Most of the time, you can work out from context what these mean; however, this isn’t always the case.
Sometimes, you could come across an abbreviation, and you just have no idea what it’s trying to tell you.
If you have recently seen TBD on a school letter or in the classroom, and you have no idea what it means, then you’ve come to the right place.
Here, we will discuss the most common and likely things that TBD could mean within the context of school.
To Be Determined
The most likely phrase that this abbreviation is for is to be determined. You’ll likely find this abbreviation after a date or location that is either still being discussed or hasn’t been decided yet.
For example, if you know that there’s an important meeting coming up with the parent-teacher association, you may get an email or letter with a potential date and time but with TBD instead of a location.
This would mean that, though the meeting is definitely taking place, they haven’t yet found the best place to hold it and will get back to you on this.
There could be a lot of things that are still being decided when school starts in the Fall, so you’re likely to see TBD in this context as arrangements are still being made, and no one is 100% certain on some details just yet.
The Difference Between TBD, TBA, And TBC
Perhaps it’s not TBD that you’re seeing a lot of, but TBA or TBC.
In this case, TBA stands for to be announced, suggesting that the school has confirmed the information but won’t be announcing it until the future for a variety of reasons.
TBC means to be confirmed and is certainly used a lot less than its coworkers; however, you do still see it occasionally.
If the school is using TBC, this generally means that they have a pretty good idea of what they want or when they want something to happen but are still in the process of getting the go-ahead or the confirmation.
Other than that, TBC could be used in the same way as TBD.
What About TBH?
TBH almost certainly won’t be used in official school correspondence, but whilst we’re on the subject of similar abbreviations, we might as well touch on this bit of slang as well.
If you’re texting with your teenager and they use the abbreviation TBH, that simply means to be honest and isn’t anything to worry about.
This is a commonly abbreviated phrase that denotes that what they’re saying is truthful.
Team-based Discussion
If TBD as an abbreviation for to be determined doesn’t make any sense in the context you’ve seen it in, then it’s possible that it stands for Team-based discussion.
You would likely come across this page when looking at a syllabus or an explanation of what kind of work you will be doing (or facilitating if you’re a teacher).
Team-based discussion is an example of collaborative work – talking with your classmates about a topic that you’re looking at in class.
This kind of collaboration can be really helpful as it gives you an insight into how other people might interpret the same book or event, broadening your understanding of something.
There could be aspects of the topic that you don’t understand that other people around you do, or vice versa.
If You’re A Teacher
If you are a teacher and you know that you have to facilitate team-based discussions in the classroom, you might be worried about keeping everyone on task and making sure that what they’re talking about is relevant.
There are a few different strategies you can implement to keep your students on topic, but it mostly comes down to how you’ve grouped them all and the formation of the desks.
It could be helpful to have your students push their desks next to one another so they’re able to talk more comfortably.
It’s also recommended that you give them some good examples of the type of questions they can discuss between themselves instead of expecting them to come up with thought-provoking questions all by themselves.
Keep An Open Mind
The most important aspect of team-based discussions, whether you’re facilitating them or involved in them yourself, is to keep an open mind to what the other people in your team are thinking.
Even if you completely disagree with something that they’re saying, knowing these other perspectives is still incredibly important to your overall understanding of the topic that you’re going over.
Besides, you never know! Something that someone else in your team talks about could totally shift your perspective on the whole topic.
Final Thoughts
TBD could refer to a lot of different things, but these two are the most likely and common.
In some cases, TBD could be an abbreviation of the school name; for example, if your kids went to T. Baldwin Demarest School, then the facility could use TBD as an acronym.
However, if you’re still unsure, there’s nothing wrong with asking to clarify with whoever wrote the email or the letter.
Though it might feel a little silly to have to bring it up, it’s much better than making an assumption and having the wrong information.
Hopefully, we’ve cleared up the questions you have, and you’re now confident with the information that has been provided to you regarding the use of TBD in schools.
Whether it means to be determined or team-based discussion, you should now be able to come to whatever scenario TBD has been used in with confidence.
Leave a comment