This is not taking nearly as long as I thought it would!
I resolved to start calling parents today, as it is my spring break from MY Spanish classes. I figured I would start with those who did not turn in progress reports, as those parents ostensibly have had even LESS contact with me than the ones who signed the yellow piece of paper with their kid's grades on them. Plus there's the natural lead in: "
I'm just calling to let you know how ________ is doing, since it looks like I did not receive a progress report from him/her last week."
The "looks like" part is key, as one child has already protested that she turned it in, but she did not. I think what happened was she did not fill out a late work waiver form, and I would not accept it until then.
The different parent reactions so far have been priceless, and
varied, to say the least. So far I've had everything from, "Oh, you sent out progress reports?" type responses to "Yes, I saw it, but she forgot to turn it in" to "You whip him until he learns! Send me a paper and I'll sign it and give you permission! I don't care how big he is!" That's kind of my favorite, but I'm actually kind of afraid for my big, athletic student.
In making calls home, I've tried a few things, including a complete script with fill-in-the-blanks, but I feel this is possibly the best round of calls I've made yet, with just the basic procedure in mind:
- Made a spreadsheet of appropriate times to call as indicated on signed syllabus slip, complete with student name, parent name (that signed), and phone number.
- Assembled a notebook of info sheets with syllabus slips stapled on back and stuck progress reports behind the pages.
- Leafed through notebook, noting missing yellow progress reports, plus missing info sheets and syllabus slips (to be remedied tomorrow with additional copies or copies for latecomers); highlighted missing progress reports on spreadsheet.
- Printed spreadsheet of grades, circling significant scores, like essays, quizzes, and tests, for the MIA progress-reporters.
- Call parents, make little notes on the grades spreadsheet about comments, times called.
- Call back messages, busy signals, and no answers (and kid answers--the kiddos have been surprisingly cooperative, and very proud of their caller ID).
I will probably go to Office Depot for some folders here in a bit, as one of the cooperative young ones suggested I call back after 8 and there are a few more who, according to other adults in the house, said the parental/guardian units should be back in a little while.
And now, a few things I am sure to mention in the conversation (given the chance--which I generally have been):
- Student's pass/fail status
- My assessment of the problem (work or just "getting it") based on...
- Quiz and test scores
- And I offer tutoring Mondays and Wednesdays--yes, tomorrow.
EDIT:
Thanks to
queenoscots for reminding me about the email contact!
I think because I have more of a, well, an elite kind of group in Spanish, as they can generally be presumed to be college bound, I might have more luck with e-mails. So I e-mailed all of the parents whose e-mails I had (all 5 of them--6 if you count both of GB's parents). I figure this will cut down on my phone time when I get to those who DID submit progress reports. Funny how those who have parents with e-mail (and who knew it and recorded it on their info sheets...) seem to be doing well anyway.
Ah, socio-economic advantage!
Comments (4)
Every couple of years I forget myself and call a parent. The experience is usually so unpleasant that I am reminded never to do it again. The resolution lasts for about three years, and then I forget that the vast majority of parents aren't in the slightest bit interested in education or character building, and I repeat the mistake, to my cost. Most are just grade junkies. Those grades are the tickets to college scholarships and a free pass on thousands of dollars in tuition. Any current problem or issue pales in comparison to the prospect of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to pay for junior's college education.
Two years ago, I forgot myself again and called a parent regarding an oral history project her child had submitted. She handed in a taped interview with her "grandfather" who had just barely avoided participating in the famous Battle of Hanoi, where thousands of American paratroopers were massacred by the Viet Cong. The voice on the tape was clearly someone around 30 years of age. No sooner had I asked the parent about the tape than I realized that the parent was "in on" the deception. "Oh yes," she said, "my father was so lucky to have avoided the Hanoi massacre." The icing on the cake to this story is that the woman is a teacher at a high school near here.
For those of you born after 1965, there is no such thing as the "Battle of Hanoi" and no paratroop massacre. Anyway, I prefer to keep my relationship with the kids "man-a-mano," and leave Mom and Dad, (not to mention grandpa) out of it.