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!

Doubt the boy in question will be up yet since he sent me three stories in the middle of the night. Not sure when I'm supposed to mark those!

You sound such a nice, caring teacher coming on here to slag off a 15/16 year old

It's an anonymous forum, so not sure why people feel I've shamed a child in public. Also, just for clarification, I didn't ask anyone to write three stories for homework over night - but the child's expectation really was that I'd somehow offer feedback that timeframe, around sleeping, getting my own kids sorted for an earlier start and dealing with the rest of my class.

The reminders were given, breakfast was eaten, the exam took place (Steinbeck's "The Pearl" for anyone interested), the day carried on and I suppose everyone will eat their tea.

No, it's not the daftest question ever asked of a teacher and I can see why parents might want other things clarified. It wasn't particularly offensive, but not especially polite; asking to leave early (not asking times) when time was being offered as an extra seemed irrelevant to what I'd said and typical of people not paying attention when it matters.

It reminded me most of having a good discussion going in the room, a child waving their hand in the air, being asked to contribute, and everything being stopped by, "Can I go to the toilet?" Only I was with my family, it was the evening and I was offering to go in to work early.

It's not that anonymous. There are three million users and many people have been 'outed' in real life by other users.

And threads are constantly being picked up by newspapers and by Jeremy Vine.

It reminded me most of having a good discussion going in the room, a child waving their hand in the air, being asked to contribute, and everything being stopped by, "Can I go to the toilet?" Only I was with my family, it was the evening and I was offering to go in to work early. but at the time that is what the child needed.

Yup. And there can't be many parents wanting to take their child out to dinner on a weekday.

It reminded me most of having a good discussion going in the room, a child waving their hand in the air, being asked to contribute, and everything being stopped by, "Can I go to the toilet?"

Wtf. God forbid a child needs to perform a bodily function at an inconvenient moment.

Who also had an English GCSE exam on John Steinbeck's "The Pearl" this morning and sent their teacher three stories in the night.

Poor boy, I hope his parents aren’t on here.

Well, last time there were any external GCSE exams about 43,000 children were entered for this particular exam board for English. I don't know this year's statistics, though.

I do know parents don't always know when their kids are up and using technology unsupervised and inappropriately.

And that makes a mix of people who hope his parents see what I've said and those who hope they don't.

Your post is anonymous in that you're not naming yourself or others.

However, it is so specific that if any connected parent or student read it, they would recognise the situation and individuals. And that's not that unlikely on MN.

That's not even very problematic - but I think your disdain for your students comes through, albeit that you're clearly a very hardworking & committed teacher (I said earlier that I'm so impressed with the offer of early morning revision).