To wonder how to get school parents to volunteer to do anything?

[FishfingerFlinger]

I’m a somewhat reluctant volunteer for the school PTA - only reluctant because I have a full-on job (12hr+ days most of this week) another volunteer role and am frankly frazzled.

Trying to get volunteers to help do small tasks for the school fair and no one will do ANYTHING. Everyone wants the school fair to happen. Everyone moans if it doesn’t happen. But they think the magic fairies make it happen?

Some schools seem to have an abundance of volunteers making elaborate fairs happen. All I’m asking is for someone to man the bat the rat stall for half an hour and I can’t even get that.

What am i doing wrong here?

This is part of the self fulfilling prophecy isn’t it, everyone knows not enough people volunteer and it makes them reluctant to for fear of being dragged in for more/longer etc.

It's not twaddle. It's part of our PTA aims. We are helping to create a school community in the face of hyper individualism and crumbling connections everywhere. There is a massive mental health crisis going on in part because all the things that humans learned keep them well - working to be part of something, singing, movement, sharing experiences and food, ritual - have been lessened or even lost. Isolationists like you can do what they like, but I'm proud to be working to improve the lot of hundreds of people.

We've never had a Christmas fair at school. My DC have still met Father Christmas, sang carols and eaten mince pies- with us.

Some families aren’t as willing or able to provide opportunities. School is sometimes the only place some kids get these sorts of experiences.

I suggest you shift your aims, because well frankly in today's rat run world, where many of us are battling for financial survival, we don't care about the school community. It's on the bottom of our list of priorities.

We send our childre to school to a) get and education and b) you are free childcare essentially.

I really would shift your aim to raising money for designated hardship funds and materials.

I and many of my parent friends don't give a shit if you have mince pies and father Christmas, or experiences. Just teach the curriculum and that's it.

We will back you up on behaviour in the school setting, doing homework and stuff. But outside of that, you are on your own sinking ship I'm afraid.

@NoSquirrels why do you think you (or the PTA) should get to decide which activities are worthwhile experiences for every family at the school?

If families aren't willing to do these activities privately, maybe it's because the family don't consider it to be important or worth taking time away from something else to do. Which may be why you don't get the volunteers. It's all a bit virtue signalling and condescending.

I'm aware that some might not be able to offer opportunities to their children, but going to a Christmas fair (where the children then can't spend any money) must surely be way way down on the list of what would benefit these children the most. So wouldn't simple carol concert with a collection at the end suffice? Funds to go towards academic support and opportunities for these children.

What a sad view of school. I don't just send my kid to school for them to be drilled in academics. I want them to have a nice childhood and being in school takes up most of their childhood, so I want it to be a pleasant experience. It's quite sad that you and other parents at your school "don't give a shit". I'm a single mum working full time and I still give a shit 🤷‍♀️

Tbh this sounds close to our school. It has a community feel and many give up their time to do more, whether it’s story telling or music

The upside is the money raised is fairly hefty and things can be built on the back of it

This.

Or the time they asked for volunteers, got 6 and decided they would do it themselves. They didn't even take contact details.

I know our parents council head through work. She doesn't want help she wants a cross to bear and a medal.

Are your teachers involved? From experience having a teacher involved can reassure parents that Clipboard Clara is on a leash and no one minds if its crispy cakes instead of mini Victoria sponges.

I just buy a good bottle for the drink tombola now.

@HereComesMaleficent your view of what school is for is utterly depressing.

Perhaps they have no desire to be involved, we send our children to school not to always be full involved.
PTA aren't for everyone nor volunteering.
Respect the fact not everyone wants to be involved weather it means it happens or not.
Look at your circle involved how do they take to anyone..
Or we have adult children who were brought up in a less bubble wrapped Karen time.

What an exceptionally miserable attitude.

Maybe I am terribly old fashioned but in a “rat run world” community i(whatever form that takes) is MORE important than ever. Just taking a transactional view of it all is a very depressing outlook.

Indeed it is, but with so much pressure on the education system, perhaps reverting back to basics at these times is what is feasible.

I'm a loan parent on one income, working full time. I really don't need the school for more than education, which I prop up with a private dyslexia tutor. I take my child on holiday, to Christmas markets and trips to the sea side, parks and other opportunities.

