09/12/2024
𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗡𝗘𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗢 𝗦𝗘𝗧 𝗕𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗔𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗦 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛 𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗦 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗡𝗢𝗡-𝗨𝗥𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗔𝗙𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗦𝗖𝗛𝗢𝗢𝗟 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗧𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗦
As technology advances with various available text messaging apps / features, it goes without saying that people are more and more expecting instant answers and immediate response from whom they get in contact with. This case fits perfectly with a large group of parents, who are in the habit of reaching out to their child’s teachers after school hours, especially for non-urgent matters.
The Straits Time (Singapore) reports a situation in which a teacher received a phone call from a pupil’s father asking to borrow money. Or, in another case, a parent hounded a secondary teacher to complain about her son’s excessive phone use, with text messages after school.
Several actions have been brought out to set clear boundaries in these situations. One teacher is said to have tuned out all unnecessary messages from parents after school hours, and not replied until next morning. Another accentuated the private time of teachers while off duty, adding “Unless it is a real emergency, like if a child is missing or injured, there is no such thing as “can’t wait until tomorrow” (Channelnewsasia.com). At some schools, there are requests asking parents to avoid messaging staff after working hours to respect their decisions if they are not willing to give personal phone numbers.
However, much to the teachers’ dismay of the disturbing unnecessary contacts, instead of receiving sympathy, many have to gain backlash for such so-called irresponsible behaviors. Zara - a primary school teacher - remarked, “They always think their child’s needs are very important. They sometimes forget that teachers do have their own lives after school. And if you don’t respond to them, they really think you are the kind of teacher who doesn’t care about their concerns” (Channelnewsasia.com). There are even circumstances that teachers get marked down for their work reviews if they do not respond to messages timely.
According to The Straits Time, dealing with parents for non meaningful matters, especially after school hours, is an extra burden to the already heavy workload of teachers, which is not sustainable in the long term. Hence, it is of extreme urgency that this problem should get understanding from parents and resolutions from the educational institutions as well.
Reference article links:
[1] Min, A., 2024. '𝘝𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨' 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘪𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴: 𝘛𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴. [online] Available at: [Accessed: Dec 9, 2024]
[2] Chan, G., 2024. 𝘛𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘨𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. [online] Available at: [Accessed: Dec 9, 2024]
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