Case
Sporting Parent

During the school athletics carnival a parent confronts you regarding the finish placing of their child. They are quite vocal, you are working to a strict timetable and they believe you made a mistake and want the race re-run. What course of action do you take?

Posted on: 03/02/13 | Views: 1235
Solution #1
Top Solution
I have dealt with this situation before while I was working in a classroom. We were having a turkey trout and a parent was upset at the place that their student had been placed. we had to continue running the other races, so we politely asked the parent to email us and concerns and we would go back over the results to see if any mistakes were made. I would have to tell the parent that because of our time restraints that we are not able to re-run the race. I would also advise this parent to email myself so we could work out the situation. I would lastly state to state that this was an event for the students to get out and have fun, it was not about the places or prizes.

I like this solution about emailing later to continue the conversation and mentioning that it is all for fun not so much competition.

I think these are great suggestions to handling this situation respectfully with the parent.

I agree with this case study. I will utilize this information once I become a teacher.

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Solution #2
I would definitely re-evaluate to see if I had made any mistakes. If so, I could explain myself to the kids and try a re-run. If 100% positive that I did not make a mistake, I can let the parent know (in a respectful way) that this was just a race, and that not being the winner is a good thing for kids to experience. Losing is a lot harder than winning, and it is good for kids to experience this. I could also mention that there is always a next time, and that practice makes perfect!

I do not agree with this solution only because this parent is obviously competetive to cause a scene. Therefore by stating that it is good for their child to experience losing may not be the right way to approach the parents competetive driven concerns.

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Solution #3
I would remind the parent that this a fun activity where the goal is to provide casual events for children to participate. I would ask the parent to express any further concerns in an email to be discussed at a more convenient time.
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