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?

100 percent this. It's extremely elitist.

Sorry, but the thank you should come from the students, not the parents considering the age group.

Not sure what school/ area but my DC class always got something silly for the teachers at the end of the trip. That's only a few years ago...

(I am also thinking about a teacher that offered teen DC a place on a trip simply to make up numbers- knowing that we are able to pay! Not a thank you situation in my eyes. )

The kids would be just as happy to go to Paris for four days with their classmates. A trip to Borneo indeed. Its ridiculous.

Erm, maybe because the students are thrown off the coach when they get home and there is no interaction with the tutors and parents?

Maybe because parents assume you're getting a free 'trip of a lifetime' paid for by them?

Perhaps the parents have fundraised, scraped, begged, sold stuff, done all they can for DC to go on the trip (whilst assuming you are being paid to go as you are staff).

Also, maybe, because you should thank the parents who do every damn thing, give up so much, to raise money, collect an extra suitcase full of clothes and stationery to donate, for the 'cause', so you can have a free 'trip of a lifetime' that costs you sweet FA.

Have you thought about any of that? Or were you waiting for bouquets, chocolates, gift cards???

Perfect answer.
I was doing nothing. Just enjoying the trip?
Nothing to do with the two autistic children that couldn't cope with the changes.
Nor the children up until 2 every night, because 'that's what they do".
Finding accommodation each night.
Checking everyday with their needs, wants, expectations of 11 children.
Two weeks of my entitlement of holidays.(this is instead of pay)

Yep...free trip!!!

I’m a teacher. Kids say, why can’t we go to New York on a school trip? Well maybe because I’d rather pay to go with people I like, who aren’t going to moan if stuff goes wrong, and I don’t have to spent tens of hours of my free time organising.
”Free trip of a lifetime”?? Jog on.

What do children gain from these trips that they wouldn't get from e.g. a few days working in a deprived community in a Clacton?

Are you really a teacher? Maybe English isn’t your first language. Anyway I don’t see what the issue is.

Wtf?? I'm a teacher and run a week's residential trip every year. It takes hours and hours and hours of work on top of my already ridiculous workload. It's stressful, it involves being away over the weekend (i.e. not my working hours) and being in charge /on call 24 hours a day when we're there. I don't get paid extra for it. It's not a bloody holiday for me!

See how many kids sign up for that 🙄

Why are they entitled? It’s true. If it’s such a chore, let someone else who appreciates it do it.

It's true that some schools organise trips to far flung destinations with curriculum links that could have been just as well served by going somewhere closer to home. But the opportunity to go somewhere exotic you might never visit otherwise and to work towards paying for it yourself, are all such valuable experiences for young people. It's part of a holistic education.

Not all parents can afford it, of course, and that does pose an ethical challenge for many schools. In my view, there should be a cap on the maximum price of a school trip, with that cap being at a level that is achievable for the average member of the school community. A means-tested hardship fund should be provided for those who want to go but whose parents can't afford it, and the school should provide support for students to fundraise to partially cover the costs of their attendance if the trip is above a certain amount.

I'm not a teacher but I've done tonnes of work trips in my past. They were bloody hard work, sometimes it was fucking awful. But sometimes you got to go somewhere really cool, and we had experiences will stay with me for a lifetime - I got to go to China and Russia, places I'd never go otherwise, and to experience those culture there in a way I'd never get as a tourist. Big banquet business meals in Shanghai and Hong Kong. Crazy amounts of vodka in Moscow. It was amazing. It was also work.

It's a nonsense to pretend there was nothing in a trip to Borneo for yourself and it was all 'not in my job description' extra work - there clearly is. It's hard work, above-and-beyond, yes. But there was also a lot of personal gain from it. So, just let the bitterness about ungrateful parents go and be grateful yourself for the opportunity you've had.

I always make sure to say thanks but I know a lot of people are just so excited to see their child back home safe and hear all about it, so it doesn’t cross their minds.

When I picked up DD from her NCS trip it was quite hard to say a proper thanks as all the team members were busy signing people out.

What is the matter with people?! Was the 2k paid to the OP?! No. Why is it so hard to just say 'Thanks!' to the person who put a lot of hard work into giving your child a fantastic experience?

I know a lot of people are just so excited to see their child back home safe and hear all about it, so it doesn’t cross their minds.

That's no excuse. Frankly they should set a better example to their children.

What's wrong with Clacton?

WOW that's so rude. I would be effusively thanking anyone who had looked after my kid for 2 weeks and brought them home safely 😱 You are not being unreasonable. Sorry this was your experience.

You have to be kidding...

The thing is... There are quite a lot of jobs where you get sent abroad. To work for like a week (eg exhibiting at a conference). Generally you end up working way more hours while away, hauling stuff around, having to attend 'networking' stuff and make small talk with people who don't speak English when you'd quite like to go to bed.
Its not uncommon to be given a very tight budget for expenses so end up eating crap. Sometimes it can be genuinely really hard to find food that fits your personal dietary needs.

And no, no bugger thanks you for going or gives you time off in lieu.

Its just not unique to teaching, so i think some parents just don't think to say thankyou because nobody thanks them, either?

Well if they wouldn't.that just proves it's all a bit of a jolly, but actually, I think Idealisic teenagers who think going to Asia is a good deed would.

Yeah right.
”We’re taking year 12 for 5 days to Clacton. Approx costs will be £60 for accommodation, £80 for food and £30 for travel. So £270 for a Clacton trip. In your holidays.”

Why, what do they get in Bourneo that they couldn't get by supporting deprived communities, very different to their own at home?

And yes, you often have to a load of paperwork before you go, risk assessments, visa organisation, and yes often people work lots of extra hours in other jobs, too.
I'm sorry teachers have a rough time but there's this prevailing idea that they have it worse than everyone else..... There are lots, and lots, of shitty jobs out there where nobody buys you gifts at christmas and the end of year or ever says bloody thankyou.