How bad was this to say?

[Bernadine]

We went to back to school night last night for dss. As we're walking out, a woman we saw in dss' classroom, with her daughter, approaches us. She tells us she's the treasurer of the PTA. I say "Oh no!" AS A JOKE! Right? Because most parents dread being approached by the PTA, right? And then I made sure to laugh and say I was kidding. And then I even took her email address.

I have to join the PTA, don't I? Or forever be known as the evil stepmother.

[littlemermaid]

LOL!! Only join if you have the time and want to be a part of it.

[Bernadine]

I think she smiled? I actually don't mind helping at school.events, but that's all I want to do, which is what i plan on telling her.

[Deleted]

I think it's fine, you were joking!

[speckledfrog]

I joined a committee for our early childhood PTA and I regret it. So much work! I feel like @smace, I got hoodwinked by trying to do something nice and it was a lot more than I anticipated. Don't do it!

[wildfloweragain]

Some people could definitely be irritated by your initial comment, esp if they keep hearing that. But those people should not take positions in the PTA, because it's part of it. You're fine.

[Booze Raccoon]

Honestly, I think it was a strange thing to say. I think you are joking but I don't think you have to join the PTA.

[cinnamoncox]

The PTA at my preschool got my email address but it didn't really entail me doing anything.
I just get emails about fundraisers and any school info.
I think you're fine.

There was a separate sign up sheet for people who actually wanted to so things throughout the year, organize things or whatever. You could put your name under the category that you're good at. Grant writing, art, media, etc.

[my3boyz]

You don't have to join the PTA unless you want to. I never had anything to do with it until a couple years ago. I finally went to my first meeting and there were less than 10 parents there, out of a school with 600 kids. So trust me you won't be the only one that doesn't participate.

[MixedBerryJam]

We all put our feet in our mouths sometimes. I told my kid's bowling coach -- BOWLING COACH -- that I liked that my kid bowled because he got to be part of a team without doing sports. His bowling career never recovered. (He did bowl something like a 285 once, though!)

[HiC]

You can join the PTA and not be on the executive board or any committee. You can join and just attend meetings or maybe your "contribution" is bringing coffee and donuts to a meeting. That's good too!

[cjeanette]

Aug 22, 2014 10:31:59 GMT -5 HiC said:

You can join the PTA and not be on the executive board or any committee. You can join and just attend meetings or maybe your "contribution" is bringing coffee and donuts to a meeting. That's good too!

This!

Some of our members do nothing or sign up to bring something simple like chips to teacher's potluck.

[HiC]

Aug 22, 2014 10:33:50 GMT -5 cjeanette said:

Aug 22, 2014 10:31:59 GMT -5 HiC said:

You can join the PTA and not be on the executive board or any committee. You can join and just attend meetings or maybe your "contribution" is bringing coffee and donuts to a meeting. That's good too!

This!

Some of our members do nothing or sign up to bring something simple like chips to teacher's potluck.

We just want your $25 membership fee! 

[BaliHai]

lol. You don't have to join!

[karmasabiotch]

I pick and choose when I want to volunteer. The PTO at J'a school is run by a bunch of Moms that take themselves way too seriously.

[katb]

It's fine. Join, pay the dues. The school really needs the money and probably uses the dues to pay for things for the school year - fieldtrips, supplies, teacher luncheons, assemblies, etc. You don't have to go to meetings if you don't want to.

[dragonfly08]

At my girls' school, most people join the PTA just to contribute the dues. They don't ever attend a meeting, chair a committee, or do anything else. I admit to being one of those people. :-) While there are frequent emails asking for volunteers for various things, they're sent to the membership at large and aren't any direct pressure. It's very easy to just hit delete. I'd say that 90% or more of the volunteering I've done at the school over the years is at the level of the clasroom/teacher and has nothing to do with the PTA itself.

[moolarkey]

I paid PTA dues but because H and I were so involved with other school booster groups they never asked us to do PTA officer stuff but they knew they could call me to donate food, staff tables at events etc. H was president of athletic boosters for 3 years, we were involved in music boosters too. I chaired every major committee in athletic boosters at one time or another, set up their scholarship program, was chairman of spiritwear sales for several years with 80k a year in sales. Our kids were in every activity known to man, their choice, we both worked full-time -but you know, ask a busy person to do something and it gets done. I was cheerleading trustee (delegate to boosters) a couple years. We hosted a cheerleading exhibition before competition season for area teams. I asked a mom to sit at a table and check the teams in as they arrived.... "OH no.. I can't do that. I have a 4 year-old." This was a SAHM mom with a 16 year-old and a 4 year-old. She couldn't sit at a table for an hour and mark of squad names on a list I prepared for her.

okay.

Why were we so involved?  I didn't have kids to ignore them, I was going to be at the events anyway. It was a heck of a lot of fun. We met so many great people.  I wouldn't have missed it.  

[livinitup]

You can join the PTA and do nothing.

You can join and go to a few meetings.

You can not join and go to meetings.

Volunteer at anything you choose.

Member ship doesn't require you DO anything. It just means you can vote. If you chose to vote.

[livinitup]

Aug 22, 2014 13:56:02 GMT -5 kooshball said:

What is the problem with the PTA?

I joined the PTA when DD entered Kindergarten. They raised a boatload of money, organized a ton of additional educational activities for the school and banked hundreds of volunteer hours from members. Great experience.

A week before voting-in the new president, the candidate got butt hurt about questions on her fundraising ideas, quit the PTA, refused to run and the vice- president quit with equally hurt feelings. General response was apathy and confusion. It's now a leaderless group with no fundraising plan.

So ... PTA's can be a little wacky.