teacher unprepared for my parent help

[iamworkingonit]

I work as a teacher but part time. I like to have some sort of contact with the school my daughter attends and as a single parent, working part time enables me to do drop her off and collect her twice a week and have some contact with the teacher and other parents.
I volunteer as a parent help once a week. Not in my daughter's class.
Two weeks ago the teacher whom I work with was away. Normally when I arrive the children are still at PE and just coming back or sometimes I am there for 5 or so minutes before they come back. I passed through the office and signed in. The office staff are really busy and that is possibly why they didn't mention the teacher's absence. Anyway after sitting in the classroom for about 10 minutes I went next door and the teacher there said she was away. I asked the head what would be the best course of action and he said just to wait in the library and collect my daughter at the end of the school day. The following week I called to check if the teacher was in. The office staff said she was so I went in. The class didn't return within a reasonable length of time so after 10 minutes or so I spoke to a TA who said the class was practising for an end of term production. I didn't want to interrupt and thought all class members would be involved. I was really angry though. I understand perfectly well how busy teachers are ( I am one) but I couldn't see why the teacher couldn't have left me something to do which didn't involve working with pupils or at best left a not saying they were in the hall. When I left the school I left the teacher a note stating that I am a busy person and that it is frustrating to take the time to come and help and not be needed. It wasn't rude but I am wondering if I should have. I got a reasonably polite email back stating that the end of the term is busy and timetables change at short notice but I do feel that it was rude and that an apology would have been in order.

Yanbu in any way, how rude. She should have apologised. Teachers love citing end of term as a reason and it doesn't wash with me. All jobs have busy periods, the people who do them need to find ways to cope and common courtesy towards someone who is helping you in their free time should not be the thing that slips.

Also very telling/disappointing to read on this thread that in fact in many cases schools are taking on volunteers as a box ticking exercise for ofsted and in reality resent and despise the volunteers ('another irritating child' - really?). It's the arrogance really - other people's time cannot possibly be as precious as theirs because teaching is the busiest/most important/most up-upon profession in the world ever. Of course we appreciate the wonderful work teachers do for our children but come on guys - it's your job. You get paid for it. You are free to leave if you don't enjoy it and feel it's a fair remunerative exchange.

Ah yes, OP

What you wrote is logical

What kind of teacher are you?

Do you work in a Primary School?

Volunteers are appreciated, especially with additional reading.

It's just sometimes some volunteers are more work than help.

I do think YABU but can see why you were annoyed. The head wouldn't have had a clue what was going on and I think he was the one who messed it all up.

The most sensible post on here is from arethereanyleftatall. The teacher forgot or was busy, probably appreciates OPs help normally. OP is overthinking it and turning it into something that it is not. I think though that perhaps OP does feel annoyed because she is giving up time she should be doing other stuff in. I think this is the issue. Op should perhaps not volunteer if she realistically doesn't have the time. I work four days a week I could volunteer on my day off but I need that time to shop clean etc. volunteers usually don't work outside the home and therefore do have the time to spend a few hours in school. If they aren't needed occasionally it is therefore not a big deal. If you are volunteering in your one day or afternoon off you really don't have the time for it.

monkeymamma

School appreciate volunteers who are helpful and flexible

The OP is getting an unreasonably hard time on this thread. Lots of jobs have stressful periods. I work for the Government and in case it's escaped anyone's notice it's pretty nuts there too at the moment. I'd still be mortified if I'd kept someone waiting for me without getting a message to them, and would take a slightly snotty email, even if that's what it was, on the chin. The OP is rightly cross at getting a defensive response after calling them up on wasting her time.

The comments about volunteers are very illuminating. I've often thought that teachers underestimate how difficult it can be for parents to juggle their various requests. Cansu's assertion that "most volunteers don't work outside the home and therefore can afford to spend a few hours in the classroom" is wrong on many levels.

And why is everyone questioning the OP' s motives for volunteering? She presumably responded to a call out for parent help. I certainly will be downgrading my guilt at rarely responding to such requests as a result of this thread. How nasty.

It

Pearl man I work in a creative industry which also relies on unpaid labour (internships/work experience). You get, as in any worker, a mix of really enthusiastic and competent people and others who need a lot more hand holding and are therefore less useful. However that's not a reason not to plan meaningful work for them to do and it certainly wouldn't excuse me just not showing up on the day they are due in! (Which is what happened to op twice - and yet she's being called 'aggressive' for daring to complain). I certainly wouldn't refer to them as 'an irritating child' as one pp did - so incredibly disrespectful.

The comments from teachers on this thread have definitely put me off volunteering at my dc school, that's for sure!

Pearlman I'm not sure you're representative of all teachers and I think what you're saying is going to cause a lot of damage. Like two posters above, I go in and read with primary children (bear in mind one poster above is already rethinking that). I am quite confident I am more than welcome (when I suggested it they bit my arm off as the number of parents doing it had fallen). There is a list of children who need extra attention. I slip in and go through 5/6 of them. The time is arranged with the teacher to be a time when she's happy to have those children pulled aside. The school newsletter frequently asks for volunteers like me.

Do you really resent parents coming in to read with the kids - or are you secondary perhaps? If you are secondary, you should say. I think it would be quite good if some primary teachers could reassure anyone reading this thread that help with reading with pupils who are struggling is welcome.

And the idea that parents are so worthless that it would be ludicrous to let them know they're not required is incredibly arrogant. On the occasions they've had stuff on which clashes with my usual reading time I have always been told. And like the OP, I think once I'd take it on the chin, but twice in a row I would be ticked off. Anyone would.

Hmmm, and without companies who make profits we would be pretty much fucked when it came to paying for teachers, hospitals and the like. A lot of people who work in the public sector seem to treat 'profit' like a dirty word but they forget without it they wouldn't exist!

Pearlman, you may not have questioned her motives, but several posters did, repeatedly. And the head wasted the OP' s time just as much as the individual teacher. Rude.

Also it might be worth finding out a bit more before you post, pearl man. You describe creative industries 'exploiting' interns but in fact they are at least gaining something from this, or experience that will prove invaluable in developing their careers. Whereas parents are literally just doing you a favour!

I find it odd that if you are a teacher you aren't doing more teaching if you have time on your hands and unlike most teachers I know want to spend your spare time doing different school stuff. It is like a surgeon being a hospital visitor in their spare time. Most surgeons do more surgery or something unrelated. Is it wanting to keep an eye on your kids' teachers or something?

I don't think op wanted a red carpet, just a quick message to let her know if she wouldn't be needed (abs a quick apology when she was left dangling, TWICE). I wouldn't expect one either, but the knowledge I'll be slagged off for being such a nuisance definitely confirms its not worth bothering!

If having volunteers isn't helpful why have them?

And it's not a laughable comparison. My point is that in any other industry or workplace other people's time is respected. Within teaching it's viewed as less important because teaching is SO important (and noble, not like these grubby capitalists).