Why is do parents not "thank" a teacher?

[Dcteacher]

I took 11 children to Borneo. For 2 weeks.

We did a lot.
Suba dived in the South China Sea.
Trekked the foothills of Mount Kinabalu.
Stayed in the jungle and learned jungle craft.
Spent to day on a tropical island.

On return. Not one single parent thanked me for the trip of a lifetime for their child.

I had spent the previous 2 years helping with fundraising, answering questions doing the paperwork, taking time out of my holiday. This is not in my job description. I don't have to do this.

Not one.

Why?

What a lot of teachers are ignoring is that these trips aren't universally welcomed by parents - they are elitist, they create noticeable disparity between the kids whose parent can afford them and those who can't. And largely, they aren't necessary. It would be different if this was something all pupils could access.

Re geography and language teachers having to do these trips as part of their curriculum , presumably this wasn't a secret that you only discovered when you went to work. Lots of jobs have travel as standard, with no extra payment because these are salaried roles, not paid by the hour!

I agree with OP and I don't understand why there are people on this thread are saying "because they paid for it".

That's like saying you wouldn't say thanks to a shop assistant even though you've paid

Or that you wouldn't wave a thank you when a car stops for you at a zebra crossing because they're legally required to.

It makes for a really isolating and unhappy society if we stop doing this stuff

And how many children are you in loco parentis for, during these trips, @DoorPath ? Or how many of your colleagues?

Are you on call for colleagues to wake you up for any reason whatsoever?

Are you responsible for administering essential medications to any colleague who needs them?

Are you responsible for adjudicating any conflicts between your colleagues?

Are you responsible for ensuring that your colleagues get a reasonable night's sleep?

Are you responsible for keeping your colleagues' passports, and travel tickets secure?

I could go on ...

You're being ridiculous.

Who would you expect to thank you for going on a work trip?

It's not a holiday. The teacher is working. Borneo, Bournemouth, Bolton... wherever the trip is, the teacher is at work. The job is looking after other people's children. The teacher is not paid any extra money to work during annual leave. The teenagers should be saying thank you for looking after me. And the parents should say thank you for looking after my child. The teacher did not receive the money the parents paid for the trip. That was to pay for the trip. Nobody paid the teacher to take the pupils on the trip. It's like if you worked in a supermarket and then went to work in a supermarket in Borneo for 2 weeks during your annual leave but also on call 24/7. It would still be working. But more working than usual. And nobody says thank you because they think you should be grateful rather than being grateful to you because you made this wonderful effort. Thank you OP. People like you make memories with children like mine. 😊♥️

@YellowAsteroid *And how many children are you in loco parentis for, during these trips, @DoorPath ? Or how many of your colleagues?

Are you on call for colleagues to wake you up for any reason whatsoever?

Are you responsible for administering essential medications to any colleague who needs them?

Are you responsible for adjudicating any conflicts between your colleagues?

Are you responsible for ensuring that your colleagues get a reasonable night's sleep?

Are you responsible for keeping your colleagues' passports, and travel tickets secure?

I could go on ...

You're being ridiculous.*

No, I am responsible for different things. When you go on a school trip, are you responsible for securing deals that will keep your colleagues in employment?

Are you responsible for presenting work on behalf of your team and organisation?

Are you networking late into the evening when you would rather be able to switch off after a long day of meetings?

The things you describe sound so minor. Minding people's passports? Hive me a break! How onerous! Some of us are doing actual work on work trips.

Well in the past my managers, the people I've worked alongside and helped out, clients I've visited, people than benefited from the work I did.
My DH has the same. One work trip he went on, his company sent me flowers as he was away over my birthday.

While I would say thank you (and can’t understand why people don’t?!), school trips like this cost a huge amount of money and cause a huge amount of stress and anxiety for parents. Schools say hey look we have this opportunity, kids say ohhh pleeeeease, they both say it’s the trip of a lifetime and all this, and parents are guilted into spending a shit tonne of money on sending them or being the enemy and saying no and having their kid hate them. Some of these parents probably haven’t been on holiday themselves for years and have just forked out to send their kids away on a scuba diving holiday? And even if you say you fundraiser to contribute so parents had to pay less, there’s all the associated costs. So while theoretically it’s a nice thing to do in reality it’s an imposition that most of us could really do without. So I would say thank you but would secretly be super irritated at your involvement in making me do a tonne of preparation work and spending a tonne of cash.

