the problem is, sometimes people dont have to 'give people something to talk about'.. people will talk anyway. its called gossip.the worlds oldest language.

it often has a legitimate beginning, ie someone completely INNOCENT said something or did something innocent, and its misconstrued thru chatter and at one point, intentionally or most often unintentionally, gets changed. and become gossip.

just like the games we used to play when we were little, the telephone game.

its when people propogate things that are unkind, that problems start. its OK to hear something negative, youve done nothing wrong by hearing it, but to spread it further does not serve a constructive purpose. especially if you dont have all the facts.
hearsay is rarely if ever true.

people will always talk. that will never change. so it be wisest not to give them something to talk about. mind you manners and behavior and there is nothing to talk about....i guess, imo

Marion-- if youre still out there,,,,,! since volunteers are NOT STAFF , its probably next to impossible to get them to garentee they wont blab what they learn. the best you can do is not let them do things in which they would learn of confidences ie: not file the head office's paperwork,,and stuff lke that! you cant hold a volunteer to a code of ethics, unless they are stafff, that would be my guess. so it just depends on common sense, courtesy, of your volunteer community, and the atmosphere the principal creates, and trust she fosters among its parent community. its a gray gray area, volunteers and confidences......very uneforceable unfortuntaly. what IS more enforceable, is asking teachers to not divulge confidences to other parents,,,,,,THAT should never happen, in a perfect world. what if parents volunteers are also part time staff or subsitute teachers?? how do youswitch hats and remember which one you are wearing??

very interesting points above....i wish our school had policies,,,,we have NONE and no background checks either. and yes, some people (non staff) do seem knowledgable about confidential student matters, and DO spread it around (gossip) to the detriment of the entire school community climate. it boils down to personal ethics and morals, things which are sorely lacking in certain individuals. hopefully the teachers will teach our kids about the finer points of ethics, cuz some kids clearly aint learnin it at home based on the gossip and rumors i hear around the parent community

Our principal has called in more than one volunteer to 'remind' them of this problem. We have a volunteer breakfast where our volunteer handbook is reviewed. In it we review the reasons for signing in, where to get their name tags, how to conduct themselves, that teachers should never leave them alone with children, how they may not discuss any thing that happens to children in the school enviroment. I happen to have a friend who asks me how her son is doing in class every week when she knows I go in that class. I tell her each time she pushes me " You need to go in and volunteer to see how he is doing"--That shuts her right up!!

Very interested in the replies to your question as we are experiencing something similar in our school. One volunteer who seems to know wayyyy to much info and spreads it around.