That's my job as a parent. Schools surely can't keep becoming pseudo parents, the system will break.

I honestly don't care if my child finds school the most enjoyable experience, it's the law he goes, it's the law the school teach the national curriculum. We can meet eachother at "the law".

As I've said previously my child hates school anyway, but I've drilled into him the importance of good behaviour, doing the work, keeping his head down and coming home to enjoy life. It's just a simpler life.

And yes some of our class and other classes in our year group (3) came to fair and paid money to go on stalls etx

But wouldn't give up an hour of their time to man our class stalls

If more volunteered everyone could have done 30m on the stall and enjoyed going round fair before /after

Instead think there were 5/6 so all doing an hour

But loads of people don’t look to their school to provide it.

My community is my family and friends and my neighbours. School is a bunch of people that I am vaguely familiar with because of the timing of our children’s births.

This might be the problem. What you want out of a school, isn’t what other people want. Those that are look for community will help out. Those who don’t look to the school to give a sense of community, aren’t that invested.

Or maybe lots of parents would like that sense of community from the school, but don’t actually feel it. For people to act like a community they need to feel part of it. Maybe the school has been failing at that.

But school isn't the community I'm and others are part of.

We have our church community
We have our hobby communities like rugby, boys brigade, football, swimming.
We have our families and neighbours.

Many of us really don't need you as a community at all. We need you to educate our children. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Well personally I think schools should be part of a community but obviously some people see differently.
Non Academy/Non Faith Schools are usually called “So and So Community School”.
So in my world they are a vital part of a local community.
But whatever…..

You sound as bitter as hell. Good luck to what you can achieve on your own. We've got a community and we lift people up and make our children aspirational. They know they are worth nice things.

Wow! ‘We know our kids are worth nice things’

Where did that poster say her kids weren’t worth nice things?

When did ‘nice things’ become only nice if it’s a school event?

Does their school not benefit from any fundraising others do?

Apparently they are only nice if the parents provide them. And not nice if they are in company of their fellow pupils.

Who said things are not nice if in the company of fellow pupils?

Surely they said they don’t need to the school to provide experiences or that experiences like fair are not nice to to them.

Volunteering for larger concerns is more than I can cope with. Because, it seems, you can't just volunteer. You have to also sign their "values statement", wear a rainbow lanyard etc etc

Then some of the users of the service are trying to make work and catch you out. Wanting to tell you they are a vegan and that they have allergies. Hoping you'll use the wrong pronoun on them so they can complain. Wanting to tell you at length about their "special situation" and all the effort they want you to go to for it.

No. Sorry. I work for myself partly so that I don't have to deal with this kind of stuff.

My community is my family and friends and my neighbours. School is a bunch of people that I am vaguely familiar with because of the timing of our children’s births

But for your children, schools is very much part of their community, probably the largest part, given how much time they spend there.

I honestly don't care if my child finds school the most enjoyable experience
That's really sad.

That's not what I said at all.

What I basically said is many of us don't need you to provide "nice things" and a "community" what many of u need is the school to give an education.

I am fully onboard with schools fundraising for hardship funds or needed materials, but the PTA need to make their fundraising objectives clear, and stop with the whole "experience" angle.

If you just basically said, we need to fundraise for a hardship grant or materials grant, please donate what you can. You'd probably be more successful, than trying to get parents already stretched and busy to show up/volunteer for a school fair under the guise of "an experience".

Just because many of us parents don't want your fair or ghastly volunteering events, doesn't mean we don't value the children. We just don't see the benefit of them for many of us.

But again, if you just out right said what you wanted, and fundraised accordingly some of us would be happy to donate some cash.

But then again part of me firmly believes you want these events and things, not for the "value of the children", it's for the virtuous busy bodies to be able to sit on a committee and boss people about feeling high and mighty in the little PTA clique. And then when an event has to be "solely" manned by yourselfs you can play some "look how hard we work for the children, were obviously the only people who care about the children" card.

PTA people remind me of that character from the Simpsons, I think it's the reverends wife who keeps screeching "think of the children".

The children are fine, they don't need a pocket of plastic tat and naff raffle prizes. They need an education.