AmeliaBloomer
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,842
Location: USA
Jun 26, 2014 5:01:45 GMT
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Post by AmeliaBloomer on Aug 31, 2015 23:49:47 GMT
My principal scheduled Parent Teacher Conferences on Halloween one year. He couldn't believe the teachers were angry. The conferences were scheduled 8 am to 8 pm. He said that the other parent could take the kid trick or treating. It did get changed when parents said they wouldn't come at that time. Did you say, "THEN WHO WILL STAY HOME AND PASS OUT THE CANDY?!!!" Did he not understand the delicate yin and yang of trick-or-treating? He sounds like a dope. And extra special dope. |
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tduby1
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,979 
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Post by tduby1 on Aug 31, 2015 23:58:59 GMT
I don't understand what you're saying when you quoted me. Aren't you asking the exact same question I asked? "What they job expects you to volunteer unpaid to meet its needs" is the same thing I asked. Exactly. Name another profession that expects YOU to volunteer without pay to meet its needs. Many professionals work with children year-round without the benefit of a volunteer organization to meet its needs/wants. I guarantee the needs you are "meeting" are not the teachers... But rather your child's and those needs likely exist becuase people don't want to pay the taxes required to meet those needs. Why should the teachers have to foot that bill? |
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Post by underwatermama on Sept 1, 2015 0:01:42 GMT
Our elementary had a teacher liaison who attended the PTSA meetings and represented all the teachers. The principal attended too (not sure if he did at all of them, or just occasionally as DH was on the board, not me).
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Post by 950nancy on Sept 1, 2015 0:01:57 GMT
My principal scheduled Parent Teacher Conferences on Halloween one year. He couldn't believe the teachers were angry. The conferences were scheduled 8 am to 8 pm. He said that the other parent could take the kid trick or treating. It did get changed when parents said they wouldn't come at that time. Did you say, "THEN WHO WILL STAY HOME AND PASS OUT THE CANDY?!!!" Did he not understand the delicate yin and yang of trick-or-treating? He sounds like a dope. And extra special dope. He would have done anything for any one of his teachers, and yes, sometimes things just did not compute with him. I worked for him for eight years. I was not going to leave picture taking to my husband. Halloween was my favorite holiday ever. |
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Post by lancermom on Sept 1, 2015 0:06:31 GMT
I understand teachers do not want to go back, but the T does stand for teacher. I was the president of out PTO, the teachers had no problem asking for money to buy things for their classroom, but never felt the need to attend. I had to call an emergency meeting because the fifth grade teachers had a problem with how much we wanted to spend on something. I personally invited each one to the meeting to discuss. Not one of the four attended. I told the principal they didn't have a vote. If they couldn't come to meeting to discuss their concerns, then the dong have one. Not one teacher emails me their concerns either.
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tduby1
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,979
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Post by tduby1 on Sept 1, 2015 0:06:39 GMT
...The PTA doesn't benefit the teachers, it benefits the school. The school where the parent's child attends. It is their own child who benefits. That's why the parents do it. The school is also where the teacher works, usually long after the students of the parents active in the PTA/PTO attend. In my experience, the PTA/PTO funds large ticket items, such as SmartBoards, at the request of teachers who will use them beyond that one year. For the record, my own child has NEVER benefited from my participation in certain PTA/PTOs. I volunteer my time & donate money at the public school, while our child attends a private school. Why would you do this? I would imagine the school your child actually attends would appreciate your monetary support/ volunteer time. |
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moodyblue
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Posts: 6,170
Location: Western Illinois
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Jun 26, 2014 21:07:23 GMT
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Post by moodyblue on Sept 1, 2015 0:08:31 GMT
When I was a brand new teacher I joined the PTA at my school. I attended every meeting for two years, and they were all in the evening, which made for a long day at school since I didn't go home in between. There was only one other teacher who attended all those meetings too.
I did not continue to attend every meeting after the first couple of years, but did go to some.
Our parent group changed over the years. We now have a Booster group, and it is made up of parents. There is a teacher who is very active in the group but she is also a parent in the district. Teachers do go to the Booster meeting if they are requesting that the Boosters pay for something, but aren't otherwise expected to attend. But, if the Boosters organize an event they always have a sign up sheet in the teachers' lounge, for staff to sign up to work the event.
