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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To feel sorry for teachers because of some parents

168 replies

abacucat · 27/10/2018 12:37

I suspect the worst part of teaching is some of the parents. Parents who believe their child can do no wrong, parents who bring their child up to be totally entitled, parents who always minimise and make excuses for their child's bad behaviour. It must be frustrating for the teachers.

OP posts:
Iwasjustabouttosaythat · 27/10/2018 12:38

Are you a teacher?

Thisreallyisafarce · 27/10/2018 12:40

Yes, it is the worst part. Some parents are so unreasonable it makes you gasp aloud.

Original poster
abacucat · 27/10/2018 12:40

No

OP posts:
LettuceP · 27/10/2018 12:42

YANBU I think the same

letscometogether · 27/10/2018 12:44

YANBU I feel the same way.

noblegiraffe · 27/10/2018 12:45

I think the worst part of teaching is when you’re in the middle of a lesson, need to write something on the board and all your board markers are running out. So annoying.

Soubriquet · 27/10/2018 12:47

God yes

There was a post on my local “spotted” site about a parent who was furious that she saw a teacher sitting in a pub having a drink. On a working day. After school. Where her child, the pupil, could see her.

Luckily other people told her to stop being a twat

BewareOfDragons · 27/10/2018 12:47

I feel the same way. Meeting the parents usually explains a lot about particular children...

redandbluehedgehogs · 27/10/2018 12:48

As with the kids, the majority of parents are lovely and really supportive.

Spikeyball · 27/10/2018 12:48

Yanbu as long as you realise it works the other way too.

ReverseTheFerret · 27/10/2018 12:48

I think the worst part of teaching is when you’re in the middle of a lesson, need to write something on the board and all your board markers are running out. So annoying.

Isn't that called "the months of late April, May, June and early July"

Worriedmummybekind · 27/10/2018 12:48

Yeah. What’s sad though (and you obviously can’t say this!) is that you probably spend 40% of your time, especially in SMT, pandering, dealing, defending, coping with a tiny handful of parents. It’s such a waste of time. I sometimes wonder if other parents realised this whether they might be angry that their children could get more support if it wasn’t for a handful of people who just can’t communicate reasonably. I’m not talking about parents of children with SEN sending reports or wanting to discuss an issue in class. I’m talking about parents sending nasty hate mail effectively. Thank God I’m out of it all now (except as a, hopefully reasonable, parent!).

greencatbluecat · 27/10/2018 12:49

YANBU. One of my teacher friends, spends every afternoon after school phoning parents and he says most of them are rude.

KC225 · 27/10/2018 12:51

My DH had some shockers. 'Challenging' secondary school. His favourite was a Mother who rang when he had put her precious DD into detention for threatening another girl in his class. The mother told my DH 'Every kid in that class hates your fucking guts'. He replied 'I am not here to be their friend' and she came back with 'Well that just shows what cunt you are then-'. Funny thing is, later on he left and the pupils of that class actually got him a farewell card - nothing nasty in the card, just a few 'in' jokes that DH had to explain.

Babyroobs · 27/10/2018 12:51

I went to a meeting the other evening at school regarding an upcoming school trip . A group of year 11 girls sat there talking , giggling, squealing ( as there was a wasp in the room ) through the teacher trying to give an important chat on the safety aspects of the trip. the parents just sat there saying nothing to them. Embarrassing.

AlphaBravo · 27/10/2018 12:51

I feel sorry for some kids because of how shit some teachers are 🤷🏼‍♀️ swings and roundabouts!

Clionba · 27/10/2018 12:52

I think it's part of the problem of being a consumer and expecting service and a certain kind of response, as opposed to being a partner in the process of your child's learning.

Thisreallyisafarce · 27/10/2018 12:53

Clionba

Parents aren't the "consumers". The service users are the children.

noblegiraffe · 27/10/2018 12:54

Hah, true, ReversetheFerret

See also: Running out of glue sticks.

AgnesBrownsCat · 27/10/2018 12:55

At least the teachers only have them for a year or two at most . The parents have them for life .

Thisreallyisafarce · 27/10/2018 12:56

noblegiraffe

I make a point of running out of glue sticks. That way, they don't get to use glue sticks. Perfect!

Clionba · 27/10/2018 13:00

@thisreallyisafarce I know. However, the parents have to act on behalf of their children, them being minors. Parents should really attend parents eves and engage with reporting etc. That cannot be left to a child. He or she cannot always act on their own behalf. I understand that students whose parents are engaged with the process achieve better outcomes.

AriadneCrete · 27/10/2018 13:00

YANBU, those parents are intensely frustrating. However I’d take them any day over the neglectful parents. There are several times I’ve come home and cried because of such disgraceful parenting.

Thisreallyisafarce · 27/10/2018 13:01

Clionba

Of course, but they shouldn't see themselves as "consumers". They are not buying anything.

Trampire · 27/10/2018 13:01

YANBU. I'm not a teacher but plenty of my family are or have been.

I don't know when it 'changed'. When I was in school I remember us moaning about some teachers, gave them nicknames but basically respected them, actively really liked some them. Our parents would always back up the teacher seemingly. If I got told off, I had to suck it up.

My dcs are both in Secondary now so I font regularly see an abundance of parents, but in Primary there were a handful of parents who constantly moaned about the teachers. Complained about everything - dress-up days, homework, school trips, table plans, lessons. I used to avoid them like the plague. In 7 years of being at Primary, I never once had to complain about a Teacher.

Where my friend lives she says the Secondary School has an active Parents FB Page that appears to be just a way for parents to announce how wrong teachers are about everything and is always trying to catch them out. It sounds vile.

I think we had an all-consuming child-centric way of looking at the world these days that isn't always healthy. People naturally see their children as an extension of themselves and always feel that they must be in the right and are quickly defensive.