.Woodbury Reports Archives

strugglingteens.com

The Internet's leading source of information on emotional growth schools & programs


Archives Contents

Archives Home
Contents by Year
      1989 - Present
Contents by Topic
      Industry News
      Schools & Visits
      Opinions & Essays

Archives Search

The easiest way to find information is by using our search function. Just type in the words you would like to search for and you'll get a list of articles related to your topic.

Site Index

Home
Schools & Programs
Chat Board
Resources
Newsletter
Online Store
Contact Us

News & Views - Feb, 2001 Issue #78

Why Your Kid’s School Is Afraid to Answer the Phone”

John Rosemond, syndicated columnist for Knight Ridder Newspapers on issues regarding children, presented this tongue-in-cheek recommendation for a school’s voice answering machine in a recent column. He says it suggests one of the major problems facing educators today, where all too often parents “place the blame everywhere but on their own children.”

Hello! You have reached the automated answering service of (name of school). To properly connect your call, please listen to all of the following options before making a selection: 

~To Lie about why your child is absent, press1. 

~To tell us that your child was to tired to come to school today because of his soccer game last night, press 2.

 ~To make lame excuses for why your child did not do his or her work, press 3. 

~To complain that a teacher is not treating your child fairly, press 4. 

~To complain that a teacher is having a personality conflict with your child, press 5.

 ~To complain that you did not understand your child’s homework assignment, press 6 

~To complain that a teacher is not teaching to your child’s learning style, press 7. 

~To demand that a grade be changed, for the better, of course, press 8. 

~To inform us that your child has never told a lie or done anything wrong in his or her life, press 9. 

~To leave a threatening message for a teacher, press 10. 

~To ask why you have not received messages that we sent home with your child, press 11.

 ~To threaten us with a lawsuit, press 12. 

~To demand that your child be admitted to the gifted-and- talented program, press 13. 

~To request that we take over raising your child, press 14. 

~If you want to reach out and slap someone on staff, press 15. 

~To request another teacher for your child, press 16. 

~To demand that your child be reinstated on the football team despite bad grades and/or atrocious behavior because being kicked off the team ruins his chances for a football scholarship, press 17. 

~To complain that the bus driver has it in for your child, press 18. 

~To complain that school lunches are either too expensive or that your child doesn’t like them, press 19. 

~To tell us that your child simply must be given a higher grade than he or she earned so that he or she can get into the college of his or her choice, press 20. 

~If you want to ask us to hold your child completely accountable for his or her work and behavior, HANG UP AND HAVE A NICE DAY!

This article copyright © 1999-2001, Woodbury Reports, Inc. (This article may be reproduced without prior approval if the copyright notice and proper publication and author attribution accompanies the copy.)

Site and content copyright © 1999-2001 by Woodbury Reports Inc. All rights reserved.