Survey: Drugs and lack of respect for teachers pose greater school problems than bullying

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by MSA of Snellville and Maureen Downey, Mark Davids. Mark Davids said: Survey: Drugs and lack of respect for teachers pose greater school problems …: In light of all the attention to … http://bit.ly/aPmMMh [...]

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My wife is a teacher – good teachers don’t fear merit pay – in fact most would welcome it as a way to distinquish their work from the poor teachers . Poor teachers protected by the teachers unions for years, are the ones who resist. Teachers unions don’t care about education or children – they care about protecting the jobs of their members – no matter how bad a teacher they are. Just look at the “rubber rooms” in New York City for a prime example of the goals of teacher unions.
Declining respect for teachers by students is mostly a reflection of their parents feelings. When a student is disciplined and mommy/daddy rushes to defend their poor darling “who never does anything wrong”, what example does that set for a student?

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what does this have to do with merit pay or unions? nothing.

Kids are a direct reflection of society in general. The breakdown of the family unit leads to a disrespect of all adults, not just teachers. Many of them have been abandoned by birth parents and raised either relunctantly in single parent homes or other relatives pick up the slack.

What a sad view of the world some them display. Just go to your nearest high school and check out the teenage pregnancy rates. Pregnant with little education and birth fathers who are incapable and too inept to provide any support. The cycle continues and the working taxpayer picks up the check.

And we are shocked when students produced by this class of people do not know how to conduct themselves in a public setting?

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filter 7:06…..pleeze

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@ teacher 2 – I think JOS is intimating or suggesting a correlation between good teachers – merit pay and disrespect for teachers. What I’m reading into the comments is that students don’t show disrespect when there is good teaching going on in the classroom. I agree. In classrooms where quality instruction is happening, most students are behaving appropriately.

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@ABS – If a student is already scoring at the 99th percentile in everything, where do they go? You can be the worst teacher in the world and this student is still going to score in the 99th percentile. Have you heard of Test ID in Georgia? You are already set-up to keep up with progress students make from year to year!!!

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The fact that the parents aren’t too concerned with their children’s behavior speaks volumes about why kids behave as they do. Families are so busy trying to make ends meet…they are neglecting to properly raise them. There is no excuse for this kind of neglect…you brought them into the world! So many parents view the schools as their DAY CARE CENTER…expect this and that to be given…drop them to schools at 7:00 in the morning….do not attend meetings or involve themselves in a positive manner regarding their children’s education….but when they get into trouble or earn a poor grade they’re up in arms blaming teachers/schools etc. All of this is a very sad commentary on our sick society.

RADLY

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@JOS …and good teachers get the toughest behavior and academic cases…and are expected to work miracles. (Which we sometimes do) I KNOW I am a good teacher, but I still fear merit pay.

It’s a form of respect when your administration gives you problmes they think only you can handle, but that doesn’t mean merit pay makes it any easier.

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Many good points….. a good percentage of kids today are a reflection of what’s wrong with society in general. Superficial, spoiled, no self-respect, let alone respect for others, and just a enormous amount of “entitlement” that is definitely unwarranted.

We need to stop this “everybody wins” entitlement, go back to disciplining children when and where appropriate without fear of someone else’s opinion, and call out parents when they show no interest or concern of how their “precious little one” negatively impacts progress in the classroom. Most of all,..do away with “No Child Left Behind”…. if kids don’t cut it, they stay behind until they do.

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The majority of these comments have nothing to do with “Drugs and lack of respect for teachers pose greater school problems than bullying”
Not about unions or merit pay.
Drugs, lack of respect for teachers and bullying standards(discipline) are set and controlled by the admninistration. IHS just doesn’t cut it!

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@V All of these things impact our potential to earn merit pay.

I agree with the discipline part, but schools that toughen up better be ready for:

A. Negative press (”you’re being racist”)
B. Lawsuits

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V-you hit the nail on the head.

Regarding merit pay, ABS – I’m sorry but you have it backwards and many people have been lulled into thinking the very same thing. However, teachers who work with low performing students are the ones who stand to gain the most. There was an essay written by a UGA professor posted in this forum just a few days ago that made this point very clearly.

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The filter is hard at work again.