All you parents who don't like these trips - have you ever been involved with your PTA, or Board of Governors, and raised the issue for discussion? And made your feelings about the trips clear?

As I’ve stated upthread I can see it from both sides but I must say re. Parents not liking trips, a childhood friend of mine is ALWAYS whingeing about her children’s teachers.

She’ll send emails then get annoyed if they don’t get replied to the same day. It’s absolutely ridiculous, you’d think she’d realise teaching isn’t a desk job where you just sit refreshing your emails all the time.

During the pandemic her middle child was year 6, the school decided not to have the usual outward bound type residential and just did a series of day trips and activities instead.

She complained bitterly about it which shows how entitled some people are, they don’t realise that teachers are going above and beyond by doing these residential trips. So when the opportunity is removed they feel hard done by.

You go on work trips during your annual leave? Fuck that!

Trips to Borneo and similar seem a bit over the top - especially when Europe is on our doorstep.
I'd be hacked off too OP if only 2 students thanked me.

@YellowAsteroid I don't think it's a surprise to the PTA etc that these trips aren't universally welcomed. But they'll go ahead because some parents will want them.

I'm not in favour of schools offering things directly to children - it would be better to send out info to parents and if they are keen, discreetly arrange the trip. It's horrible to raise it to all when most won't be able to go.

Think these trips are rather excessive. Fortunately none of my two friends were going on these big ticket fancy trips so they didn’t want to go either. Teens would genuinely rather sit in a field with their mates than fly to Borneo with a teacher and other random teens!

I must say all these things sound a bit petty.

People are rude (as demonstrated on your thread!) and are bringing up rude children.

I couldn’t do what you have done no matter how much I would love to experience Borneo. I can’t think of anything more terrifying than taking a group of teens that I’m not related to on an adventure holiday.
I’m grateful that someone else does it!
I think you deserve a medal 😂

I am not in the UK but in our school all trips are during schooldays, not holidays. I think that makes it a lot better for teachers… why do these trips have to be during holidays?
And trips should be accessible for all children, if parents can’t afford the trip then school needs to sort out extra funding. So no trips to Borneo here… only London, Paris, Berlin and Greece. And all children and parents are happy.

We are in the UK and none of my DCs have gone to schools where the trips are in the holidays, they’ve always been during term time. Surely the cost of them must be much higher if you’re going in the holidays?

I am not in the UK but in our school all trips are during schooldays, not holidays. I think that makes it a lot better for teachers… why do these trips have to be during holidays?

In my experience, trips sometimes overlap holidays a bit, but aren't usually entirely in the holidays. However, a residential trip will often include a weekend, and obviously the teachers are on duty in the evenings as well. In addition to planning and accompanying the trip, they will also have had to spend hours and hours planning cover work for their classes and will often be back in school first thing after a late arrival the night before.

In some ways going in the holidays would have less impact on your workload after you come back, but (understandably) few teachers would be willing to lose their holiday.

a residential trip will often include a weekend, and obviously the teachers are on duty in the evenings as well. In addition to planning and accompanying the trip, they will also have had to spend hours and hours planning cover work for their classes and will often be back in school first thing after a late arrival the night before

🎻 🎶

I do appreciate teachers organising school trips. And as said before, I think DC should thank their teachers for organising and accompanying. Especially at an age range of 16 - 18.

I mean Kirsty let her 15y son interai without parental or teachers supervision!

The parents are incredibly rude. There is no excuse for not thanking you for taking their children on the trip.

I wonder if those parents that think that teachers should pay to look after the pupils that they are taking on the trips, are the parents that think that its OK to turn up late to pick up their children after the trip.

If no teachers volunteer, there will be no school trips for the kids, @Milsonophonia - is that a good outcome?

Petty??

spare a thought for the teachers who have been put on trial in France following an accidental death on a school trip.

Running a trip is a massive pain, and school leaders put huge pressure on staff to run them as it is a massive parent pleaser.

Staff lose holiday and it takes huge amount of time and parents treat you like YOU should be grateful for going.

Refuse to do it and I’ve seen teachers be stopped moving up the pay scale, be given crappy timetables, bullied by SLT.

And if you don’t think this isn’t the case in your school, accept the fact that just maybe you don’t see the full picture.

How can anyone defend parents not bothering to say thank you to the teachers running the trip is beyond me. Why send your child on the trip if it’s that inconvenient?!

To Borneo? I'd say that's a good outcome.