Principal's mic-drop response to 'highly critical' parents telling his staff how to teach is just brilliant

School systems are designed to accommodate the needs of every student. Unfortunately, in the bargain of wanting the best for their child, parents tend to explore unruly and extreme parental concerns. Instead of appreciating the teachers, many mothers and fathers criticize them for not meeting their vivid expectations. Colin Dowland, headteacher at the Woodridge Primary School, shared a letter in response to such highly critical parents. He noted that teachers are doing their best, they have a better understanding and training of the collective needs of the kids and shared a mind-blowing alternative if parents still weren't satisfied. The letter was shared on X, formerly known as Twitter by another Headteacher, @MrB_Online, and is a noteworthy message for all. 

The letter was addressed during COVID-19 when schools resorted to teaching online. Dowland began by writing, “I know it is an exceptionally difficult time for all of you and your children at the moment.” He ensured that the concept of “Home Learning,” is new to both teachers and parents and yet, the faculty is doing their best. With only 13 weeks of teaching due to the unprecedented time, along with other possible gaps, the headteacher noted that there would “inevitably be learning gaps for children.” “Teachers are still setting work in line with the National Curriculum, bearing in mind the amount of learning lost and that the progress of each child is difficult to assess remotely. We know this is frustrating for all parents. Many of the staff are parents too, and we share your frustration. No, we do,” he assured. 

The man then shared that parents had maximum access to teachers, their pre-recorded lessons, communication, and so on, to offer constructive criticism and understand how things are and how efficiently they are teaching kids. But some parents were crossing the limits and telling the teachers how to conduct classes. “However, several parents have taken advantage of this new access to send highly critical messages of advice to teachers about how to do their jobs and questioning their training, skills and competence,” Dowland shared. The headmaster knew he had to take a smart approach while addressing the issue. In a mic-drop response, he added, “Can I encourage all those particular parents, who now consider themselves to be educational experts, to sign up for teacher training at their earliest convenience?” 

He wrote that there was a shortage of teachers given the situation they were going through and that parents could gladly step in if they felt the teachers weren’t doing their jobs well. Dowland wasn't trying to be rude or one-up the parents. Being aware of both sides, he simply offered parents to step out of their zone and step into the shoes of teachers to figure out the reality. He concluded with a savage message saying that there were several opportunities for parents to take up teaching roles and attached a link for the same. He added, “I will also update you if we have any teaching vacancies at Woodridge over the next few weeks, which if such messages continue, I am thoroughly expecting.” 

Several people applauded Dowland’s message. @gavsumpter, a dad who has several family members who are teachers wrote, “This is fantastic. Love the ‘put your money where your mouth is' message!’” @johnlangdon26 wrote, “As an ex-headteacher, I would support this headteacher and wish the school well. Some parents drain the lifeblood out of your efforts.” @MrsRelkaw added, “Great to see management stand up for their staff!” @paulinepotter55 exclaimed, “Wonderful backbone here!”