To hate online parents' evenings.

[Hcolhcsra]

DD's school and the one where I work are both sticking to online parents' evenings. I loathe them, both as a teacher and as a parent. Too many issues with connections, countdown timers adding pressure and a general lack of connection.

Am I really in a minority?

Not a parent but work with some parents on low income - couple of questions for teachers

• are there many parents who don’t have access to the technology for online (obviously not represented here).

• are there parents who do actually need more than 10 minutes and when a further meeting/correspondence is not possible or is it really just “hogging”

Friend likes them as she doesnt have to see her ex face to face

Me too, constant connection problems (despite following all the instructions). Abrupt 10 min cut off. Impersonal etc.

For my 2 secondary children they were much better than queuing outside classrooms.
Parents were asked if they wanted to stick with online (and wearing pe kits to school on pe days) and this was really popular.
We had no connection problems.
I found them less stressful, easier to take notes, and genuinely useful (including having a timer).
I followed up with 1 or 2 teachers by email, where necessary.
I think for younger primary in person would be better.

I love them, particularly as a teacher but also as a parent. I’m delighted that my school is keeping them.

@SionnachRua

Charming!!!!

Knew there'd be one. Although my bets were on "wow. Just wow".

I don't give a shiny shite - if you think it's acceptable to run into other people's meeting times and wreck the schedule...well. Your opinion isn't worth much to me.

I'm with the teacher on this. DH is one of those parents who needs to be booted out after his allotted time; otherwise he just keeps talking! I'm sure the teachers would love a "boot" button for him!

@Bloodymess

Not a parent but work with some parents on low income - couple of questions for teachers

• are there many parents who don’t have access to the technology for online (obviously not represented here).

• are there parents who do actually need more than 10 minutes and when a further meeting/correspondence is not possible or is it really just “hogging”

Iv never known a school where further meetings were not possible. You have an issue you arrange a separate meeting after parents night.

I'd say schools have a pretty good idea who has access to a phone by know due to online homeschooling. If school have any worth then they make sure familys who dont are engaged.

We have had familys with issues at home become more engaged over phone contact as it less intimidating and judgemental than having to physically go into the school

Bloody love them. DTs in person system was a Total shambles.
I have twins in secondary, last in person secondary I was there for 3 hours and still didn’t see two of the teachers. Online I was just over an hour and also arranged a follow up with the one who had connection issues.

Ours are only 5 minutes but I prep for them like a job interview with a massive list of questions. I am THAT mum.

Abrupt 10 min cut off.

Which is why many teachers love them. Parents evenings can be exhausting and very long (bordering stressful) if parents won’t stop talking and keep to the time slot.

impersonal

Mine aren’t! I feel much more friendly and relaxed at home, knowing that I won’t overrun and be stuck at school for hours. I’ve commented a few times that parents evenings online are much more friendly and informal in a good way.

I much prefer online. It means DH and I can both join even if one of us is still at work. We don't have to worry about childcare.

I imagine it's also more pleasant for the teachers... I've seen parents get quite aggressive on parents' night, and felt for the teachers who had to deal with them. Must be nicer to be able to mute them. Also means the teacher can be at home too, so they also don't have to worry about childcare etc so much (unless they have very young kids, I guess). And they can put their feet up while they talk!

@NiceGerbil

I've put yabu but I mean how anyone feels about this isn't wrong as it were!

I love them.
In person it's terribly badly organised. Many chats over run so there's queues. You can never get a slot with all you want. And on the day cos of queues and timings hopeless etc. Parents tend to wander and grab ones with no queue irrespective of subject.

Online.
Timing adhered to. Perfect organisation. Able to get slots with teachers you want. Parents with millions of questions etc can't collar them for way longer than supposed.

We have good internet here so connections fine.

I totally completely love it!

Same here. The in person ones were chaos. There were always teachers we didn’t get to see, because the whole event overran. Online they stick to the times. And you don’t have to trudge round the whole school to find the teachers in different rooms.

