PTA!! | Imamother

Iymnok

Mon, Dec 16 2019, 6:57 am

DrMom wrote:

I always knew "PTA" as "Parent Teacher's Association." Basically, this is the organization of parents and teachers who help with school projects, fundraisers, etc.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.....ation

It's only on imamother that I've seen the term used for a parent-teacher meeting.

What does "PTA" stand for in frum schools?

My daughters school has Asifat Horim tomorrow night. I finally get to spend time with my friends since it’s the only school.

Simple1

Mon, Dec 16 2019, 7:20 am

amother [ Slateblue ] wrote:

If you have a complaint don't wait until PTA to tell me. If you managed until now then continue to manage. If I needed to be involved you should have called.

I'm sorry you don't like this, but I do this. I don't like to bother the teacher at home for minor issues when PTA is in a few days. If it's too long to resolve in a few minutes, the teacher can give it thought afterwards at home, and follow up with a phone call if necessary. But then again, I'm not talking about a long list of serious complaints. Like recently, my daughter was really bothered by her seat being changed, and PTA seemed like a good opportunity to say something.

perquacky

Mon, Dec 16 2019, 1:30 pm

amother [ Babypink ] wrote:

I hate going to parent teachers and hearing my kid is doing great, then getting the report card a few days later and clearly, the dc is not doing so great.

Either the teacher's expectations for my kid are so low that she thinks a C- in a subject is great, or....what?? She was afraid to tell me directly? She was unprepared at PTA and had no clue?

Seems wrong to me in any case.

That's ridiculous. The teacher should have her/his grade book in front of them and should be able to tell you how your child is doing in every subject, which would give you an opportunity to voice any concerns at that time.
I always ask what grades my kids have been receiving that semester.

amother

Emerald

Mon, Dec 16 2019, 1:46 pm

amother [ Babypink ] wrote:

My kids schools all send out report cards BEFORE parent teacher conferences (which, incidentally, I don’t think are organized by the PTA)
I had one year when one of my children received a (for her) poor report card. When I asked the teacher about it at PTC, her response was “well, I don’t know your daughters exact grades, I left my book at home.” Lady, you’re a teacher. You are going to a meeting to discuss grades and work. How can you NOT have your boom with you?!?!
She didn’t even say something like “oh, I wish we could go through her grades together, but I accidentally left my book at home.” It was just “I don’t have my book.” We didn’t really get anywhere, because there was nothing to discuss. Her one response was “when I introduce new concepts, your daughter seems to struggle a little to grasp them (duh, they’re new concepts!!) but by the end of a lesson or two, she totally understands.” So let me understand....you graded my daughter by how she performs at the BEGINNING rather than at the end?!?!
I went directly to the principal after that, but that was a bust too....

Laiya

Mon, Dec 16 2019, 1:46 pm

DrMom wrote:

Funny, my kids' schools call that the PA, Parents Association

Ema of 5

Mon, Dec 16 2019, 1:49 pm

Simple1 wrote:

As a parent, it is not a good feeling to go in expecting one kind of report and then getting another. You, as the parents, can wait until PRC to discuss something (I would only recommend doing this about something really small, like changing her seat) but the teacher should NOT wait until PTC to tell parents that, for example, the kid is doing great, but is calling out every other second, or can’t sit still, or tends to get lost on the way back from the bathroom....PTC is not a time for surprises.

M0mmy

Mon, Dec 16 2019, 4:07 pm

fmt4 wrote:

Yes, it’s definitely an American Jewish thing to call these meetings PTA. PTA stands for parent-teacher association, which would be the group that organizes the PTC, or parent-teacher conference. So technically, these meetings should be called the PTC.

I've also been wondering about this phenomenon about calling it PTA. Growing up, PTA was the organization of parents who organized events and fun things in the school (in collaboration with the teachers????).

Parent-teacher conferences were called just that. They were 100% NOT organized by PTA (totally unrelated), but by the school admin.

That being said, I'm pretty sure "PTA" has morphed as the term used in my kids' school, too, and I know the PTA itself also doesn't organize the conferences...

amother

Slateblue

Mon, Dec 16 2019, 5:25 pm

Simple1 wrote:

I was referring to the teacher telling me about issues. More like behavioral or keeping up with the class. Usually PTA is a few months into the year. If my child was having an issue, unless it is recently, I should have known about it awhile ago.

amother

Bronze

Mon, Dec 16 2019, 8:21 pm

So many mothers are working 9-5, shopping, cooking, cleaning, helping kids with homework, taking kids to have their teeth cleaned and get annual check-ups, in addition to all the other errands which come up. And then comes parent teacher conferences, which is one more thing to do, if a mother is lucky. For half the mothers, the teacher has several things she wants the student to "work on," as if the mother was a 1950s suburban housewife with half a day of free-time. How much can one mother take on herself? The point I'm trying to make is, time is life and life is precious. People today are making things unnecessarily complicated, as if every unpleasant stage in a child's life is a major issue which must be fixed else it will become a catastrophe.