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We have a policy that cell phones must not be out in the school building. A couple of days ago, a student rounded the corner and took out her cell. She looked up to see me. I held out my hand and told her to give me her phone. She looked at me and said that she had to call her mother. I told her I didn’t care. She was not suppose to have the phone out and she needed to give it to me. She snapped her phone shut, gave me a dirty look and passed by me. I asked an administrator to get the phone. She is spending a couple of days in ISS but that is the type of disrespect the middle schoolers are showing.

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“In classrooms where quality instruction is happening, most students are behaving appropriately.”

I agtree. That SHOULD be true. But today there are many studetnsz who do not want instruction of any kind. Give them cute group activities and games and more( but NOT all) of them will behave. Some will not ever behave. Instruction of any kind cannot occur if the teacher has to constantly stop and intervene with disruptors and indifferent students who would rather sneak their Gameboy or IPOD into the classroom than listen and learn. Most kids do not think they have to do anything the adult says or do any work that is not “fun”. Well, too bad. I repeat, I will not stand naked on my desk and put on a show to teach those students. All work is not fun. But most kids think any work is useless.

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If “three-quarters (76 percent) of the public say illegal drugs and students treating teachers with a lack of respect are serious problems,” than roughly one quarter of the public is tolerant of disrespect toward teachers…which would answer the question why I have at least 8 disrespectful students (25%) out of a class of 32. Unfortunately, it only takes one disrespectful student to negatively impact the education of the hard-working, respectful students, so how does the public expect a class with 8 future unemployed criminals to operate?

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j nes,

VERY good observation. I think that statement really breaks it down. Ask any teacher on here about that very topic, and you will get the same response: ONE chronically disruptive student can change the entire learning environment. I’m sure all my fellow teachers will agree.

There is always that one student who is able to ruin the class for everyone else. We he or she is absent, the class is entirely different. Now imagine that there are three, four, five, etc. . . .

You get the picture.

(It is important to note that I am talking about CHRONIC behavior problems, the types of students for which no consequence, threat, or disciplinary measure will work. There is a difference between being in control of your classroom and having a student who can’t be controlled.)

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i get really tired of some of the educators whining over ‘misbehavior’ – especially at the middle school level. These are 12, 13, 14 year olds – they are supposed to be trying for the adults. Chronic misbehavior is an indication the child needs/wants something. Aren’t schools supposed to be indentifying them, if they are learning disabled or have a behavior problem related to something in their environment or need a functional behavior assessment. Do any of the teachers know about functional behavior assessments?

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She teaches them Spanish with a texting game and they love it. Of course they do! This has its place, but what about teaching them that hard work is not always fun? You cannot text your way through the CRCT ot the writing test, and you cannot use texting to write an essay. Those teachers who teach their kids that everything is fun and games are NOT teaching them the realities of life and the job. And they make it doubly hard for teachers who have to teach writing or any other skill that cannot be learned except by hard work and perseverence.

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Really, ga? —Teachers should not have to spend the first 3 weeks of school teaching the kids how to respect their teachers and elders in general. That should have been done at home. I can lose a students respect by being an unfair or horrible teacher, but I shouldn’t have to earn it initially. It is people like you who allow students to walk into a classroom thinking that the teachers have to prove themselves to the students and society. Also, If you think we should accept that the kids are “trying” in middle school, then we should give extra pay to all middle school and 9th grade teachers as a form of hazard pay. Chronically misbehaving kids in middle school and high school want something…to win the battle with the teacher or with Mommy and Daddy to get attention. That doesn’t make them special needs students. It makes them students who especially need to know the world doesn’t revolve around them. As well, you are like the patient who spent a few seconds on Web MD, who goes to the doctor and tries to talk the talk. Either become educated about education (both a specialilzed content and the science of education, which, by the way, is a dynamic field of study in which students in the field must be currently updated/educated) or leave it up to the people who know what they are talking about.

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filter????

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and the expectations and consequences should be Age appropriate I hope.

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Again ga, you are talking about an imaginary perfect world where educators are allowed to deliver consequences that will deter bad bad behavior. That is like saying people will not commit murder if there is an appropriate consequence. Last time I checked, even states with the death penalty have murders.

You are naive.

