30 March, 2009
The boys’ school has sent a form home asking us to supply a mobile phone number so they can text us with regular messages.
However, they don’t seem to have considered that there are still dinosaurs out there who don’t have mobile phones.
I’m one of them.
I also don’t seem much point in having text messages on top of all the other messages that come home from school, either on paper or via email.
It often seems that we get at least a message a day, most of which appear to have little to do with genuine education or are more concerned with giving the appearance that the school has “engaged” with its “partners”.
I suppose the text messages are part of providing “added value”, but I’m glad I don’t have a mobile phone as it’s one less source of background chatter.
Blimey my folks heard from my school at parents meetings once a year and school reports. Wonder how schools coped with things then, what heck can they tell you about all the time?
Our childrens school also has this ‘service’. Mind you, it came in handy during the February snowfall as we were informed well in advance of school closures.
I’d prefer it if our school had a website with up to date info on meetings, outings and that kind of thing. Then I could refer to it if I needed to check a date. I don’t like the idea of texts either. My mates complain my phone is never on. I take it with me if I’m travelling, or turn it on if I need to contact hubby when I’m out. I don’t wantt o be at the bec & call of the world and his wife 24 hours a day, thank you very much.
In the long ago days before the world and his wife had mobile phones, the Principal of the educational establishment where I worked decided to allocate to me a pager, to ‘make communications easier’.
In the space of the first day, I had four messages from him, each interrupting confidential counselling interviews.
I returned his pager to him the same evening along with a polite ‘No thank you!’. Thereafter, he was able to communicate (as hitherto) by phoning the secretary in the outer office, who passed a message as soon as I was free.
I don’t know if you have an answer machine on your land line phone, but if you have, that could act as your ‘secretary’, especially as you spend so much time out of the house.
However, living opposite a school, I can appreciate the teachers’ dilema…. we often say we know more about what is going on in the school than the parents, as notes sent home find their way into our garden disguised as footballs and aeroplanes quite frequently
Many of the messages don’t actually contribute to anything: calls for donations for this cause and that, exhortations to be healthy, thinly disguised ads to buy books so the school gets commissions, numerous consultation documents that are anything but, and so on. Ironically, the boys manage to bring all this stuff home while managing to lose the important stuff, like times for parents’ evening!
I get messages telling my daughter didn’t turn up for registration that morning, and I hear myself saying
“of course she bleeping didn’t I rung you to say she was of beeping sick…moron!”
And what time do these message come through? 9am? Nope 5pm which means if she had been missing from school and she wasn’t already home she would have been missing all day and goodness knows where and goodness knows what happened to her.
And I had to phone our school today at 2.45pm, only to find no one answered. I tried later and again no one answered. I sent them an email, but have had no response. Communication is supposed to be two-way.
Mobile phones are a nuisance for the greater part of time. I use mine when I am on the road (in rural Australia). Even then for some of the time there is no reception. If someone suddenly finds their is a connection and leaves a message I simply ignore it anyway.
The phone is only for my convenience; e.g a car breakdown on the road – or to ring home if I am delayed for any reason and similar matters.
School days for my children were covered by notes and school reports. Quite adequate too.
Surely schools these days have more to do than “play” with text messaging.
Mobile phones are a nuisance for the greater part of time. I use mine when I am on the road (in rural Australia). Even then for some of the time there is no reception. Unless it is my partner sending a message I simply ignore other calls.
The mobile phone is only for my convenience; e.g a car breakdown on the road – or to ring home if I am delayed for any reason and similar matters with my family.
School days for my children were covered by notes and school reports. Quite adequate too.
Surely schools these days have more to do than “play” with text messaging.
I’ve never had a mobile phone either
damn and i thought i was the only non mobile owner out there, now i find that there are at least 3 of us….