Our Boosters do provide meals a couple times a year for the staff, but they are for all staff, not just teachers. We do usually have some kind of "thank you" for them and for the last few years we have thrown a Booster Appreciation Tea for them in the spring
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Post by Blind Squirrel on Sept 1, 2015 0:13:45 GMT
I worked full time AND was on the PTO and I rarely saw teachers consistently work over 2-4 hours a day as you outline. Work in child welfare if you want to be under-appreciated. Oh and thanks? Well would the kids in hysteria as we remove them from their sh)) hole house and abusive/neglectful parents thank us? Umm, no. Well how about the perp who molests kids: is he thanking me for the fabulous forensic interview I just did? Dang, another lack of thanks. How about the foster parent who found 1 nit after I spent two hours with the Robi-comb killing the Luce and combing out the nits. Hmmm another no thank you. And yes, I have to complete 56 hours of annual training which I pay for. And use vacation time for. No teacher COTA days for me. Wheeeeeeeeee, no thanks for that either. And so on... Some of the items listed for teachers ARE part of their job description and/or their supplemental contract. i think the OP is frustrated when they don't get thanks for what they do directly for the teachers. Gosh, no one ever provided me food like they do for conference nights. Oooooooo and a classroom materials stipend?  MerryMom, I wish you had a different experience/view of teachers. As a teacher, I thank you for the work you do on behalf of children. |
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tduby1
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,979
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Post by tduby1 on Sept 1, 2015 0:16:11 GMT
I would not have chosen to become involved in PTO at my workplace is because for me, it was important to have some involvement and connection with events and people at my own children's school. This is a very good point. If teachers are attending your PTO meetings, that is less time they have for their own children's after school activities. ...and then the PTO at their kid's school would complain about their lack of involvement. When my son was in K I overheard the PTO president complaining about the teachers not doing things the way she thought they should. It turned me off to the PTO. |
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tduby1
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,979
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Post by tduby1 on Sept 1, 2015 0:34:47 GMT
I worked full time AND was on the PTO and I rarely saw teachers consistently work over 2-4 hours a day as you outline. Frankly, I sometimes get embarrassed by some of the teacher kvetching - and I can see that clearly you're angry about several issues here - but how can you possibly KNOW how much time teachers are putting in after their work day? Ever since I had kids, I started doing the majority of my extra work at home...evenings, early mornings, weekends. Fifteen hours yesterday. True story. Will I do that every Sunday? No way. But not a single person outside of this house knows whether I spent my Sunday binge watching TV or doing schoolwork. My kids played chess. Chess tournaments typically ran from 8 am- 7 pm, unless they placed, then we were there till 10 pm. I watched one mom, a teacher, spend the entire day, ALL DAY, grading papers. Likewise, I have witnessed a parent/teachers grading papers during soccer and baseball tournaments. You know, during their own kid's activities. I have no reason to believe their weekends at home aren't spent much differently a lot of the time. I have mad reapect for teachers. If they were to bolt out the door as the last bell ring I would not blame them. However, one year the kids and I volunteered to help a teacher assemble goody bags for the homeless shelter to be presented as a gift from from the school. The reality is, though some of the items were donated, she bought the majority and assembled the bags herself. I heard from another teacher that she spent many hours an evening for weeks doing this, so we offered to help a few nights. We couldn't begin until 6 pm because that was when she was done doing classroom stuff. I was absolutely AMAZED a at the amount of staff still working at the school at 6 pm, 2.5 hours after the end of the school day! |
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Post by Sukkii on Sept 1, 2015 0:55:51 GMT
My Dd will have her own Elementary class next year. She will have a Mentor but most of it will be up to her. When she was on Placement last year her day began at school at 8.30 and she rarely finished before 4.30. She then had to do lesson plans etc etc. Teaching properly is a hard job and to expect a teacher to attend a meeting with parents after hours is not a reasonable thing.
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Post by mrsscrapdiva on Sept 1, 2015 1:16:24 GMT
The principal or assistant principal is always at ours and then there are usually 5 teacher reps at each meeting. It is almost like they have worked out one that each attend through out the school year. We have a lot of teachers between the regular classes, the specials (art, music, library, health and gym), the special ed and autism teachers.
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Post by gorgeouskid on Sept 1, 2015 1:23:18 GMT
When I was teaching, the way it worked was one teacher representative (from the teachers who had joined and were paying dues) would attend on a rotating basis. The principal would cover the class for that time period.
If a teacher had a presentation to make, that class would also be covered.
More teachers wanted to attend than were able to due to coverage limitations.
