I heard an interesting piece of news today during the meeting.
St informed us that yesterday two school inspectors landed at the school from out of the blue and catching everybody off guard especially St, started inspecting the whole school. Having found everything somewhat satisfactory they went to the playground and exclaimed how ugly it was. ( I cannot say if it is really ugly but yes, it does certainly doesn't look nice to me...!)
Then they plagued St to show her all the required documents and certificates and found that the parents involvement in the school activities as well as regular parents teacher conferences about progress of students was missing from the school. Taking matters strictly they sternly admonished St to rectify this mistake not just in words but deeds and even to maintain a written record of such parents activities and conferences as proofs.
It reeks of vengeance!
It is unmistakably the work of parents... most probably the ones who have left the school. The parents made an anonymous complaint to the State School Inspection Department about issues within the school but St is not so foolish to be caught so easily; she keeps her paper work up to date and so couldn't be nabbed for anything wrong.
As to maintaining record for parents activities and conferences she merely gave us a type written paper in German and made us all write our name and sign it; this paper as translated by others to me in English, merely says that we, the teachers of this kindergarten are fully informed that we have to ( or do so already-) involve parents and inform them of their child's progress regularly and even maintain a written record of these conferences along with our signatures and those of the parents.....!
Last year in the parents meeting, lack of communication between parents and teachers/school was the main issue of displeasure and dissatisfaction in parents which had resulted in highly unpleasant discussion, insulting allegations and accusations; at the end of the meeting various measures had been promised by the school management to rectify this fault. Creating internet community group was also one of the positive results. Now a year has passed and we still stand at the same spot where we did then; no changes, no growth, no development and no rectification. Just 2-3 weeks ago the school had handed out a questionnaire to all the parents requesting them to state their reason for displeasure with the school; the answer was still the same: lack of communication between parents and teachers/school.
And yet we can't say that even now she can be nailed down; she has our signatures to prove that she from her end has done everything to ensure communication; its the teachers fault if they fail to do so! Clever, isn't she?
Whatever, I feel confident that parents of my group cannot have complained about lack of communication as I and Cl both communicate to them almost on daily basis, telling them every little thing their children do in class or whatever we as teachers are doing with them in class. Our weekly emails are lengthy newsletters detailing everything regarding our activities with the children or any other relevant news about the classroom while all the other teachers in the school avoid parents like a deadly contagious disease; they never talk to them and never inform the parents and remain willfully mum even on pressing issues. Their weekly emails contain just 2-3 words about their lesson plans for the week which is ridiculous.
The extent of avoidance can be imagined by the fact that My's classroom had 4 large see through glass windows and a glass door. She always despised that she could be watched so easily by parents during their drop off and pick up times, so she covered all of the glass with paper posters and blinds and so now the class looks like a fortified prison. Why so much fear of being watched unless she is doing something that could be questioned?
Why does the management and teachers harbor such 'anti - parent' sentiments and why are all their policies and actions designed to deprive parents of such a simple thing as communication with the teachers? I mean, if St wants can't she just tell all the teachers how to write their weekly emails in a way which informs the parents more and to regularly talk to parents and keep them up to date with the progress of their children or any other issues?
Once I met Khn, a Korean boy's mother on road. I told her that he was the most intelligent boy in his class and had a very quick grasp and knew a lot more than the other kids of his group. She was amazed and found it too difficult to believe.
"But why do you find it so difficult to believe? " I asked. She said
" Because my child has been studying in this school since one and a half year and no other teacher ever told me so..!"
Similarly, another child in the youngest group has speech problem; he doesn't speak much despite being old enough, and his teachers have never bothered to inform or consult his parents to help him. St their group teacher says she never gets time to talk to them because in the morning he is dropped off by his mother who is a working lady and always in a hurry and he is picked up by his father in the evening when the English teacher of the group has already left...
Well, where there's a will, there's a way and where there's no will there are only excuses..!
St informed us that yesterday two school inspectors landed at the school from out of the blue and catching everybody off guard especially St, started inspecting the whole school. Having found everything somewhat satisfactory they went to the playground and exclaimed how ugly it was. ( I cannot say if it is really ugly but yes, it does certainly doesn't look nice to me...!)
Then they plagued St to show her all the required documents and certificates and found that the parents involvement in the school activities as well as regular parents teacher conferences about progress of students was missing from the school. Taking matters strictly they sternly admonished St to rectify this mistake not just in words but deeds and even to maintain a written record of such parents activities and conferences as proofs.
It reeks of vengeance!
It is unmistakably the work of parents... most probably the ones who have left the school. The parents made an anonymous complaint to the State School Inspection Department about issues within the school but St is not so foolish to be caught so easily; she keeps her paper work up to date and so couldn't be nabbed for anything wrong.
As to maintaining record for parents activities and conferences she merely gave us a type written paper in German and made us all write our name and sign it; this paper as translated by others to me in English, merely says that we, the teachers of this kindergarten are fully informed that we have to ( or do so already-) involve parents and inform them of their child's progress regularly and even maintain a written record of these conferences along with our signatures and those of the parents.....!
Last year in the parents meeting, lack of communication between parents and teachers/school was the main issue of displeasure and dissatisfaction in parents which had resulted in highly unpleasant discussion, insulting allegations and accusations; at the end of the meeting various measures had been promised by the school management to rectify this fault. Creating internet community group was also one of the positive results. Now a year has passed and we still stand at the same spot where we did then; no changes, no growth, no development and no rectification. Just 2-3 weeks ago the school had handed out a questionnaire to all the parents requesting them to state their reason for displeasure with the school; the answer was still the same: lack of communication between parents and teachers/school.
And yet we can't say that even now she can be nailed down; she has our signatures to prove that she from her end has done everything to ensure communication; its the teachers fault if they fail to do so! Clever, isn't she?
Whatever, I feel confident that parents of my group cannot have complained about lack of communication as I and Cl both communicate to them almost on daily basis, telling them every little thing their children do in class or whatever we as teachers are doing with them in class. Our weekly emails are lengthy newsletters detailing everything regarding our activities with the children or any other relevant news about the classroom while all the other teachers in the school avoid parents like a deadly contagious disease; they never talk to them and never inform the parents and remain willfully mum even on pressing issues. Their weekly emails contain just 2-3 words about their lesson plans for the week which is ridiculous.
The extent of avoidance can be imagined by the fact that My's classroom had 4 large see through glass windows and a glass door. She always despised that she could be watched so easily by parents during their drop off and pick up times, so she covered all of the glass with paper posters and blinds and so now the class looks like a fortified prison. Why so much fear of being watched unless she is doing something that could be questioned?
Why does the management and teachers harbor such 'anti - parent' sentiments and why are all their policies and actions designed to deprive parents of such a simple thing as communication with the teachers? I mean, if St wants can't she just tell all the teachers how to write their weekly emails in a way which informs the parents more and to regularly talk to parents and keep them up to date with the progress of their children or any other issues?
Once I met Khn, a Korean boy's mother on road. I told her that he was the most intelligent boy in his class and had a very quick grasp and knew a lot more than the other kids of his group. She was amazed and found it too difficult to believe.
"But why do you find it so difficult to believe? " I asked. She said
" Because my child has been studying in this school since one and a half year and no other teacher ever told me so..!"
Similarly, another child in the youngest group has speech problem; he doesn't speak much despite being old enough, and his teachers have never bothered to inform or consult his parents to help him. St their group teacher says she never gets time to talk to them because in the morning he is dropped off by his mother who is a working lady and always in a hurry and he is picked up by his father in the evening when the English teacher of the group has already left...
Well, where there's a will, there's a way and where there's no will there are only excuses..!
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