Perhaps It Was A Miss Communication...

The above is the way that Mrs. Office Manager actually spelled miscommunication in a recent email...

But that's not what I wanted to share today, although that was funny...A few weeks ago, we gave this reading test to our kids called the Degree of Reading Power, or DRP. Now, there is always a parent letter that informs the parents of their child's results. It is a two-sided piece of paper with the results on one side, and a list of suggested books on the other. It has always been this way.

So I didn't think twice when I got an email earlier this week from Ms. Education Assistant, informing us that parent DRP info was in our mailbox. Parent, the email said. Info for the parent. So, it is understood, then, that we are to send it home. Therefore, yesterday, I handed them out. Each page goes to a specific kid, since it has their DRP results. So I was reading off names, and the student would come get their handout, and line up at the door, since it was the end of the day. When I finished handing them out, only half my class was lined up. Half was still standing at their desks, waiting patiently.

"I didn't call you?" I asked. They shook their heads no. "Well," I continued, "for some reason, I must have only gotten the letters for half of you. I'll have to find out where the rest are. Line up!" They did, and I excused them.

Today, even though it is Saturday, I had to check my school email. I had an email from the aunt of one of my kids. She told me that on the back of her niece's DRP handout was the information for another student. Slowly it dawned on me that that was why only half of my class lined up-the other half was on the back side of the papers I handed out!

My first thought was, OMG, I screwed up! I must have read the email wrong, and it wasn't for parents but for me! I panicked, and searched for the original email. I couldn't find it, so I emailed another teacher at home. "Didn't that email from Ms. Education Specialist tell us to send the DRP info home with kids? I only had half my students papers, but a parent emailed me saying she had another student's info on the back! Did I screw up?"

Ms. Other Teacher emailed back saying, "No, Ms. Education Assisstant screwed up. I handed them out, too, but a student saw that there was another student's info on the back, so I collected them back. I'm sorry I didn't tell you..."

So I was happy that I hadn't screwed up, but that someone else did. As I thought about for a second, I realized the person who screwed up was the person who copied them off. They should not have been copied off back to back the way they were done. It should have been, obviously, one page per student. Someone was only thinking how to save paper, I bet, and not how this was used.

I sent an email to Mr. Principal then, alerting him to the situation. I told him what I guessed had happened, and that whoever copied off the DRP parent info had really made a grave error. Plus, I had sent mine home. Now student's private testing results were in other families hands. I reminded Mr. Principal, too, that I would be out for Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and so I wouldn't be able to talk to the students and get them back. I suggested that either Ms. Education Assisstant or Mr. Principal himself go to my class on Monday to get back the letters. Then, I hope, he deals with whomever copied off this info.

But perhaps it was all just a miss communication.