I normally love teaching but..

[crochetmonkey74]

This weekend was the second in a row that I received an arsey email from a parent on a Sunday.

Both emails are about completely trivial normal things that Year 7 have been told off for - I'm part time so it's my day off today- and now all I can think about is calling the parent and essentially getting ready to be shouted at. I will get it over with soon otherwise it will ruin my day off worrying about it

This is after last week being involved in 2 really upsetting safeguarding cases and doing a really good job of supporting the students - and generally being a good teacher of longstanding successful service

Any teachers here that can relate? I know it is the end of term and I am tired and probably being a little over sensitive ....

Awh you’re not! It’s the end of the year and what a past couple of years. I suspect you’re just knackered and a bit more bruised than usual. Happens to me. It’s harsh as well when you know you’ve done your best. I hope it goes ok for you today and you enjoy the sunshine.

dont let the bastards get you down xx

Don't call them. They emailed you, you email them.

They specifically asked for a call - so I will have to call them but I am hoping I just get to leave a message

Thank you!

You're not alone. I've stopped checking emails at the weekend and have taken them off my phone. These sorts of emails can really affect us can't they?

It's been a brutal 2-3 years. We're knackered. The demands are greater than ever. Try and remember it's not personal. You will have had a hugely positive impact on those you've taught and supported.

And don't check your emails out of hours if at all possible! I learnt that lesson a year or so ago (and I've been teaching a long time!).

Don't check your emails over the weekend for a start. I've found this is the.only way to avoid email anxiety. Totally identify with the feeling. For now, you need to compartmentalise - you can't deal with it today so put it away in your mind.

Yes to the email thing definitely- I am not very tech minded and my old phone wouldn't connect to work email- with this phone - it somehow automatically connected and I get notifications so I need to work out how to remove that

Don’t check your emails at the weekend,
Do you have to arrange a meeting?
Seems to put you on the back foot, they demand a meeting and you jump. Are the concerns reasonable? (I assume not).
What is the school procedure for this? It seems unreasonable for the parents to have the direct email address of every teacher. Is there an escalation policy (or is this just another thing that’s been dumped on you - and I mean all teachers)

I disagree with this; since when do parents get everything they want just because they ask for it? If an email will suffice, email. If they still want a call to discuss then fine, but I doubt they’ll even reply.

Agree with others. As an NQT, I got upset with an unreasonable parent email in the evening and my mentor was very stern with me about not checking in my time. I've followed that advice since.
With luck, the parent will have calmed down since sending the email.
I have a Y7 tutor group from September; bracing myself for the parents who are used to primary school levels of contact!

I don't know what the etiquette is in teaching but could you put a "Thanks for the email. I will deal with your query when I return to work on Tuesday"?

I suspect though that teachers are literally expected to be on duty 24/7.

Hope the call goes OK OP and that you can get to enjoy your well earned day off

A holding email until your next working day is fine and absolutely you can reply properly via email rather than a phone call, certainly in the first instance. If its arsey, or has the potential to become unpleasant copy in your line manager, or whichever person is relevant to the incident, eg HoD or HoY.

Thanks all

You have put it in perspective- I am tired, and a bit fragile so I tend to catastrophise tiny things

I would reply by email and say that you will try to get hold of them on the phone when you are next in school. I would actually be tempted to put it on a timer to send 8am tomorrow. That way although in your mind you have dealt with it and can enjoy the rest of your day off, you are not going to get into an email discussion today. I would throw in phrases such as yr8 slates being wiped clean and just a reminder of the rules etc. My children are just hanging on for the last week or so of term and everything starts to fall apart.

FWIW I have quite a lot of contact with my kids teachers (SEN child with communication difficulties) and I always hope they don't check their emails in evenings & weekends.

I do send emails out of office hours because I have to - I'm busy with my own work in the day. I don't want or expect teachers to read or respond out of hours.

Ideally of course I'd get round to changing my email app to one that can delay emails, but the nature of emails is they can sit there waiting until someone picks them up.

update - she was entirely reasonable and said she had had to speak to her child about similar behaviour at home!

So yesterday- a vitriolic email accusing me of screaming in childs face (not true obvs) and written in a hostile terms - this morning now a completely different person!

That’s not acceptable behaviour. I hope you told her so.
She took out her frustration at her child’s behaviour on you. You are not a verbal punchbag.
Please don’t be afraid to set boundaries for the future.

It's been a long and stressful few years, OP. I'm glad the call went well, but you shouldn't have had to receive a hostile email beforehand.

You can turn off notifications on your phone, I think it might be under settings > apps > notifications. In future, I'd say that if you want to respond by email, you're within your rights to do so, before making the call.

I would say that this is not unusual when phone contact is made in response to email complaints/rants - sometimes writing things down gets things out of someone’s system and they’re perfectly reasonable on the phone. So for the PPs saying an email is better; I would (sometimes!) disagree for this reason.

Doesnt make a mis-directed Sunday night rant any better or more excusable, mind.