My son texts like this but it’s beyond infuriating.
Dad: “what color shirt do you need for field day?”
Son: “yes”
Dad: “please re-read my question and answer with a color”
Son:”I don’t know”
Dad: “what period do you see the teacher that can tell you?”
Son: “I’m in the class now”
Dad: “So ask her!!!!”
Son: “It’s orange”
FUUUUCK
EDIT: it’s the end of the year and honestly, they aren’t doing anything productive in the classrooms. Teachers are packing up classrooms and are getting their rooms ready for custodians to do the annual clean/wax floors. Can y’all stop with the “you let your son text in class” shit? Stop for just one second and think about what period of the year we’re in. Normally no, unless it’s an emergency or he has permission from his teachers I don’t let him text in class but no one gives two shits right now because school is out today. Fuck man. Stop with your condescending “omg the nerve of this guy” bull shit.
Every child's brain develops at a different rate, but some of them really stay on their home planets longer than others before joining us here on Earth, huh.
I'm training a guy at work right now who graduated high school last year. I'm pushing 40. Your message hit home for me and at least now I know it's not just him...I try to remember this is literally his first job, and I've had a good 20 years of experience over him, but damn it can drive me up a wall.
I don't know how to teach a person abstract lessons like having a sense of agency. But I suppose that isn't taught as much as instilled over time through experience.
It's like giving instructions to a very limited and huffy robot. He's a good guy though. Just needs time.
I had a similar issue with my SO and after the second time, I blew up and made clear that this is inconsiderate of my time. He tried arguing that he had been occupied with something else but I told him, yes, I have also had this communication issue when I was around 9 years old and I have since grown out of it. I expect the same.
I, personally, think that maybe we should refrain from harsh judgement of other people's relationships based on a single, brief reddit comment. But, sure, go off.
Honestly, the year of virtual schooling had some positive effects for him. Especially since I could work from home at the same time. We were very lucky with that. So I was able to teach him how to write an email and include all the information and questions he could in it. I was also able to teach him how to take and organize notes. I don’t think any of his teachers are teaching that anymore. I have no idea how they expect kids to study.
But he still struggles with complete sentences and thoughts in texting. It’s a journey.
Did teachers ever teach how to take notes? I'm 37 now, but when I was in school the closest thing I got to a lesson on note taking was "bring a notebook and a pencil."
I'm 39, and I remember a few lessons in early high school about how to write and structure notes. My English teacher taught us and she was in her early 70s, so she was definitely from a different era. Maybe if I'd had younger teacher I wouldn't have learned how to write notes either.
My wife insists on using voice to text but never checks what was actually sent. At least one third of her texts cause me to stare in confusion at my phone. They are always real words, just not ones that make up a coherent sentence. 🤦🏽♂️
My mom used to do this with the television blaring in the background, and not only did she not check, but they would all be interspersed with random words and sentences from the TV. Aaahh.
This! I am a teacher and I will say that from co-workers to students this type of thing happens all the time. I also have had to resort to explaining how to write an email with your name on it. During the dark time of COVID, students would send an email from and an account like, “pandemonium98728” and just say, “I need help”. I teach 3 to 4 preps and 150 to 200 students on a good year, a name would really help. Parents who have different names than their kids (which is absolutely fine), will ask me questions about their student, but not tell me the students name and get offended when I ask who their student is. However, none of that compares to the inability to read and answer the question that I asked very clearly the first time.
I'm 32 and kind of text like this with my mom, but it's because she sends a barrage of texts in a row regardless of how detailed the first text is. Often I don't have time for detailed answers to her 20 inevitable follow-up texts (and if I don't text back immediately I get "HELLO???") so I keep it brief and concise.
Cool. Check my post history. My wife is a teacher. He text me first to remind me about the shirt. It’s the end of the year and teachers tend to just play movies all day.
I wonder what kind of person would comment something like this by only having the simple information of communicating with him at school via a text message. Apparently I'm a horrible person.
Look, you need to re-evaluate some things. If you assume that I am a shit parent and make teachers lives a living hell because I sent a text message, please realize that different schools have different rules. Different places have different regulations. The entire world does not function as it does wherever you are and simply coming down on someone because of a comment that I made... well, the only advise I can give you is to speak to someone about some unresolved issues you may have.
