Boundaries
Everyone who works in a school, from teachers to administrators to school office personnel to kitchen and janitorial staff, knows just how busy the day is. There never seems to be enough time to get everything done, and every day brings its new surprises and challenges. So when a child is getting poor grades, who has the time to call parents? And whose job is it really to sit down and make that phone call? Should the teacher take time away from teaching or use precious planning time to get in touch? Or should administrators, as the ones who deal with major issues, be the ones to dial up Mom or Dad?
Here are three major reasons many teachers believe administrators should be the ones to pick up the phone.
Why most teachers think admin should call parents
1. Teachers need to keep records.
When teachers stick to emailing parents rather than calling, there is a paper trail. That way if a question about something ever comes up, a teacher can quickly go back and see what has been said and shared with a parent already. Phone calls don’t leave a trail, which can leave teachers in a “he said, she said” situation. Having is a record in case things get worse will help any teacher to demonstrate their need for a parent phone call, which could be done by an administrator.
2. Teachers post grades digitally.
Since most schools have an online forum for parents to check grades, there is actually no real need to call and notify parents of failing grades. If parents check these online resources regularly or allow notifications of grades when teachers enter them, failing grades would immediately be shared with parents. Most teachers would be happy to provide more information if a parent sees the grades and wants to reach out.
3. Most teachers are too busy to call parents.
If you’re a teacher, you don’t need a Reddit post to know that this one is true. Teachers are busy from the start of the school day until the final bell. Often, there is simply no time to call and discuss bad grades the way they need to be addressed. When administrators take on making these phone calls, it helps teachers provide plenty of time to provide quality instruction and to give real help to students with failing grades during the school day.
Why admin may disagree
Some administrators disagree with this for several reasons. Administrators are just as busy as teachers. Even if each classroom in the school only had one child causing problems, that would be several hours of telephone conversations already on the administrator’s calling workload. Additionally, teachers know their students so much better than administrators do, which could mean they would do a better job of describing the problem and letting parents know what needs to happen to solve the problem.
Perhaps the best answer is a balance. Teachers might make initial contact via email while administrators might follow up with a phone call if grades don’t improve. Or maybe the answer is that nobody calls, schools simply expect parents to regularly check on their kids. The true answer lies in finding what works for you, your administrator, and your school.
