Teachers Receive Aggressive E-mails from Parents after Work Hours

Category: Education/Family

Listening

Unlocking Word Meanings

Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.

  1. bombard / bɒmˈbɑrd / (v) – to direct complaints, criticisms, or questions to someone
    Example:

    The media bombarded the school with questions about the teachers’ rally.


  2. the wee hours (of the night/morning) / ðə wi ˈaʊ ərz / (idiom) – the early hours following midnight
    Example:

    The student was tired from studying until the wee hours of the morning.


  3. upsurge / ˈʌpˌsɜrdʒ / (n) – a sudden increase in something
    Example:

    The upsurge in student enrollment contributed to the school’s profit.


  4. intrusive / ɪnˈtru sɪv / (adj) – causing annoyance to someone by violating his/her privacy
    Example:

    I refuse to answer my roommate’s intrusive questions about my personal life.


  5. query / ˈkwɪər I / (n) – a question that is asking for certain information about something
    Example:

    The teacher received a lot of queries from parents about her students’ grades.


Article

Read the text below.

A study revealed that teachers in the United Kingdom often receive e-mails from parents after work hours.


The study, done by the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT), surveyed 1,572 teachers. Results revealed that over 50% of the respondents are bombarded with e-mails from parents during weekends, at night, and early in the morning.


Some teachers receive e-mails during the wee hours of the morning like one a.m. These e-mails tend to be aggressive, with parents complaining about the need to fill out school forms or questioning teachers’ disciplinary methods.


Teachers pointed out that an upsurge in the use of school management apps like ClassDojo is a factor behind parents’ intrusive way of communicating. This is because such apps allow parents to send queries and complaints, demanding immediate responses from teachers.


Additionally, around 70% of the teachers said their e-mail addresses were given to parents, mostly without their permission. Teachers also disclosed that some schools require teachers to have e-mail access on their phones and that school management  monitored their e-mails.


More than half of the teachers admitted that they felt obliged to entertain e-mails during their time off and guilty if they failed to respond.


As a result of this phenomenon, teachers’ mental health and work-life balance suffer. Some teachers even consider resigning from their jobs.


Education Secretary Damian Hinds responded to the issue and asked schools to reduce teacher workload and to eliminate the communication practice. On a similar note, NASUWT General Secretary Chris Keats believes that schools must have appropriate practices in place to promote consideration and respect for teachers’ work-life balance.


Viewpoint Discussion

Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.

Discussion A

• Do you think teachers should be obligated to respond to e-mails from parents after work hours? Why or why not?
• What practices do you think schools should adopt to regulate the communication between parents and teachers? Discuss.

Discussion B

• How do parents in your country usually deal with their children’s school-related issues? Discuss.
• To what extent should parents be involved in their children’s academic lives? Explain.