Does your school inform parents of key exams?

happywithlife

Just off the phone to my sister there who rang in a state after I had texted to know how my nephew had gotten on in his Junior Cert home ec exam today - cookery is worth 35/45% of overall marks and project (already submitted) another 15% . .. she hadn't known it was on today:-0

Now he does have organisational issues and DCD and gets some resource but he obviously never said anything at home. Of course she is to blame too for not asking - in general I was shocked at her lack of knowledge/awareness around the exams. She didn't know science and "civics" as she called it have components due up soon either.

So it got me thinking - do you alert parents to specific dates in advance? I don't think any school I've worked in does - I make parents aware at p/t meeting but that could be months in advance of a deadline. She didn't realise she could download the exam timetable- I've just sent it to her there. I suppose as teachers we are so immersed in it its hard to think some parents are totally oblivious.
What does your school do to support parents if anything?

*disclaimer - my own personal viewpoint is parents ought to have the wherewithall to be aware of key dates and you can't spoon-feed every student. They must at some point take personal responsibility for their lives and state exams are a good starting point

ethical

While we make it our business to inform parents re upcoming deadlines it amazes me that with the amount of "Projects" in the JC and more promised its the teachers that are doing the work,students are getting dumber and dumber! and are not capable of deadlines...............

happywithlife

ethical wrote: »

While we make it our business to inform parents re upcoming deadlines it amazes me that with the amount of "Projects" in the JC and more promised its the teachers that are doing the work,students are getting dumber and dumber! and are not capable of deadlines...............

Agree- i had my own students exam today - 5 of the 18 were in class last Fri. One came in this morn having forgotten their paperwork to accompany them. I had to practically take them all on a one to one last week to write them up - never known such stress. They are so needy and spoon-fed. And of course it would be nice to say let them off but I.m hoping to get hours there again next year so can't afford that attitude
That's what amazed my sister tonight - she honestly thought he'd have had the cop on to tell her when the exam was on. But no! Makes you wonder

evolving_doors

Well maybe it's a good thing as it would appear that the young fella hasn't bothered his ma with his own responsibilities!

implausible

We're a DEIS school, so we do a lot of 'reminding'. It can be up to each department though to ask our secretary to send out texts the day before important dates. During the exams, we often have to ring students who don't turn up. Dates are in student diaries, on school website and often in school text messages.

ethical wrote:

While we make it our business to inform parents re upcoming deadlines it amazes me that with the amount of "Projects" in the JC and more promised its the teachers that are doing the work,students are getting dumber and dumber! and are not capable of deadlines...............

That is completely unfair - being disorganised and lacking initiative does not mean students are dumb. Comments like that make teachers sound like grumpy old fogeys giving out about the young ones. And what are you comparing to? Us teachers are often guilty of wearing rose tinted glasses while looking at the past or of projecting our own experience in school - "well, in my day..."

As far as I can see, there are two opposite reasons - parents not facilitating their offspring to take responsibility for projects by running in with missing material, contacting the school, etc. The other reason (in schools like mine) is overdependence on the teacher due to a lack of interest or knowledge at home.

Millem

I am sure it's on our website and app?
I get my students to write it in their journal anyway as soon as examiner gets in touch. Parents should check their child's journal IMHO. I also flag the two possible weeks with parents at PTM.

In my subject we wouldn't really have problems with students not coming in prepared. On a few occasions I have rang home either on day of or in advance to a parent of a student in my tutor group who may not or had not been present at the start of the day for lcvp/oral. (They are not my subjects but would be aware of dates).

RH149

Ours are informed (the 3rd Yr and 6th yr Year Heads do that as far as I know) but every year we have Home Ec teachers pulling their hair out when students come in for their practicals without the right ingredients, the language teachers spend a lot of time ringing up parents trying to get students in who haven't turned up for orals and the science teachers are in at all hours, before and after school trying to get the students to complete the experiment books that get submitted to the department.....these two weeks are crazy in school- always feel that the Easter holidays are the most needed, to keep everyone sane, pupils and teachers alike.