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PaperAngel
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Jun 27, 2014 23:04:06 GMT
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Post by PaperAngel on Sept 1, 2015 2:44:12 GMT
The school is also where the teacher works, usually long after the students of the parents active in the PTA/PTO attend. In my experience, the PTA/PTO funds large ticket items, such as SmartBoards, at the request of teachers who will use them beyond that one year. For the record, my own child has NEVER benefited from my participation in certain PTA/PTOs. I volunteer my time & donate money at the public school, while our child attends a private school. Why would you do this? I would imagine the school your child actually attends would appreciate your monetary support/ volunteer time. Our child's school also receives my time & monetary support. Tuition & annual donations allow the school to attract excellent teachers & offer students numerous academic/athletic/fine arts/social/extracurricular opportunities using cutting-edge technology. After early elementary, the need for parents involvement decreases significantly; no more parent chaparones for field trips, weekly learning centers, lunch duty, etc. The commitment amounts to about two weeks in time & one check each year. I volunteer at a public elementary school in a lower socioeconomic area because those students deserve the same opportunities as their peers. IMHO tax dollars should not continue to provide extra opportunities for the public schools in the affluent areas at the expense of those already struggling. The PTO/PTA at this school - comprised of administrators, teachers, parents of current & former students, & outsiders - works diligently to raise awareness & funds for these students. Since it was formed a couple years ago, the students have each been issued a tablet for use at school, go on an annual educational field trip, enthusiastically participate in school beautification projects alongside professional athletes, compete in reading/math competitions (& win!), are taught by teachers who want to be there & make a difference, etc. These students, who may be homeless, uncertain the source of their next meal, wear the same clothes every day, have poor living conditions, etc., are excited about school because they find stability/safety/encouragement/support & learn! I can't imagine NOT volunteering there... |
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breetheflea
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Posts: 5,882
Location: PNW
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Post by breetheflea on Sept 1, 2015 2:52:02 GMT
Our school has one teacher representative from K-2, and one for 3-5. We have a 3-5 teacher that attends most meetings (same teacher all year long), the k-2 spot has been unfilled for the past few years. The principal attends almost all meetings.
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Post by freecharlie on Sept 1, 2015 3:25:09 GMT
Depending on when the meeting is, my own kids may have practice or games I need to take them to or I might want to watch.
I don't put in 2+ extra hours per day, but I definitely put in at least an extra 6-8 hours a week, more on some weeks.
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Post by iteach3rdgrade on Sept 1, 2015 3:50:47 GMT
Our PTO Starting having half of the meetings right after school. I attend them, but I've had a lot of PTO kids in my room and I know I go when I have them. I'll attend all of the after school meetings since I'm there.
When they were held in the evenings, no one really stayed around.
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Post by beaglemom on Sept 1, 2015 5:40:38 GMT
I forgot to add. My first year teaching the PTA president stormed into my classroom - while I was teaching - the first or second week of school (I was hired 2 days before the year started) and demanded I pay my PTA dues right then and there. I was embarrassed and shocked by the whole thing. I hadn't seen anything from the PTA yet, other than the letter and homework folder that was sent home with every child the first day of school. I later learned that she did most of the work for the PTA in a school of 600+ students. But still it didn't warm me to the idea my first year of teaching.
And now that I am on the other side I was really disappointed that I got an email tonight announcing that the first PTA meeting of the year for my son's school will be Wednesday morning, 8:30-9:30. I can't get a sitter on that late of notice and I don't want to take my 2.5 year old with me. Now I'm off to figure out when the rest of the meetings are to make sure I can make them.
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Post by fridaycat on Sept 1, 2015 7:47:08 GMT
To answer the OP's question: there has always been a teacher rep at the meetings I've attended.
I've been around good and bad PTAs. Some had the crappy attitude in the OP. Most didn't. [/quote]
Just to reiterate again, the 'crappy attitude' is not mine. Two members on the board expressed disappointment in teacher participation in group emails to our principal yesterday. I wasn't aware of the feeling until then.
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Post by fridaycat on Sept 1, 2015 7:49:07 GMT
I think that the original post is meaning if the goal of the PTA is to help the teachers help the students (which is the common goal between both the parents and the teachers) that in her opinion it would be nice to see that the teachers wanted to see the PTA succeed. I can see how it may be frustrating to the original poster to feel as though she is doing all of this work to help the teachers help the students with not even as much as a verbal thank you for all the work you are putting in from the teachers. (I am not saying that the teachers need to send the PTA a thank you note for everything the PTA does, however, if someone came in and fed a group of people a verbal thank you would be nice and polite.) I *think* this is what my board treasurer and secretary are feeling but it was certainly not as kindly stated. |
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Post by gmcwife1 on Sept 1, 2015 8:00:12 GMT
We have two teachers on our Board. Both have students at our school as well, but the one teacher has a very specific title, Staff Member at Large. Horrible name but we haven't come up with a better one. She(well now both) are great to have as they are the best way to get things done in the school. We wanted to change how we did our Fall Festival, they came up with a great idea and put it in front of all the teachers. They are able to give us immediate feedback if something will or not work in the school. It is great. Based on this thread I think I am going to have to give them huge props tomorrow above and beyond what we already tell them. Also each meeting, all teachers in a grade are there to present how they are using Artful Learning(we are a niche school that is using this learning style). They rotate through each month and even the Special Ed and Specials teachers come to say how they are using it in their classroom. It is a wonderful thing. We always offer that they can be dismissed after they present. Some stay, some don't. This seems like the best way, teachers and parents working together  It seems like too often it's us against them from both sides  |
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Post by fridaycat on Sept 1, 2015 8:06:04 GMT
For eight years I was involved in our high school's Music Boosters group, four of those years as either President or Vice President. We loved it when the music teachers attended our monthly evening meetings but certainly didn't get bent when they didn't. Usually they didn't attend because they were in the auditorium with the students practicing for a concert... or on a field trip with students to a competition... or visiting the grades schools to promote music... or on the football field practicing with the marching band...
