To refuse to give up time to help kids catch up?

[PeachyM]

So I’m a teacher. And we’re nearing the end of the school year- finally :) Two kids from the same family but in different years disappear off for a two week family holiday, which hasn’t been authorised. I’m not going to particularly question their parents’ decision because it’s up to them. But they’ve come back having missed two weeks of a core subject and the parents have now requested we give up time to help catch them up. I’ve said no because I already have a shit ton of end of year stuff to finish and I don’t have the time. Parents have accused me of being unreasonable and said that I’m refusing to do my job. Who’s in the wrong here?

YANBU

They can easily get some revision guides and catch up on the many available, free websites.

Some people will always be entitled CFs.
Hopefully their kids won’t be.

Don’t make it sound hard.

Do they can catch up on their breaks at school, surely the parents will think twice before going on holidays during term times again and you will be giving what they asked you for 😒

Yes, they're in the wrong.

But the kids need to catch up, and you're going to end up helping, aren't you?

So the question is, how?

Sorry.. make them do their catch up 🙃😉

In the days when they had to hand in a completed coursework folder so we had time to mark it, I had one distraught parent of a nice but very lazy girl calling me at break and lunchtime to beg for an extension. My HoD said very firmly, no: one rule for everybody -or we will have mayhem. The same applies here, I think.

I’m a teacher. I have given the parents a brief list of what has been missed and then parents have found things to catch the child up. Never would I give up my own time for it

Fuck them. Different if a close relative dying etc, but a holiday nope.
Reply copying on head of year that they can book you for private catch up lessons at £x per hour but unless the school release you from another lesson your break times are that, break time to be able to have a clear head to teach the up coming lessons.

Send them a link to BITE SIZED for the relevant course work, tell them how nice it is to see parents wanting to make sure their children don't fall behind and since your backed up on jobs to finish before the end of school, your proud they are willing to put THEMSELVES out for their children, that the pages are self marking.

YANBU! Parents chose to remove their children from school for a fortnight so it's up to them to support them to catch up. I'm a teacher and a parent, if my DC ever miss school whether for medical appointments or other reasons, I let their teachers know they will be absent and that they will catch up from a classmate. When my Y12 DC was very unwell with covid - and for quite a while afterwards - their teachers went above and beyond to support them to catch up but that was something they offered, I certainly didn't ask for that.

In your situation, I would respond to the parent by suggesting their child get a topics list from classmates and use Seneca Learning, BBC Bitesize or other online resources of their choosing to get themselves back up to speed.

I would send the parents a link to a GCSE textbook on Amazon or somewhere with "Chapter X and Y" as well as a link to the relevant chapter on BBC Bitesize and no more. If you were feeling particularly evil, you could also send them a link to a tutoring Service (Kip McGrath or something like that). But I agree that this shouldn't be your responsibility and the parents (and therefore the children by association) and CFs

Give them the class work, point them in the direction of the AQA revision guides and wave them on their way! Fk that!

What a cheek they took the kid out. If they where that worried they should have left the kid in school.

I haven't RTFT, but aren't all lessons up on the school's intranet?

Did the parents offer to pay for your time? To heap a few coals on the fire direct them to a tutoring company. If they can afford a holiday, they can afford to have the teaching made up at their expense. I would still bet they would come after you for time consuming details of what was missed.

I haven't RTFT, but aren't all lessons up on the school's intranet?

Why would they be? So you upload your days work every night?

My friend took her kids overseas for two months at short notice for a holiday. Was annoyed the teacher wouldn't email weekly lesson plans. He directed her to the education curriculum website they have to follow.

I'm a fellow school parent & though she was very CF. Teachers aren't private tutors.

I understand where you're coming from.
However, any chance you could catch them up within school hours at some point, can they cut their lunch in half ? After all, it's the the children's fault, they had no say at all, and are missing (as you say) a core subject!
As a teacher do you want to help them achieve ?
i know it may give you a couple of extra hours but is this not all in the teaching career ? Improving, encouraging, and supporting children to achieve academically ? @PeachyM

Unreasonable demands like this from parents, if supported by the administration, are a BIG reason for teacher burnout and the failure (along with low pay) to attract new teachers into the profession. I’m probably preaching to the choir here.
Of course, the parents are depending on your feeling sympathy for the children, as the ultimate losers, but I think you need to be firm with them about the limitations you have right now on your time. If the children fail, it’s the PARENTS’ fault: you are not a machine nor a slave. If it was an unauthorized holiday, you owe them nothing, but a packet listing homework assignments given, or some similar list would show your Good Faith. Maybe they can ask classmates for help, and it will be a great—and clearly a MUCH NEEDED—lesson in Consequences. Did the parents EVER learn that lesson?
Evidently not.

I retired at the end of last year, and yes, every lesson plan was put up on the school's intranet at the start of the day.

These lesson plans were not in the insane detail required in the UK, not a substitute for actually being in the class, but enough to be going on with. They were where absentees for whatever reason were referred.

Congratulations. You have just solved the current crisis in education. Who needs a living breathing teacher in the classroom when all that is needed are the lesson plans on a computer. Next week it will be announced that the NHS is officially including the phrase “If in doubt google your symptoms “ on all NHS information.

Please read what I wrote. The lesson plans are not a substitute for being in the lesson. If there's one thing Covid has taught us, it's that pupils need live teachers (and each other) to have an education.

What is the school policy for long leaves ? When I was young, kids were expected to catch up when they were off sick especially in secondary school and now they don't have to when they go on vacation ? This is absurd. We had to find another willing pupil to catch up, and pray there were still extra copies for any material handed out. The textbooks were lifesavers. This is entitlement at its best. And/Or disrespectful. Did they do that for every subject ? They have textbooks, they knew they were leaving they should have made plans ahead of time so that the kids did study while on vacation. They should pay a tutor. Your hours are already accounted for. This is the extra cost of vacation. IMHO.

Check.

How ridiculous. I am considering taking my kids on holiday in term time, because I can't get time off right now, but they're 3 years old so won't miss much. I wouldn't do that during an important year and if I did, I would not expect the teacher to tutor them ! How entitled.

I was going to ask what your school policy was for this but @ladydoris beat me to it. My ds old (state) primary school's policy was basically you choose to take your children out for holidays then that's your choice and on you and so the school would not help at all with catching up. This was before fines were brought in.