...you thought it stood for Parent Teacher Association.
It doesn't.
It stands for Glorified Fund-raising Committee.
I know the letters don't work really for the acronym, but if I squint really hard (like until my eyes are closed) and turn my head at an angle, it kind of could work.
There isn't a week that goes by that Bradley doesn't come home with some stupid collection folder or plea from his classroom mom or some random field trip that he needs $5 here or $3 there. EVERY WEEK!!! My neighbor and I tallied it up and they've asked us for over $300 since the school year has begun.
Last week the school spent an hour brain washing Bradley into thinking that if he went door to door and collected money, he'd help cure diabetes. They even used a blind guy in a wheel chair to really sell it.
Plus, if he could collect $20 or more, he'd earn a blue bracelet worth all of 8 cents.
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
PTA
Am I alone in my sentiments?
Written by Mindy at 2:49 PM
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I Want to Hear From You!
17 comments:
believe me you are not alone. We spent a good part of the 2nd grade program with LITTLE KIDS already at wits end listening to the PTA meeting that no one was aware of. It was extreamly annoying!!!! I also hate the spirit nights where you have to order pizza or eat out. Trevor thinks he'll be in touble if we don't participate. It's highly frustrating!!!
We don't do PTA fundraisers. The last time my kids brought home their packet and wonderful book of prizes I got on the internet, showed them that the $50 prize actually cost $2.99 off ebay, and they were satisfied. So no, Mindy, you are NOT alone. :)
All I can say Is AMEN! I HATE being Homeroom Mom and asking all of you guys for the money! It is ridiculous! I feel like a peddler begging for loose change. What is worse is if the parents don't send in the bag of change that they have found in couch cushions, the car, and pockets of various pants, the PTA expects the Homeroom Mom to fork over the Dough. So I second your rant and include my own!AMEN!
That is crazy! Luckily our PTA has decided they've had enough of that too. They just have two or three fund raisers every year. And the main one is basically just "donate what you can". I like that idea. Then I don't have to fork out $ for something not worth the money. And the PTA - & eventually the school- gets 100% of the proceeds! I love it. Other events that cost money are basically just to cover the cost of the event.
I feel ya. I just keep reminding myself that it is still cheaper than private school. BTW, even private schools send those notes home every other day.
absolutely not! I feel the same way, and Sydney always comes home brainwashed also and I am like we can't do all of these things. I feel bad for her because she doesn't understand but it is a little frustrating. Thanks for the great post and for letting me vent along with you!
I hear you, and echo your complaints about fundraising! I think the worst part is how they promote the great prizes the kids will get for selling the stuff... I feel like a slacker when we don't participate in all of the fund raisers, butI'd rather write a check to the school so 100% of the money goes to the school. One of the more recent ones was a cookie dough fund raiser, of the $13 tub of dough, the school got $3.
Porter was so taken with the American Heart Association pitch he was willing to give all of his birthday money to the cause, and he wanted me to match his contribution.
I know someone REALLY involved in PTA and I've learned some of the things that they have made happen (like vaccines for school kids and school lunch), but I am with you. That is a TON of money to just keep asking for! I always hated those door to door things they had us do.
I am right there with you! My gosh, I have never in my life seen so many darn fundraisers. Bennett comes home like every other day saying mom I AM going to win a trip to Orlando, or 10 THOUSAND DOLLARS. HE truly belives it and they want it that way. This bothers me a bit.
Josh thought he cured diabetes by participating in the walk last week and donating money for it. He just found out that a friend of his was just diagnosed with type 1 diabetes just this week and was devastated because he thought with his help he had cured it. He wants to go and collect more money ... I think this time around the money is going to actually go to the family.
We have the same problem with the fundraisers at Paige's school. It is EVERY week. There was one can food drive that Paige felt strongly about, so we spent a lot of $$$ buying cans for that, but after that I told Paige she can pick only two fundraisers a year to go crazy on, and the rest will just have to be taken care of by other kids at school. This seems to work for us.
I will not complain about Haeley's elementary school. Book orders, a hard bound copy of a classroom book made by the kids, and one field trip are about the extent here. The teacher doesn't bug me about coming in to help because I still have another year before I can be around all the germs. It's been pretty nice- but it's only kindergarten.
Wow - that is really nickle and diming to death. I am not looking forward to that!
As a mom forever, plus a principal for over 20 years, you know how I feel about this subject. In fact, we talked about it while we were with you. It's not safe to go door to door and when the boys were in school, we sent in a donation rather than bothering family and friends with fund raising plans. The boys were just fine about not earning the little prizes 'cause we took them on a date instead. Hope Steven has fond memories :>)"
That is insane!!!! Isn't there like child labor laws against stuff like that (door to door stuff)? They sure know how to work the system, cause what mom doesn't want their kid to participate with the other kids?? It's a losing situation! Good luck! Maybe you can get it fixed before my kid gets to school! :)
I feel ya too, but I think schools are also justified - I don't think schools have enough money, plain and simple. If public schools were allowed to set up trust funds with private donations, and if the government wouldn't cut back on their allowance because of it, schools would have plenty of money. It's the government's fault. They don't allow anyone or anything to get ahead.
I agree with Tara. The PTA is just trying to help teachers get a little extra money for the classroom, to give the children experiences that otherwise public schools cannot afford.
There is NO money in education and it sucks for everyone-- teachers, parents, students. I'd say the PTA is on your side, they're doing the best they can within certain limits.
Fund-raising is of course a personal decision, but I think it's important to see the bigger picture here.
Post a Comment