Have YOU Tried Dial-A-Teacher Yet?

Written by Ena Fowles Saturday, 26 November 2011 21:38

Here’s the set-up:

It used to be called “rounding” back in the day, now it’s called “ballpark estimates” – the problem is, while I’m going to still assume that anything less than 5 goes down, and 5 and above goes up, I don’t know if the offspring is supposed to be ballparking it to the nearest ten or the nearest hundred if the number is 464 (i.e. is it now 500 or 460?). My first instinct is to Google it, but I’m not totally convinced that what I find online is what his teachers will be looking for… [Insert: “why didn’t you ask your teacher?” and “you don’t know what you’re talking about – you’re not a teacher” and then ratchet it up another notch and that my friends is why my kid who used to say he wanted to live with me forever, is now furiously sketching plans for the house he’s going to live in someday – in Maine.]

Here’s the dramatic (read: lame) flashback reference:

On a rainy evening I sat in the auditorium at PS 9 and listened while Ms. Austin-Page, a fourth-grade teacher at PS 9, the school’s UFT (United Federation of Teachers) representative, AND telephone-teacher for Dial-A-Teacher spoke to us about the Dial-A-Teacher program. Just as the rain was falling, so too did my fears that I wouldn’t be able to help my children with their homework. As the water washed the sidewalks clean, so could Dial-A-teacher wash away cranky homework exchanges between my children and myself. (Dramatic enough?)

Actual facts we learned from Ms. Austin-Page about Dial-A-Teacher (really the only part of this article you need to read):

• It’s FREE
• Lines are open 4pm – 7pm; Monday – Thursday
• Parents can call; students can call; you can put the phone on speaker-phone and all participate o Every Dial-A-Teacher teacher (the person who will answer the phone) is a certified NYC teacher (it’s not “teacher” like that “doctor” title my friend got online…)
• The caller will be asked for a first name and borough of residence – this is for logging purposes
• Reading, Math, Writing, Science – all subjects through 12th grade can usually be accommodated; the teachers have access to most text books used in the NYC public schools (i.e. the teacher can actually look at a specific page you’re referencing)
• Languages spoken by teachers: Bengali, Chinese (Mandarin, Cantonese and Fukanese), English, French, Haitian-Creole, Russian, Slovak, and Spanish

A sassy bit of Gonzo Journalism (or not… in fact, really nothing like it at all):

On a windblown day, in a windblown way I decided to call Dial-A-Teacher to find out how it worked and how those blasted ballpark estimates could be wrassled into submission… Let’s just say that while I was a little nervous as I dialed, it was easier than imbedding myself into a motorcycle gang. Want to know the answer (do you round 464 to 500 or 460?): 1-212-777-3380