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My job requires me to have an email account. They've never SENT me anything through email, but they require me to have it available. Free through Hotmail, and I can check it at the public library, if I wasn't using my room mate's computer. If she ever moves out, she's going to want the thing.
Just a small gripe of mine, but has been going on for years.
My ds is special ed, ADHD, among other things. Schools never want to send things through the mail. they used to send sensitive papers,documents, etc, home with him! Classroom volunteers would put together their folders, you know they would "sneak a peak" at them.
Even if others didn't read them, chances were 50/50 if those papers would ever make it home to me. Usually ds would make a paper airplane out of them! Then the school would somehow assume I'd received the paperwork, when I hadn't.
Also, why do they assume I have nothing to do but "swing on by" and pick up papers? when I tell them its really not the best way, sending papers home with ds, they then say, oh, that's ok, we will leave them at the desk and you can "swing on by" and pick them up. I have to "suggest" they mail them to me, which they usually don't want to do.
See, about 200+ years ago, a man named Benjamin Franklin invented this neat service called the US Postal Service. They deliver all sorts of stuff for you, for a relatively small fee. They "swing on by" and drop off and pick up all manner of stuff.
I got so irritated today with a special ed teacher, she first wanted to send the papers home with ds, when I told her that's not the best method, she suggested I "swing on by" and pick them up. when I suggested she put them in the mail, she said oh, that would further delay the process we're involved in. Ok, so I suggested she "swing on by" my house and drop off the papers. She got real quiet---then asked for my address.
Why, oh why, don't teachers realize parents WORK TOO? We as parents, especially as the parents of special ed kids, can't keep taking off time from work for things that could be handled another way. What about fax, email, etc? What about phone conferences? why must we always appear at the school? Certain things do demand our presence at the school, but other committments "demand" our presence, too, like our jobs!
Tachers love to gripe how they're overworked and underpaid, but that same consideration doesn't extend to the parents, all we have to do is "swing on by"
I think this year for Teacher Appreciation Day (hey, I thought that was payday...) anyways, I think I will give each teacher a book of stamps. Cheaper than my gas to "swing on by" Oh, but they could use the school's postage meter, but I understand they have a limit on their account, and don't want to use it up on stuff like sending papers to parents when they could be using it for orders from Scholastic, etc.
I send letters through the mail every single week. Hmmm.
Or you know what else would work? The school has email, the parents have email. Maybe not ALL of them do, but most of them probably do. The school could send documents through ELECTRONIC mail to the parent--thereby saving the paper that they are NOT using by sending a hard copy home.
No cost of postage, and they'd not have to spend any additional money.
It sounds good in theory. But my district won't allow us to send anything by email unless the parent has filled out a form- even if the parent initiates a conversation through email to begin with. We cannot respond without that form being on file. And, like the guy below your post said, you would be surprised at how many parent don't have email or won't give out their address.
I get generic Emails all the time from the distict/school/teacher/pta .... all the time. If there a issue with my son in some class I get a email from the teacher (Most times when he's still in that class) all the teachers have laptops. Any 'secure' email get send to ParentPortal. I get a Email telling me to logon to it and read it. They also deposit His IEP in there when it needs to be signed. When he was out sick. His teacher email him PDF's of the classroom worksheets. His 'Friday' folder (in Elem school) only contained generic stuff, any 'private' in the friday folder was in a sealed env. the Friday folder had a sign page on the back where the teacher would put a comment for that week if there was anything other then generic stuff in the folder.
To OP- I could be wrong, but you seem to think the teacher doesn't want to use the mail. When they ask you to swing by, maybe they think you are in the area and would be able to. Have you ever told them, you can't swing by because you work, etc during school hours. Just ask them to send it home by mail (I am sure they are just trying to save money by not mailing.)
By the way- does your child take the bus, walk, or do you drive him to school?
Or you know what else would work? The school has email, the parents have email. Maybe not ALL of them do, but most of them probably do. The school could send documents through ELECTRONIC mail to the parent--thereby saving the paper that they are NOT using by sending a hard copy home.
No cost of postage, and they'd not have to spend any additional money.
There are privacy concerns with sending documents that are confidential in email. As much as I prefer email communication with the school, IEP documents cannot really be sent this way.
Mod cut - removed deleted post quote and comment pertaining to it.
BTW, we've already taken off countless hours from work for school-related issues, with meetings, appts, etc. Seems just about every week there's something that takes our time, which isn't easy to juggle. Coming in late to work, ditching out early, taking long lunches, etc, all to accomodate school meetings, doesn't exactly earn you employee of the year award.
Then whenever we suggest something not so time burdensome, they take the "high ground" like you, well, the welfare of you child, etc.............how is the "welfare of my child" being comprimised by using the US mail?
I never said the IEP teacher was on a cake walk. Seems to me it would take less time to simply pop the required forms in the mail than to go through all those phone calls, asking us to come in and sign papers she could have put in the mail.
Teachers don't seem to realize, parents have other obligations, committments, etc, and taking time off from a job is not something to be done frequently. The "welfare of my child" is really dependent on our ability to earn a living, and that does come first. Parents aren't just sitting around, watching TV or whatever, just waiting for a chance to "swing on by" the school. Its just the attitude many teachers seem to have, that our time is theirs, with no consideration for the fact that they aren't always our priority.
Why can't parents time be at least taken into consideration? to just demand a parent come to the school when a simple postage stamp would serve the same purpose shows a complete lack of consideration.
I do wish teachers would realize parents work and taking time off work is not as easy as they think. We don't get an hour of planning time/day, we can't call in for a sub at a minute's notice (and get paid for the day as well) We don't live in their world!
Last edited by toobusytoday; 03-11-2011 at 03:29 PM..
There are privacy concerns with sending documents that are confidential in email. As much as I prefer email communication with the school, IEP documents cannot really be sent this way.
I'm pretty sure my email is private, since I have to enter a password to get in, and have to jump through hoops if I forget the password.
Simply put in writing to the SpEd department, office & principal that all IEP info must be mailed and the school will take care of it.
That's exactly what I did with a previous school, but they still persisted in sending home sensitive documents with ds. They always "forgot"
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...) anyways, I think I will give each teacher a book of stamps. Cheaper than my gas to "swing on by" Oh, but they could use the school's postage meter, but I understand they have a limit on their account, and don't want to use it up on stuff like sending papers to parents when they could be using it for orders from Scholastic, etc.
