.

@Hidingteacher our PTA was totally split. Headed up by two narcissists who were exactly 'that' kind of parents, and then the normals, who rotate in then leave when they see it's a clique they don't want to be part of.

Totally get your perspective.

Staff are really supportive of our PTA. We get a lot of support from staff. Some staff are ore enthusiastic than others, but I feels it's a fairly relaxed school on the whole.

And the head of our PTA is ALWAYS talking to the head EVERY morning so no one else gets a look in! She is a right pain in the arse.

There's no excuse for not being polite, but the first rule of PTA should be not to make things harder for the teachers.