Page 11 | To be dreading face to face parents evening Thursday

IHateParentsEvenings · 2022-05-10T18:10:48+00:00

Going to get flamed to a crisp, never mind. I am dreading it … teaching all day and then three solid hours between 4 and 7 talking to parents, some will be lovely but there will be some really difficult ones, won’t be able to be cut off after five minutes, will enjoy making me justify every detention since September. Then home exhausted and still got the next days planning to do … sorry MN, I dread it.

CelestiaNoctis · 12/05/2022 21:45

This is why I voted to keep it on the phone, teachers have it hard enough.

pattish · 12/05/2022 21:46

Have a buzzer and when time is up, it’s up. No more words. Next parent. If there’s more to discuss they can make an appointment - most won’t.

This is so rude. I had a teacher do this once and I lost all respect for her.

noblegiraffe · 12/05/2022 21:55

since when do teachers actually give parents their email addresses?!

Parents and kids can easily email teachers at my school. 🤷‍♀️

Kate0902900908 · 12/05/2022 21:57

No flaming from me. I'm not a teacher and I can't even imagine all the planning, organising, teaching, parents evenings, cost of holidaying during school holidays I honestly salute you!
I wouldn't want to work all day then do 3 hours of intense meetings!

LadyHelenaJustina · 12/05/2022 22:33

I hope ours stay online forever. A clear cutoff after five minutes means they go much more smoothly, and guarantees privacy.

Sherrystrull · 12/05/2022 22:35

user1498937810 · 12/05/2022 18:43

I am a teacher and I am embarrassed to read, see and hear how disrespectful and insensitive some teachers are towards the parents. In all years of teaching, I never had bad parents meeting. In fact, it is always something I look forward to as it is a chance to learn more about the child in my class and support them better as a result.

I enjoy parents evening too but surely you can understand how it can be stressful.
I can't believe you've never had a tricky conversation or an unexpected problem at a parents evening.

LoisLane66 · 13/05/2022 02:25

It comes with the territory.

My dad was a headmaster and I lived through all the years when he taught, had disappointments re moving schools then several promotions but not once did I hear him complain about colleagues, workload or facing parents. He was held in the highest regard by everyone with whom he came into contact because he held open the door to a better future for each pupil and encouraged and nurtured their dreams which lay beyond the drab streets where they were born. Every summer, he and some other staff spent two weeks of the summer holidays taking the pupils to Colomendy, Loggerheads, and we children and mum joined them for the second week. He gave his free time to show educational films about other countries at a nun's school, talks at other schools and spent many lunch hours helping a lad who was being 'bullied' by classmates for having a broad Yorkshire accent, by using a tape recorder to help him be better understood by his peers.

I'm only scratching the surface of his involvement with his early pupils and their families, who were from the poorer areas. ''That is where you can make the most difference'' he used to say.

It wasn't a job, it was his life.

Sherrystrull · 13/05/2022 07:52

LoisLane66 · 13/05/2022 02:25

It comes with the territory.

My dad was a headmaster and I lived through all the years when he taught, had disappointments re moving schools then several promotions but not once did I hear him complain about colleagues, workload or facing parents. He was held in the highest regard by everyone with whom he came into contact because he held open the door to a better future for each pupil and encouraged and nurtured their dreams which lay beyond the drab streets where they were born. Every summer, he and some other staff spent two weeks of the summer holidays taking the pupils to Colomendy, Loggerheads, and we children and mum joined them for the second week. He gave his free time to show educational films about other countries at a nun's school, talks at other schools and spent many lunch hours helping a lad who was being 'bullied' by classmates for having a broad Yorkshire accent, by using a tape recorder to help him be better understood by his peers.

I'm only scratching the surface of his involvement with his early pupils and their families, who were from the poorer areas. ''That is where you can make the most difference'' he used to say.

It wasn't a job, it was his life.

He sounds like a wonderful man.

Society is so different now.

Mummyto2rugrats · 13/05/2022 10:49

DD highschool one on line though 5min is a little tight to ask everything as I am big on supporting my DD and the school but it litteraly ends the call which is good as then the teacher isn't tied up for hours unnecessarily, but only downside as they do them all in one evening we couldnt actually book to speak to all teachers which i was dissapointed about as i want to know how she is doing. DS last year of primary and last parents evening was face to face which was good but also not as teacher over running and we were last slot so meant hanging around (with unfortunately the click nightmare parents 😢)

I vote online best thing I personally think

jewishmum · 13/05/2022 12:43

Are detentions effective at controlling behaviour? Seems in my school it was always the same kids getting detentions.

Bogeyes · 15/05/2022 03:41

Why isn't my lovely child learning anything? Why are they so far behind?
Because they go to bed late and play games on their playstation....

Fairislefandango · 15/05/2022 07:32

Are detentions effective at controlling behaviour? Seems in my school it was always the same kids getting detentions.

Same now. Unfortunately there's not a lot else schools can do about the behaviour of those same kids who are always in detention (or the ones who don't even turn up to detention, often backed up by their parents).

OnceuponaRainbow18 · 15/05/2022 08:39

Our school puts detention non attenders into isolation for the day… I would say detentions put most kids off doing wrong.

Luculentus · 16/05/2022 08:59

jewishmum · 13/05/2022 12:43

Are detentions effective at controlling behaviour? Seems in my school it was always the same kids getting detentions.

If it's the same children getting detentions all the time then someone should be looking into whether that is indicative of learning difficulties. Some children repeatedly play up because they have attention problems, or are trying to disguise their literacy difficulties, or are stressed out by language or sensory problems.

Fairislefandango · 16/05/2022 09:08

If it's the same children getting detentions all the time then someone should be looking into whether that is indicative of learning difficulties.

Schools do look into whether there are learning difficulties. Some of the kids who are in detention have various difficulties which are known about and managed as well as can be done in the circumstances. They still do things which require detentions. Others are in year 10 and 11, have no signs of learning difficulties but simply have no desire to stop behaving however they like, as they have done for years. Detentions do not deter them. Some people seem to think that every child with persistent bad behaviour has a diagnosable issue. This is very obviously not true.

Swonderful · 16/05/2022 09:27

Much better to do what our kids' school does. Online meeting that automatically cuts off parents after 3 minutes. It's great when your kid needs to decide which gcses to pick!! 😏

I all seriousness, parents eves are really important. We just found out something my daughter is really struggling with that we can help her with.

I can see it's tough for teachers but most professional jobs will involve unpleasant meetings/tasks at some point.

30inaclass · 19/05/2025 11:39

Hope you are getting on ok with the parent evenings, OP.

I often wonder how the ‘marriage’ of ‘Mrs Tolson’ and Mr Tolson is…

Some parts of this thread made me laugh.