Schools demanding money with menaces

gregg1

jackieblack wrote: »

As I said, some visits are genuinely educational, sadly some are not.


Yes, we all know that teachers are the most undervalued, overworked profession in the world, but one would hope that most know what they're getting into before they choose that career.
(However, millions of people regularly do extra, unpaid overtime for various reasons.)

Having said that, there is no excuse for a parent not to collect their child at the arranged time (presuming they are told what that time is)

That's the point though, teachers do NOT know what they are in for when they choose the career because the Government are moving the goalposts all the time to the point where the job becomes nothing like the one they signed up for.

My OH worked in the private sector for years and did a lot of overtime. It is, however, nothing like the hours she puts in extra as a teacher. She does not moan about it but on the other hand she should not have to defend herself against constant onslaughts from people who really do not have a clue. Unless you have done the job, you have no idea!!!

gregg1

jackieblack wrote: »

I wouldn't dream of slagging anyone off for doing unpaid overtime.

However, in my experience, and generalising broadly (because I do know some teachers who accept this as part of their job without ever moaning about it, and I support these people enormously) teachers, as a profession, spend more time making sure everyone knows how hard done by they are than any other profession I know.
(I can only speak from my own experience and have friends and family members who are teachers.)

I do not see it as teachers claiming they are hard done by rather than feeling they have to constantly defend themselves from attacks such as the one you are making. FYI, knowing people who teach (we all know someone who teaches lets face it) is not the same as doing the job!

jackieblack

gregg1 wrote: »

I do not see it as teachers claiming they are hard done by rather than feeling they have to constantly defend themselves from attacks such as the one you are making. FYI, knowing people who teach (we all know someone who teaches lets face it) is not the same as doing the job!

You are entitled to your opinion. And your OH being a teacher no doubt influences that opinion - as my experiences undoubtedly influence mine.

I'm not attacking anyone, I know teachers work hard, take work home and do lots of extra hours. (I even know some that acknowledge that 12 weeks holiday a year balances this out, overall.) If any teacher feels attacked, then I apologise. There are good and bad in all professions, after all, and this particular cap does not fit all (as I have already acknowledged).

But, in my experience alot of the teachers I know regularly voice the opinion that they are the most overworked, underpaid etc etc etc profession in existence.

Anyway, that's gone completely off-topic and has no relevance to the OPs post - apologies OP.
I was simply responding to pollypennys complaint (OMG a teacher complaining!:cool:), probably a little more vehemently than was wise, due to this being a particular bugbear of mine.

pesky85

Some of these replies are very harsh - I think OP is entitled to feel a bit put out by the lack of notice and the tone of the letter.

Was this trip arranged last minute? I very much doubt it - probably organised months beforehand. There is no excuse for sending the letters out so late in the day, that's just bad organisation.

And as for the tone - manners cost nothing, especially when you're requesting money!

embob74

Obviously each school is different but I have previously had requests for funding towards a trip at very short notice.
I assume that the school book events/trips in advance so am not sure why they can't inform parents?
DD is due to go on a trip in 5 weeks which the school did tell us about in advance. It gave us plenty of time to pay and we did so in monthly installments.
However.....it's a residential outdoors trip and I imagine the children will be required to have certain items such as waterproof clothing, hiking boots, sleeping bag but we are still awaiting the kit list to be sent out. Which doesn't give us much time to source any bargains!!

angelil

fluffymuffy wrote: »

School trips are really good value, whatever school your child attends. Cheaper than a trip to McD's, cheaper than a new DVD, massively cheaper than a trip to the cinema.

Errr...on what planet?
Even in your situation, where you pay around £7 per trip, it's clear that in a lot of cases, given the type of trips you give examples of, the rest of the cost of the trip has been heavily subsidised by the private school fees that you pay.

Saying this, though, it is of course true that some school trips can be very low cost. My students virtually all have monthly travelcards, so no extra cost is required on their parents' part for transportation on excursion days. Equally, plenty of museums etc are free for students. So this is pertinent given that this is a money-saving site (and particularly relevant to my school, given that apart from the residential trips, we have no formal system for collecting money from parents to pay for excursions...often meaning that the teacher has to pay themselves and then effectively be 'reimbursed' by the parents. Very appealing on a scale of hundreds of pounds/euros as you can imagine!).

However, as in my earlier comment, it's not the cost that puts me off taking them...it's the fact that it raises my blood pressure

pollypenny

The school I taught in always subsided trips, for example £5 towards the coach fare to Stratford.

valk_scot

embob74 wrote: »

However.....it's a residential outdoors trip and I imagine the children will be required to have certain items such as waterproof clothing, hiking boots, sleeping bag but we are still awaiting the kit list to be sent out. Which doesn't give us much time to source any bargains!!

If it's in an outward bound centre it's highly likely that they'll have waterproofs and boots there for the kids. Asking kids to bring things like that usually means half of them turn up with nylon pac-a-macs and supermarket trainers which are not fit for purpose in many if not most outwards bound scenarios. From a H&S point of view it's much better to supply them than risk a child being inadequately clad in poor weather.

If you're concerned you can always contact the centre direct, they'll be able to tell you what they supply. If you want to buy anything atm though look out for thermal long sleeved vests and leggings, they're usually reduced to silly prices at this time of year and they're extremely useful for wearing under cheap trackie bottoms. And for sleeping bags the best bargains are usually online, from the big camping shops.

gregg1

jackieblack wrote: »

You are entitled to your opinion. And your OH being a teacher no doubt influences that opinion - as my experiences undoubtedly influence mine.

I'm not attacking anyone, I know teachers work hard, take work home and do lots of extra hours. (I even know some that acknowledge that 12 weeks holiday a year balances this out, overall.) If any teacher feels attacked, then I apologise. There are good and bad in all professions, after all, and this particular cap does not fit all (as I have already acknowledged).

But, in my experience alot of the teachers I know regularly voice the opinion that they are the most overworked, underpaid etc etc etc profession in existence.

Anyway, that's gone completely off-topic and has no relevance to the OPs post - apologies OP.
I was simply responding to pollypennys complaint (OMG a teacher complaining!:cool:), probably a little more vehemently than was wise, due to this being a particular bugbear of mine.

That's maybe because a lot of them (not all) are overworked and underpaid. And yes, so are a lot of people in other professions. However, teachers take more flack than any other profession I know, a lot of it undeserved and usually by people who have not done the job but still think they are in a position to criticise.

Anyway, as you say, off topic, back to you OP with apologies for the hijacking.