Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Dear PTA,

There's really no nice way to say this, so I'm going to come right out with it.

The last thing (and I mean the very last thing) I want after volunteering at the school all year is a volunteer appreciation breakfast on a Friday morning at 7:30am.

The thought is there, but I really cannot imagine how a room full of moms decided "You know what they would like for volunteering their time? To wake up an hour plus earlier to come have school cafeteria breakfast! Yeah!"

No.

Big Kid says he made me a place mat and he's been singing some volunteer song, and he really wants me to go. Man, isn't volunteering every Monday for a whole school year enough??

I appreciate the thought of the appreciation, and I will cherish the place mat. We just don't need to go as far as breakfast. A card signed by the class would be 4000x cooler than 7:30am school cafeteria breakfast.

Thank you anyway,
Ashley

21 comments:

Layne Street said...

Man - it seems more like a slap in the face rather than a pat on the ass.

Gosh. Congrats - however - on the placemat! :)

Jaime said...

Our school is having a Mothers Day Muffin thing on friday from 7-8...Um no thank you! I appreciate the thought but no way am I getting up early for a measly muffin...now if they were serving mimosas I'd so be there :)

Unknown said...

The things we do as a mom are sometimes sucky in the moment. But when you start to add up those moments and turn them into memories... they don't suck quite as much.

Bid Kid and his buddies have invited you into their other home to share a meal with them. It means the world to them to show off their mom to the other kids.

So it's a soggy pancake simming in syrup. It's served on a hand made, personalised place mat.

My kid is almost 20 and lives in another province. I think back on those wretched breakfasts and lunches and wish to heaven that I could do them again with a little more grace. Then I check facebook to see what she's posted and chat on-line.

It's good to vent, It's greater to do.

Amo said...

It kinda makes you wonder WHO IN THE HELL ORGANIZES THIS KIND OF CRAP BECAUSE THEY CAN'T BE PARENTS!!!!

Hippie at Heart said...

Well said! Here I sit at 7:30 am fully dressed & smelling nice with nowhere to go. Our volunteer breakfast was suppose to be at the ass crack of dawn so I got up super early to get a shower & drop my daughter off at school with just enough time to run home & finish getting ready. As I am walking out the door, purse in hand (still looking for the keys!) the school called & said the breakfast has been canceled but don't worry...they're making it up next week. Great. Fucking great.

p jane said...

They're doing a volunteer luncheon today at 11am...followed at noon by the Teacher appreciation luncheon, set up and run by the volunteers. I was invited even though my "volunteering" has only involved providing an entree for the Teacher luncheon.

I'm with you. The gesture is sweet but a card would mean so much more. Thinking that doesn't make you ungrateful. ACTing on it by, you know, calling the organizers a bunch of morons to their faces would be. ;)

KJG said...

I'm SO with you! I used to teach and every year the PTA would want to throw a breakfast in honor of us teachers and I would want to throw a fit. I don't want to be anywhere an hour early - even if they do mean it nicely. I think I would have felt more appreciated if they had offered to watch my class for an hour and I got to stay home.... Yeah - that would have been much better!

sunny-daze said...

My school does the same thing, only it continues an hour after school starts. So I drop the kids off and grab a coffee and fruit then. But this is the second year I suggested a happy hour complete with margarita's, hopefully soon they will listen.

Joy said...

Um yea 7:30 is way to early!

Jennifer said...

If this is what I have to look forward to when Baby Girl starts school then I'm not volunteering.

Ashley said...

Why can't they just do cocktails at 7:30pm?

Sounds like a much better idea to me.

Me said...

Breakfast for parents, on a school day...there is just nothing right about that. I agree with you (and I'm a teacher, a mom and a PTA person)just send me the placemat. And I'm all in for any cocktail gathering!

Anonymous said...

They do it at 7:30 am so that the mom's who have to be at work can still come. I'm a guidance counselor at our school and also on the PTA board and we have this arguement every year. I say 7:30 is way to early and they say that they don't want to leave people out. Working mom's miss out on a lot so it is actually kind of nice that they are trying to include everyone... I really liked KBcubed's response...

clemsongirlandthecoach said...

No shit. I have 2 of them tomorrow, but as PTA President, I can ASSURE you that we didn't plan them.

Our school does them...and I feel a migraine coming on right this very minute...hmmm, looks like I may not be there...

Misty said...

I got the same note from my son's school today. Except it's at 9a.m. and doesn't start until 9 lol

said...

It's likely that they chose this time because 1) some parents that volunteer and also work would more likely to be able to come in before work for a breakfast and 2) teachers are typically at school early because they have to be but DON'T want to have to stay any longer than required.

Unknown said...

I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess most working moms aren't jumping up and down about the time either. Our school does a ton of ice cream socials, spaghetti dinners, etc. at night, I could work with that. But like I said, a card, or a place mat, or a carnation would've worked fine. The kids won't even be there to thank me that early, they videotaped them singing.

I'm going to RSVP "no". I live 40 minutes away, and I've spent plenty of time in their world taking them to the library each Monday, going on all of the field trips and performances, doing a gazillion birthday parties, etc. I'll just sleep until my normal time and feel appreciated while having my morning coffee.

Jennifer, you catch on quick...don't volunteer. ;-)

p jane said...

Me again. While I get the thought process of "Many parents work so Early=Better" the logic fails me in the case of Volunteer Appreciation. So much volunteer work is done during school time, so haven't these working parents already proven they can schedule time away from the job?
I work and I'd really REALLY rather not throw a wrench into the morning process. Ducking out for an early lunch (w/out the 3 kids) is so much easier IMvHO. Just another POV.
Ashley, good for you for not being guilted into being appreciated ;)

Queen of the Misfits said...

I don't volunteer! There I admitted it - I am THAT mother. The one that expects things to be "just so". But I don't contribute. ha.

teresa-bug said...

This is an interesting discussion to me because the school feels obligated to appreciate the volunteers. There is no way a cocktail party could be funded with school monies (I know you were kidding, sort of), and some parents would be offended with just a card, yet from what I read here, you would rather do away with the whole thing. It's a no-win situation. Teachers have so many things to do at this time of the year that they would rather forget the whole thing, but some volunteers would get mad. That is part of the reason I got out of the field....teachers/schools just can't win.

Unknown said...

Any volunteer who is doing it for an end of the year appreciation breakfast is a wackadoodle. I'm positive that volunteers that would be mad about getting a card are in the minority. No one signs up to be a school volunteer in order to get a public show of appreciation, you do it because you want to be a part of your child's school experience and help their teacher.

If we absolutely had to get together, I'd much rather an evening ice cream social. I know the teachers don't want to be there anymore than they have to, just like I don't like having to wake up any earlier than I have to. It should be something sentimental from the class, or at an hour decent for socializing.