"J. Clarke" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 07 Feb 2007 10:39:35 GMT, Glen

If I make am appointment with either my dentist or my doctor and I break
the appointment and I fail to call to cancel the appointment I am
charged for the office call anyway. To me, this seems fair.

That's certainly fair. However teachers don't normally charge for the
call.

No they don't, God Bless them. But they should charge when they have stayed
after hours strictly for you and your childs benefit.


In fact I doubt that they are even allowed to. What you are
proposing is akin to the dentist actually fixing your teeth for free
and only charging if you fail to show up.


Are are you not thinking again of just trying to be funny?



I have
wasted his time and time is money. I have had the problem, pre-cell
phone, when a problem on the freeway or something similar caused me to
be too late to make the appointment and after explaining the situation,
they waived the fee. Also fair. As a teacher, I believe that my time is
as important as my dentist's or my doctor's time.

That may be the case, but you as a teacher also make your living off
the government, not off of professional fees charged to the individual
parent, who normally pays you nothing except indirectly via taxes.

So you are unaware that many teachers have second jobs and staying after
school to talk to you about your child keeps them from going to that job.
And, if you think the teacher is going to get that $500 fine paid to him or
her you really are kinda slow and especially if you think any one is going
to believe that.


As for your time being as "important" as your dentist's or doctor's
time, how well did that one work last time you went for a raise?

It has always worked for me. If I feel that I don't deserve one I certainly
will not ask for one. How dumb would that be?



The parent should
either call or not make the appointment. As for the parent being
"ordered to attend a meeting," I know of no state where a teacher can
make such a demand. If you know of one, please share it with me.

So the meeting is not mandatory but you want to criminalize
nonattendance anyway?

OK, the fine is for a couple of problem instances, not for a single screw up
by the parent.
So that you can grasp the concempt. If you pay federal taxes and have to
pay an additional amount at the end of the year you have to file and pay by
mid April. You can pay on most any day before that date but if you decide
not to pay by that date you need to file an extension or you could be fined
and additional amount.


If you as a teacher don't understand the difference between a fee for
professional services and a government-imposed fine then you are _not_
making the teaching profession look good.

I beg to differ. Hell, your comments made the teaching profession look
good.