Re: RSVP (and pinatas)

toypup wrote:


"Ericka Kammerer" <eek@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:DZGdnVLTKu-MKa_VnZ2dnUVZ_hGdnZ2d@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Like I said, the party invitations go out by card in the cubby route and all the school and class events go out by flyer. We use it mostly like any person would use the white pages -- it sometimes comes in handy, but no one consults the white pages before asking for a phone number or address of someone they really want to contact on a friendly basis. Do you know anyone who does that IRL? You know a girl at work you want to go to lunch with but you wait until you get home to look her up in the white pages?

Of course it happens.

Really? You are so social here, it's hard to believe you would meet someone interesting but fail to exchange contact information because you could go home and look her up.

That was an uncalled-for dig. And, of course, you have
little idea of my in-person personality. While I do usually get
contact information personally, because I usually want additional
information (like what's the best number to call and when's the
best time to call), sometimes I have a spur of the moment desire
to call. That doesn't mean that my lack of planning should
necessarily rule everyone else's decision making.

If there isn't a school directory, it is likely that
the school facilitates some other form of communication
(like cubbies/backpacks/whatever), the kids can share
information themselves if they're old enough (or through
contact cards, which have the advantage of being given
out one at a time to people you choose, rather than being
broadcast to hundreds of families, most of whom you don't
know), or you can use the white pages yourself.

The problem with that is that we don't know the names of the parents and there are so many Nguyens and Garcias in the white pages.

It is, of course, an imperfect solution. So is
broadcasting contact information to a rather wide group
of people. I haven't argued that there is any perfect
solution. I've suggested that the downsides of having
lists shouldn't be pooh-poohed in the way some are doing.

I do use contact cards. People can use those if they are not on a list. It's not the end of the world. They just have to work to get their names on people's personal list rather than the class roster. They'd have to do that anyway if there wasn't a list.

If you have a class roster and a parent who is not on the roster wants to be your friend or acquaintance give you her info, you'd add her to your personal list and not exclude her, right?

Do you not see a difference between my making a judgment
call about each family I want to share my information with
versus having my information go to hundreds of families, most
of whom I don't know?

In *your* case, with *your* school's particular
setup and common practices. Those are not universal in
schools with directories.

Okay, I concede that my experience may not be universal.

Which is all I've asked people to do--realize that
there are significant and reasonable arguments on both sides.

Neither is it universal that the existence of lists will impact the school in a negative way.

Never said it was. It is not, however, unreasonable
for people to be worried about it. Nor is it unreasonable
to consider the real privacy risk involved. That may lead
to a variety of accommodations other than removing lists
entirely. Perhaps one chooses to constrain the distribution,
content, or permitted uses of the lists rather than doing away
with them all together. Nevertheless, it's a real concern
that merits consideration.

I believe what impacts the school negatively is the administration not encouraging other forms of communications. That may have been the school culture to begin with. I'm not sure if the list itself should be blamed.

Perhaps in your case. It is not universal that schools
deciding not to have lists also decide to limit other forms of
communication. In fact, my experience has been that in the
absence of lists, the schools I've been involved with tend to
be *more* likely to encourage other forms of communication.

Best wishes,
Ericka
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: RSVP (and pinatas)
    ... all the school and class events go out by flyer. ... They just have to work to get their names on people's personal list rather than the class roster. ... Neither is it universal that the existence of lists will impact the school in a negative way. ... I believe what impacts the school negatively is the administration not encouraging other forms of communications. ...
    (misc.kids)
  • Re: RSVP (and pinatas)
    ... Banty wrote: ... I'm not arguing that having a list makes for *better* communication, ... You can't say lists facilitate community and communication, ... our school hardly needs a revolving door to cater for the changes ...
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  • Re: RSVP (and pinatas)
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  • Re: RSVP (and pinatas)
    ... weeks of the new school year if they want their contact details to ... parents to give them the information. ... The honour system of asking people not to distribute the lists ... distance from the volunteering *is* a legitimate need people have. ...
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