We earned a lot of money and handed the teachers a lot of money to spend ON OUR STUDENTS! You know, our sons and daughter who were benefiting from the concerts, field trips, competitions, marching band.
Sorry OP but your pissy attitude is one of the reasons that after just a couple of meetings, I chose not to involve myself in our elementary school's PTO. 'Worked out best for me though because I discovered the Music Boosters! Again, this is not *my* pissy attitude. The treasurer and secretary, mostly the treasurer, have the attitude which you call pissy. I'm glad you were able to find a group you are happy to be a part of. |
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Post by fridaycat on Sept 1, 2015 8:10:06 GMT
[quote author=" gmcwife1" source="/post/747968/thread" [/quote]This seems like the best way, teachers and parents working together It seems like too often it's us against them from both sides [/quote] This is what the secretary included in her email. That she hopes she doesn't see a divide of us vs. Them. Up until the emails yesterday I had no idea teacher involvement was an issue. Now lack of our patent involvement.....that is a hill I'm willing to be wounded on. |
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Post by hop2 on Sept 1, 2015 10:30:59 GMT
Rarely as the meetings are mostly during the school day. Only 1/4 of the meetings are at night and they may be busy then. But most are members and pay their national dues ( no lical dues here )
That said plenty of thank and appreciation flies back to the PTA. Comminucation is wide open. Via email, notes and phone calls. Teachers know they can make requests from the PTA and they know we appreciate them. They make sure the PTA knows it's appreciated as well.
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Deleted
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Apr 27, 2024 16:05:47 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Sept 1, 2015 10:54:59 GMT
In elementary, at my kids' charter school, there was one teacher who worked with the PTO and the principal was there every month. At the middle school, of the two meetings I attended, I don't recall a teacher but again, the principal was there. I don't know all of the teachers so I couldn't tell you if one was there or not. However, attendance was very small, 8 people for a school that has nearly 1,000 students.
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grinningcat
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Jun 26, 2014 13:06:35 GMT
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Post by grinningcat on Sept 1, 2015 11:24:48 GMT
My mother (once an ECE teacher) never involved herself in the PTA at her school or at my schools because of the attitudes, tactics, and politics that these groups used. More often than not, the groups weren't really formed to help the schools but to make the parents look good and feel important and superior to those who didn't get involved.
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Post by just PEAchy on Sept 1, 2015 11:52:02 GMT
At our elementary school, a teacher liaison and the principal came to the PTO meetings. If we had a special event, like an ice cream social or a speaker, most teachers came. They also helped at any event we had likeTrivia Night, book night, dodgeball, etc. I think it would have been a bit much to have all the teachers at every meeting. Our meetings were usually planning meetings anyway, we had events just about every month. If a teacher had a specific request, it went through the principal. The teachers always sent thank you notes for anything we gave them. We had a great relationship.
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sweetandsour
Full Member
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Jun 30, 2014 17:43:52 GMT
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Post by sweetandsour on Sept 1, 2015 13:28:13 GMT
Exactly. I was a PTA board member for years before becoming a teacher. I never once saw a parent remain active in the PTA once their own child left the school.
To answer the OP's question: there has always been a teacher rep at the meetings I've attended. I've been around good and bad PTAs. Some had the crappy attitude in the OP. Most didn't. Our PTA doesn't allow membership to folks who do not have children at the school. It's in our bylaws. OTOH, wouldn't that be like saying that a principal or teacher didn't remain active at the school once they resigned or retired? |
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Post by Lori McMud on Sept 3, 2015 20:36:07 GMT
No not in my experience. I think they should be called something different, because they are usually a vehicle for the parents to support the teachers it is not a way for them to work together. Our school calls their organization PIE - Parents Involved in Education. As I have never been to a meeting, I do not know if teachers attend or not. |
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MerryMom
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Post by MerryMom on Sept 3, 2015 23:04:03 GMT
[/quote]MerryMom, I wish you had a different experience/view of teachers. As a teacher, I thank you for the work you do on behalf of children. [/quote]
I have tremendous respect for teachers , but I am weary of hearing how tough they have it, how they work over, how they buy classroom materials, etc. as if they were the ONLY profession that does so. I merely pointed out examples of another profession who " volunteer " at their own place of employment. Have MANDATORY on call for emergencies and child abuse hotline calls . Oh and hotlines are open 24/7 and yes we work holidays.
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It seems like too often it's us against them from both sides 
