My approach to parent complaints
Postbox letter from John
I only take parent complaints seriously if they're easy to understand or the school explains them properly.
I don't worry about complaints
Postbox letter from Mike
As long as the majority of the parents and students in my class are happy, I don't worry about complaints. There will always be parents or students who have something to complain about.
A parent has complained
Sometimes teachers feel like although they try, they simply can't please everyone
There are some schools where a complaint from a parent has the power of Mjölnir. In these schools, teachers live in abject terror of parents. A call from administration to say that ‘One of the parents in your class has called…’ represents a death knell. Bong!
Fired for no reason
Postbox letter from Ray
I just got fired from a government school for picking up an empty desk only about two inches off the floor and slamming it down in an effort to get the attention of an extraordinarily loud class of about 50 students. I've done it many times before without consequence.
When your face just doesn't fit
When a school wants to fire you, what can you do?
I had been working as a Maths teacher for just under four months at a Catholic school in Bangkok when the head teacher, who is always happy to deliver bad news in a very dramatic way, informed me that parents had complained about the homework books not being marked. This was just the beginning.
