merryMuppet. Obviously those hours you worked were a killer and I feel really sorry you had to do it as a mum. But please don't accuse School staff of not understanding that people have to work difficult hours. In my long experience before I changed careers I was a Teacher then I worked with the Inspectorate, so I saw many schools. I was deeply impressed by what they did to help the community and parents cope with difficult hours, Breakfast Clubs and After School Clubs for example. After all this was not their job. Teacher have a contract to work so-many hours a week and to teach during that time or do that which is necessary such as preparation. I have never met one Teacher who fitted in all their school work into the hours they were paid to do it. Most work many hours over that. One, on a full-time contract, we estimated, worked double the number of hours they were paid to work! We then realised this was probably quite common, but not every week. People would get ill!
Teachers are very dedicated and the job is not like any other. It is extremely demanding and exhausting yet the Teachers I met were so dedicated to their pupils and they were doing extraordinary things to help them in often difficult conditions. All the Teachers I met were over worked and said they often were doing school work at night till almost midnight, coming in over the week-end too. Keeping 30 very mixed ability juniors on task and learning all day or motivating teenagers who hate school, trying to give them some ambition to study for grades that will affect their lives, - this is exhausting and not a job you go home and forget about. Teachers think of their pupils nearly all the time, collecting ideas for projects, things to help a particular child who has a problem, they never stop! Not even when they go away on holiday!
The Head in this case did say to write to her if you cannot manage the hours she has arranged. She hasn't left it as come then or never. She wants people who have problems with those arrangements to write to her. People are ignoring that she says this! I find that a very good sign she has asked for details in writing because she is obviously looking for information she can work with. This is not a Head Teacher who thinks everybody works the same hours.
It has to be said too, that if a parent cannot manage to see their Child's Teacher at a mutually agreed and reasonable time, the onus is on the Parent to arrange their work so that they can keep an appointment at the school about their child. You would keep a medical appointment, presumably, even if you had to miss work. This has to be seen as just as important. But this Head has asked people to write to her first so she is going to try and find a time suitable for both Parent and Teacher.
You should remember, school is not a child-care organisation just so you can dump your children there and go out. Your child(ren) are your responsibility. What do you do if your child is ill, for example? You have to be aware that you are the carer of your child and you might have to collect your child from school at any time. Similarly, organising Parents' Evenings is almost always asking Teachers to do free overtime. A Head Teacher knows her Staff are already overworked. She will do all she can to protect them from unnecessarily long hours. I think it is reasonable in the circumstances, to ask Parents to see the School Teachers at the times the School gives and the Parents should make arrangements to meet those appointments. It would only be in an extraordinary case that the Parents would be given a different time. If Teachers can give up their free time, then the Parents must take some sacrifices too.
People do not see Teachers as being at work, like other people, doing a job. But Teachers have rights! Teachers have the right to work their contracted hours. If all Teachers chose to work to rule, including the Heads of Schools, and only work the hours their contracts state, most Parents would have to get to work late and leave early. This would be because the "contact hours" a Teacher has of being with pupils actually teaching are only part of their contract. They have to spend "non-contact" time preparing lessons and marking and researching educational methods for individual needs etc. Just about all Teachers work far more hours than those on their contract without extra pay. If they didn't, our school system would collapse. Parents have become so used to Teachers doing so many out of hours extra things without pay, that they forget that this is the Teacher's own free unpaid time. Or that this is the time they would be doing education-related work but because they've stayed to see you, or do something extra, they will be doing all that marking and preparation and making new educational aids tonight at home. Probably past midnight.
You cannot expect them to do over-time for no pay just because of your job. Their job is demanding and it's time to respect them and stop expecting them to be at your beck and call just to fit in with your working hours. They are not Nannies or Child-Minders who you can ask "to stay on a bit longer tonight". They are Professional people who work very hard and are not paid to be available 24 hours a day just to suit you.
Would you regularly stay at work for an extra couple of hours without pay just because a client was working and couldn't get in earlier for the meeting?