For primary I hate online. My son has SEN, I haven’t been able to see any of his work in person to see the issues/progress and that’s important. He wants to show me his books and what he’s been doing that he’s proud of and it’s upsetting for him that he doesn’t get to do this. Before, we would have a set time slot for the actual meeting but there was a communal a space outside the classroom where people could spend as much time as they liked looking through their child’s workbooks without impacting on the scheduling. My child and I really miss that opportunity for him to talk/show me through his work (page by page!) and I know (because she’s told me) that his class teacher would like to be able to show me examples of issues/progress.

For secondary I think it works really well and solves the very many problems around having to find teachers, missing slots when there is overrunning etc. Plus I have a better idea of his standard of work because he brings his schoolbooks home and we discuss his homework, he shows me his books etc. So I get to see what he’s doing regularly anyway.

I like them as a parent. Don't have to go to school, they stick to the timeframe. Every in person parents meeting I've been to has been really late because of jabbering parents! Still face to face on zoom. Only annoying thing is when connection goes dodgy.

[quote Sherrystrull]@VenusTiger

It's unfair that one parent can take up 40mins of your time. In some cases I've stood up and walked to the door and the parent still hasn't left. I've had meetings where parents have spent ages wandering round the classroom looking at displays and refusing to leave. It's hugely unacceptable to everyone.

The way you have spoken to @SionnachRua is out of order. You have no idea. [/quote]
Your description is much more pleasant than wanting to 'boot overly talkative parents out'.

Sion reacted to my "charming!!!!" comment and said she didn't give a shiny shit.

And yet my comment was deleted.

This place has changed.

i should've said I'm primary - 10 mins is not long enough twice per year. Very difficult to get meetings with teachers outwith consultation times tbh - unless at a time child is home which defeats the object of being able to speak privately.
Can absolutely see they are beneficial at secondary school parents evenings which sound awful

Love them. I don’t have to organise childcare. Don’t have to rush home from work. Much more private. If they’re running late I’m at home so can get on with something rather than spend the whole of my evening in a school corridor.

They asked parents at my school if they wanted to keep them post pandemic and the overwhelming majority said yes so I’m not the only one.

I love them as my son is at secondary, but I'd imagine if your child is in primary a face to face would be better.

DP and I dialled in from our respective offices and the software worked, teacher connected; we had our 10 mins then we connected to the next teacher and it worked wonderfully. The teachers were all at school so using the schools VPN so no connectivity or dodgy wifi issues for them.

The school did a survey in the summer holidays about whether parents wanted to keep the parents evenings online and the answer was a resounding "Yes".

Absolutely love them!

@VenusTiger

Believe me, when you've already taught a 12 hour day (and you've still got a queue of 5 parents) and despite many hints a parent is talking for 30+ mins about the exact likes and dislikes their child has for hot dinners then you would like to boot them out too.

We only get five minutes!

I much prefer it. Far fewer parents dont show up. I hate being stuck in the hall doing very little on nights when i have a small class and half dont bother actually turning up but im still sat there until 8pm because they also didnt bother to cancel their appointments by letting school know they were not coming.

[quote Sherrystrull]@VenusTiger

Believe me, when you've already taught a 12 hour day (and you've still got a queue of 5 parents) and despite many hints a parent is talking for 30+ mins about the exact likes and dislikes their child has for hot dinners then you would like to boot them out too.

[/quote]
In my place, we flag frequent dawdlers meeting slots (few in number but it's the same ones every year - they seem to try nab the last slot of the evening so they can bend your ear as long as they like) with the principal, who promptly appears at the end of the allotted time and interrupts with an urgent message...

Oh the horror! The humanity! How truly and unbelievably vile!

Zoom is one step beyond that, I can tell my next appointment is in the waiting room and they don't know the truth

I love online parents evening. So much more convenient, no queues, no waiting because the parents before you have gone over their allocated time.
My husband can join in from work and I can attend from the car outside my other children’s activities if needed!

I'm just wondering if those parents, who hate online parents evening, are the ones, on a different thread, who are jumping up and down about being allowed to continue to work from home?!
Just saying.

I love them. No babysitting, they run to time, are more focused.
I love to see their work too, but I don’t need to see the teacher face to face.