Please read the words!

[Switch74]

I teach English in a secondary school and my subject's first GCSE exam is tomorrow morning (8:45 am on the timetable).

I updated the VLE to remind my class what's on this exam and that they're invited to revision with breakfast before tutor time, to calm their nerves and give a final recap.

I just received a reply asking what time they can leave as their parents have booked a table for tea!

It just doesn't bode well for him analysing and evaluating a challenging text tomorrow MORNING.

I think you are being ridiculous and quite mean.

Clearly the student, possibly a bit stressed before the exam, did not pay proper attention to what they were reading.

I think it's unfair to then infer that they will be equally inattentive in their exam.

And yes, while I got your point eventually, your posts were confusing. Possibly if you had this writing style on the VLE too, the students might be forgiven for getting confused.

@Switch74 this thread shows you exactly why you got that email.

Reading or not, people see what they want to see and words mean what they want them to mean , and then they just roll wit it.

This is baffling me. The 845 and request about tea time are different things.

So the AIBU is?

Me too!

Oh come on this is a bit mean. They've got loads on their mind, are probably shit scared about tomorrow and you're moaning about them on mumsnet.

Hmm... sounds like something one of mine might do. You are assuming that it is a reply to your message rather than a separate issue. I can imagine your message prompting me to ask my DC to check whether there were any after school revisions sessions, if school finishes at the usual time during exams etc, and the DC asking the teacher who sent the message rather than the appropriate person... They all managed to pull off A*s (and first class degrees) but they have a blind (deaf?) spot when it comes to engaging their brains when a parent is speaking. Maybe I trained them too well to follow parental instructions without questioning 😂

I agree 100% it's not a nice thing to come on her sneering about a pupil who is about to have an important exam.

Totally agree, my niece is absolutely in bits tonight worrying about starting her exams tomorrow, if teachers are giving info it just needs to be simple and informative, they’ve got enough to worry about.

I left school three weeks after my 16th birthday and have never been to uni - and yet I understood at the first reading of the post what the OP was saying.

Exactly. And if anything you should consider playing some nice relaxing rain sounds with breakfast instead of last minute revising. What if they want breakfast in a more chilled setting?

You’ve missed the point. They obviously think the revision is at 845pm not am. Why would it effect tea time if it’s breakfast revision?

But equally why would it affect tea if it started at 8:45pm?

They might have thought there was a debrief after? I hope you answered them nicely and not like READ MY WORDS

Exactly. And if anything you should consider playing some nice relaxing rain sounds with breakfast instead of last minute revising. What if they want breakfast in a more chilled setting?

The don't HAVE to go to OP's breakfast session, so they don't?

They just need a bit of extra support and reassurance, and about 40% of our families (obviously not the one who emailed) need meals providing. breakfast before the exam is extra important for that 40% who are probably already at a disadvantage so I'd make breakfast not linked to the last minute pressure cramming.

Surely the DC thought there might be another revision session later or was just enquiring what time they can leave school?
Read the words indeed

They can have their breakfast wherever they like. It's not compulsory.

That's not my call, unfortunately. Free school meals don't extend to breakfast. We all know the government had to be shamed into giving vouchers over holidays while more parents were out of work during the pandemic.

If my senior team say it's revision and breakfast, I can't teach nothing while watching the kids eat.

“I can't teach nothing” aren’t double negatives frowned upon by English teachers? 🤔

Completely baffled by this post. What on earth are you talking about Op?

I think it’s a great idea if you have a group of kids who are at risk of being late, sitting the exam hungry, or jittery. I’m a big fan of last minute cramming personally - but the value here to me is in the going in calm and fed.

I’m with those that think the tea question wasn’t ever intended to be related to the breakfast though! Parent: “ah, so it’s pre 08:45 start. That’s different. Wonder if finish time is different too, we’ve got that tea booked… oh I’d better ask!”

Well, as both Chaucer and Shakespeare were keen on them for emphasis, I think an English teacher possibly well placed to decide whether to adhere to upstart 17th century modern grammar 🤷🏻‍♀️

If this be error and upon me prov’d / I never writ nor no man ever loved.

Re-read it and change the emphasis. It makes sense in the context.

@Switch74 I think you’re wrong in your interpretation of that parent, but thank you for supporting your students with your own early start - and good luck to your candidates!

Indeed.
@LeaveIt appears to be reading it as, “I can’t teach nuffin’ / I am unable to teach.”
@LeaveIt read it again, thinking, “having been asked to provide a revision session, I can’t run a session with nothing (no material) to teach them.”

But you probably know this and we’re just trying to look clever?