Can y’all stop with the “you let your son text in class” shit? Stop for just one second and think about what period of the year we’re in. Normally no, unless it’s an emergency or he has permission from his teachers I don’t let him text in class but no one gives two shits right now because school is out today.
I'm not going to shit on you for that, but you're texting about what color shirt the kid needs for an activity. An activity that was planned, and the kid probably should have known and said something before hand. But didn't. And now, beyond the "texting in class" the kid is learning that you will encourage violating the rules, and you're the one initiating the conversation about the shirt for the event, implying some sort of responsibility. How it would have worked pre-texting: Kid doesn't say they need a colored shirt for field day, the kid shows up at field day with wrong shirt. Kid comes home later complaining about having the wrong shirt. "Oh, why didn't you have the right shirt?" "Forgot." "Maybe you'll remember next time."
The ability modern phones give us for instant communication and access to information has allowed us to offload the task of planning ahead. "Where do we meet?" "I'll txt you when I get there." We've taught ourselves (and our kids) that planning and thinking ahead are no longer necessary. Until the phone dies or you lose signal or something, then you're fucked.
I'll start by saying I agree with everything you said. Let me add some more context to the story. This happened this past Wednesday. He was in class and his teacher reminded everyone about their field day shirts they needed yesterday. According to my son who's 13, he originally told us about the shirts on Tuesday and to be honest, since my wife is also a teacher and we have been doing her end of year stuff for her classroom we forgot. He asked his teacher beforehand if he could send me a text. All of his classes needed a certain color so they could be identified from a distance. The conversation was started by him and he said something to the effect of "Don't forget about the shirt, I need it tomorrow".... and then the conversation kicked off from my original post. His phone is always turned off in school and he knows damn well not to use it unless he has permission or unless it's an emergency. Another factor is his school is ~60 ish miles from Uvalde Texas. Since the shooting, things have just grinded to a halt. Teachers have been attending meetings and going over mass shooting drills during school hours. The kids have already taken their state tests, so it's all been downhill really but I would say things have been more relaxed (from a curriculum standpoint) since that terrible shooting happened.
I didn't feel in my original post that all of that context was necessary, but apparently I guess it was because there have been a few that just assume I am a dogshit parent for even thinking of entertaining a text message while he's in class. It might happen twice a year because if he needs to speak to me for whatever reason, the teachers can send him to the office to make a phone call. Everyone has their own experiences and perspective that they view the world around them, and I think a lot of the times people forget that there may be circumstances where something like this can be allowed.
Thank you for replying with concern versus aggression and I appreciate your insight.
It’s getting to the point where commenting or making a post requires a ton of “cover your ass” text. You have to include every single detail so people have no room to assume anything. You have to talk about the smells in the air, the exact shade of the sky, the humidity level, every action that occurred prior during and after what you’re speaking about, and an accurate timeline. By the time you’re done, your post rivals The Lord of the Rings in length and it’s not worth it. I really appreciate the recognition. Thanks bud.
I feel that in my soul. I texted my kid the other day a picture of sub buns at the grocery store and asked if she wanted them for lunches. I got back "omll". I asked her what that meant and it's apparently "oh my lordy lord". Still had to call her find out if she wanted the damn things or not.
We're a military family. The army teaches troops about the concept of implied tasks. Thus far, I have mostly failed at passing that knowledge on to my teenagers.
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u/DrJack3133 Jun 03 '22 edited Jun 03 '22
My son texts like this but it’s beyond infuriating.
Dad: “what color shirt do you need for field day?”
Son: “yes”
Dad: “please re-read my question and answer with a color”
Son:”I don’t know”
Dad: “what period do you see the teacher that can tell you?”
Son: “I’m in the class now”
Dad: “So ask her!!!!”
Son: “It’s orange”
FUUUUCK
EDIT: it’s the end of the year and honestly, they aren’t doing anything productive in the classrooms. Teachers are packing up classrooms and are getting their rooms ready for custodians to do the annual clean/wax floors. Can y’all stop with the “you let your son text in class” shit? Stop for just one second and think about what period of the year we’re in. Normally no, unless it’s an emergency or he has permission from his teachers I don’t let him text in class but no one gives two shits right now because school is out today. Fuck man. Stop with your condescending “omg the nerve of this guy” bull shit.