So today I was teaching English to a class of kids, and before we even got started, one of the students—a girl around 10—told me she had hit her head during PE and needed to go home. One other kid from another class had hit her. She looked kind of out of it and said she was feeling bad, so I did what I thought was the right thing: I called her dad and asked him to pick her up.
About an hour later, I found out she wasn’t actually hurt. No head injury. No symptoms. She just didn’t want to take the exam we had planned that day.
To make it worse (or better?), the principal and another teacher pulled me aside and gently explained that I should have contacted them first before calling a parent. They weren’t angry, just said it was something I’ll learn with experience.
But now I feel like complete crap. Because I feel like I let down the principal, who’s someone I really respect and who’s been supportive of me. I acted with good intentions, but I still feel like I made everyone’s job harder and caused unnecessary confusion.
TL;DR TIFU by calling a student’s dad without informing the school first and forgetting the chain of command
Comments
Sounds like this will happen, don’t beat yourself up! Could have been worse
If a student isn’t feeling well you send them to the nurse. They handle that stuff.
Don’t even worry about it. Sounds like they weren’t upset just wanted to make sure going forward to follow that advice. There could be incidents the school wants to be aware of before the angry parent shows up.
This was a nothing burger and they probably found your empathy super charming… haha sometime teachers lose it over the years.
I’m going to assume you’re a new teacher. A kid took advantage of that fact, and you made a mistake. The principal was understanding. Your colleagues were understanding. You learned from it. The end. Move on. One thing I’ve always told my workers and my kids is this one simple rule – ‘’Never beat yourself up over simple mistakes; there are plenty of other people willing to do that for you. Just learn from your mistakes , and move on.”
I’m weirded out by the fact that the principal wanted to be informed. If it’s your class, why does he need the info?
I feel like you did the exact right thing.
Sounds like the principal will have forgotten it already. Not a big deal, not letting anyone down. Just a learning opportunity
Its to protect you as well, we live in a world where you should tread lightly as an authority figure.
I’d rather have a teacher call me, I come and get my kid, whether true injury or not. Than to let the principal decide if I should be called or not.
Too many times (not saying your principal or school is like this), but too many times, schools will try to brush everything under the rug and do everything possible to skirt blame.
I’d say you did the right thing.
Jeez get off your back. Made a mistake. Won’t make it again. Shrug. 👍
For what it’s worth, I’ve been in central office administration for a while. “They weren’t angry, just said it was something I’ll learn with experience.” Your perception is likely 100% accurate. They truly aren’t upset, or even feeling let down. I wouldn’t stress it. If you haven’t heard the phrase growth mindset in education yet, then it really applies in this situation. As long as you are willing to learn and grow, it’s all good.
The sorts of things that principals worry about are SO much bigger in the scheme of things. Like, teachers being mean to kids, not fulfilling basic responsibilities in supervision, etc. Hang in there, keep on caring about your kids, the rest will come with time.
would you feel comfortable speaking to them about it again? if you are truly unsure you won’t feel better unless you bring it up and hear it from them.
I’m a teacher and if anyone complains of head pains, or ailments of similar level of magnitude, I’ll send them to the nurse who can determine whether or not they should go home. She will then call the parents.