To think schools have got to reliant on technology

[Jelllytotss]

When I was primary school a very long time ago now. We were sent home a report on paper for parents evening and then they saw our parents on the bigger parents evening later in the year. Our kids school have decided they want to do parents evening on camera through zoom this year because we can't go into the school. I have no more room on my phone for this app. But my partner will have to download it. There's 30 seconds in between every ten minute call and you can't be a second late. They've advised you lurk for an hour online or something to ensure you are ready.

I have toddlers in the house. A partner who works often until 7pm and I just wish she could email across some basic details about the first month at school or arrange a phone call if there's anything serious to discuss.

All homework is done now on a seperate app on phone too. Plus parent mail is constantly pinging throughout the day with loads of stuff about online this and that. Setting up accounts. Etc etc.

Do they not realise parents are busy working, caring for other children and only have so much space on phones for the required stuff.

My daughter's 5 and it's already this technical.

Well aware of the situation. But surely a message on parent mail to each parent is enough!

Yabu but you could request a phone call, our school did this yesterday and it worked well. I did mine walking home from work which suited me and the teacher was at home.

How do you expect schools to teach children who can't be in school? Would you like us to call in your front garden on the way home from work and do a little mime through the window?

I'm not being unreasonable. They just presume everyone has up to date fancy phones with loads of space etc. A phone call would be great but that's not how they are doing it. Like I said it's all apps and downloading things to open files and stuff. My phone's rammed with school stuff.

And by the way I would be very happy if my DCs primary would offer Teams lessons so that I can do my own lessons. I considered it my parents responsibility to set them up with a cheap laptop each for this purpose. I don't have the time or expertise to oversee their work.

No send an email or a paper report home. Or phone calls. But downloading apps so we can look at eachother in the evening when it's chaotic at home is a pain. We are expected to be constantly available and sit round setting up stuff. How did they manage before!

At a slight tangent, but you don’t have to download the Zoom app, there’s a web browser version you can use if it helps. Or I’m sure the school will phone instead if you ask them to.

I don’t think schools can win, mine are teenagers now but during primary years before ParentMail it similar was used the communication was hit and miss. I’d much rather have info in an app, email or similar. At least I can refer to it rather than losing letters, payments are now all online too.

Not everyone can afford laptops. There's only so much money people can spend in this pandemic. It cost a fortune over the summer buying paper and pens and books etc.

One app is fine. But this is the 3rd app. They are experimenting with Microsoft teams now too. I have to upload her homework. They don't even take homework in now. It's all photos.

YABU - schools have had their budgets cut to the bone by the government. Have you any idea how much paper reports would cost?

These are unprecedented times and you're just going to have to work around it. Your partner will have to step up, or you will have to temporarily uninstall another app and then clear your phone's cache so you have space.

The problem with an email is that it is one-sided. Parents’ evenings are done in an evening. With email you could spend the evening typing emails then have massive additional workload over the following days responding to and following up the parental responses.

For every parents that would prefer a written report, you’ll get one who’d prefer an online conversation. Schools are trying their best.

@Jelllytotss

I'm not being unreasonable. They just presume everyone has up to date fancy phones with loads of space etc. A phone call would be great but that's not how they are doing it. Like I said it's all apps and downloading things to open files and stuff. My phone's rammed with school stuff.

You don't think you're being unreasonable but others may disagree. Why would you put this in AIBU if you're not willing to listen to an alternative view point? For what it's worth I don't wholly disagree with you.

Some parents won’t own a smartphone or laptop so they should offer a telephone consultation for those parents rather than zoom. If you call the school up now I guarantee they will be able to sort a phone call out for you instead.

I personally appreciate the technology. My DC’s previous school didn’t have this so communication came the old fashioned way via letter. Can’t tell you how many times I found old letters screwed up at the bottom of my DC’s bag, they never gave them to me. I much prefer getting a message on class Dojo, far more effective.

They are trying to do their best for your child.

You could delete an app and then delete zoom after?

I think it’s the best option given there is no face to face parents evenings this year.

Also, I was trying to usher mine out the door with DH when mine started so was 30 seconds into my 10 minutes late.. it didn’t matter. I don’t see why you have to lurk in a 1 hour waiting list if you’ve got an allotted time?

But now is a 10 minutes online session when you have work and kids more inconvenient than a 10 minute face to face session at the school when you also have work and kids?

There are a lot of ways tech adoption can be done thoughtlessly, because people assume it will make a process or outcome easier or better, and they tend to be dazzled by the bells and whistles without really considering things like costs. This isn't just in schools, it can be a problem in a lot of sectors. You get someone who had decision making power who purchases a bunch of tech hardware or software, and then they try and figure out how to use it - often they are stuck with it because of the sunk costs.

A good simple example is programs where teachers input all the marks as they go along, so parents can access them any time. On the benefits side, parents are not a whole lot better informed than they were before these programs became the thing. POssibly they have more information, which isn't the same thing, and we could ask some pointy questions about the quality of the information. On the other end there is a big time commitment for teachers keeping these things constantly updated, and in systems that are very data oriented (even paper ones) teachers are typically sacrificing really getting to know students, spending time on teaching, planning, for time spent interfacing with data in one way or another. Typically there has to be control over what the information looks like across the system to, so teachers have to use very standard feedback about the student - certain phrases and words. A lot of them end up cutting and pasting standard descriptions. So the quality of the information the parent is getting about the student is really pretty low.

Technological solutions meant to increase efficiency also can also mean cutting staff/increasing class sizes, and it's absolutely not clear that that is any benefit to students and teaching.

All of this before you get to the problem of families having access to the tech the schools expect and what kinds of gaps that creates.

I cannot STAND people like you. Do not start an AIBU thread and then open your first reply with "I am not being unreasonable" when people say you're being unreasonable. YABU YABU YABU YABU.
Your attitude to technology is poor and ill-informed. You'll need technology to function in life. They are less reliable on technology now than they were on paper before but you didn't have a problem then. Stop being silly before your technophobic behaviour hinders DD's ability to progress properly in technological world.

Do they not realise parents are busy - do you not realise we are in the middle of a pandemic and that schools are meeting themselves coming back trying to abide by their government instructions and deal with stroppy parents who just find fault and look for problems?

At this time we need to put ourselves out to be accommodating and understanding. None of it is ideal, but it is what it is.

I have to say my experience is the exact opposite of this: my daughter's school send (physical) worksheets home over lockdown and have still not sorted out google classroom etc.

Of course parents are busy and stressed etc but I don't see that relying on low-fi technology makes this any easier -- if anything this is worse for working parents as it requires the physical transfer of material from school to home and vice versa.

I also honestly don't believe that lack of access to a smartphone is a rate-limiting step. If there are parents out there without smartphones then in the vast majority of cases this will be down to professional middle classes Luddism rather than lack of resources. The poorest people have smartphones.

If people really need to circumvent the technology there are ways around it but I don't think harking back to a pre-technology era is going to make our lives easier now.

I don't have a smartphone and have just done my daughter's parents evening by Zoom on the family computer. It was worked really well, you get timed slots and cut off after 5 minutes. It is the first parents evening I have enjoyed in ages with the bonus that it can't over run for the teachers.

@DrivingMo

Your ignorance to people having jobs, less money to buy I pads and laptops and the fact people are juggling enough without having to work out how to make accounts and download pdf readers etc because they don't have the latest phone.

You are ignorant. You are rude. I can't stand people like you who THINK everyone is in the same boat and can afford the internet and laptops.

You are very very very unreasonable and over privileged. You have lived a sheltered life if you think everyone has the luxuries you have.

YABU. If it’s that much of an inconvenience for you, tell the school you would like a phone call or are happy with just their report and no parents evening. I’m sure they’ll accommodate you.

I am not being unreasonable

😂😂😂 Get out of AIBU then!!!!!

The middle class kept women are out today hahahaha