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@ga

I have done FUBAs (that is the acronym as I’ve always seen it referred) for multiple students. All it does is give data about the student’s misbehavior. While this helps us understand what might be precipitating an outburst in class, on its own a FUBA does not change behavior.

The FUBAs I have filled out have helped the special education teachers devise possible ways to handle behavior problems, but to be frank, every student I’ve done a FUBA for was a 9th grader who did not pass the CRCTs and was socially promoted to high school. Every one of these students lacked the academic skills, the emotional maturity, and the work ethic to succeed in high school. A FUBA on its own cannot solve endemic behavior problems that have gone on for a decade or more. A FUBA will not change a student’s home life, will not stop an enabling parent, will not solve behavior problems which appear to have a genetic/chemical basis.

BTW, my boyfriend is an Army officer. I’m not on some military website claiming to know how to catch all the terrorists and shoot and M-4 with perfect accuracy. Get in the CLASSROOM (NOT the playing field/ court!) yourself (don’t talk about your “husband being a coach”) before you tell other people how to run their classrooms. You exhibit a lot of attitude and disrespect yourself.

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@ga

Again, to counter your claims with an analogy: I volunteer with the military family organizations. I see soldiers and their families under specific situations, and I can comment on my own experiences. I cannot, however, claim to have some sort of expert knowledge about fighting a war because of the job my man has and the volunteer work I do.

Regular education teachers are all required by the PSC (Professional Standards Commission) to take the Exceptional Child course in order to be certified. This means that all teachers with a regular (not provisional or emergency) certificate have some knowledge of the main learning disorders and the autism spectrum. We are not, however, experts, nor are we expected to be; that is the purview of the special education teachers. You can find regular ed teachers who DO have some specialized knowledge, either from coursework, personal experience, or individual interest. I am an expert in teaching secondary English. I am not an expert in special education and neither I nor the PSC claims that I am. This is why my sped students all have caseload teachers as well, with whom I communicate on a regular basis.

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At jnes – no kid likes to run suicides, but it’s necessary for muscle memory training. there are a lot of things the kids don’t like to do in coaching a sport.

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@booklover – that may be all well and good, but there are those kids that slip through the cracks, which is therefore your job to properly identify the kid and get them on the right tract.

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OK, let’s put this into perspective. There are only 1,001 representing the sample group. N=1001 in this so called study?.
We have twice as many parents at one of our high schools in this county. There are how many millions of people in the USA? Was this a random sampling from all 50 states? Does that mean 20 individuatls from each state and was it random selection?
I highly doubt this piece of work should be categorized as a “study” are you kidding me? Thus the findings of this survey probably should not be referred to if anyone plans on making any policy.
Now, having said that…Here’s what the public might find more beneficial. Each and every year Title I schools are mandated to collect data through surveys to parents about the education process. Now, wouldn’t it be interesting to see such data for each school so tax payers can have a better idea what parents at a certain school are actually reporting? Also, Georgia DOE has some information for the public to review including how the schools are doing, NATIONALLY!
To bad this article was not based on scientific method because too many will take this information to argue some position. Shame on the AJC for such rhetoric.

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I have always believed kids who demonstrate a disregard for authority, should be sent home immediately and petition the board to get back into school. Anything short of this is ineffective, hence the problems of today. Drugs are a huge problem but maybe not happening in school as much as after school.

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I expect my children to honor their teachers and administrators. We’ve never had a severe behavior problem with any of our 7 children. On the other hand some teachers (just like some students) are very disfunctional- and their dictatorial power in the classroom can go to their head and make them see all students as the enemy. Some teachers and administrators interpret loco parentis far beyond what the Supreme Court says it covers.

I can’t see getting that exercised over a mild case of disrespect from a student. It should be corrected between the student and teacher but too many times there is a knee jerk reaction of sending kids to the administrators or worse referring them to campus police for incidents that are quite frankly mild discipline issues. I’ve discussed this with Juvenile Justice officials and they are getting buried in issues that should be delt with inside of school. These aren’t violent crimes or drug issues, we’re talking kids who shoot off their mouth or get into a schoolyard scuffle.

By the way- I am a liscensed teacher. I have spent time in the classroom. I just don’t do it for a living now. When I taught I never had to suspend a kid- and I had some tough cases. I also delt with classes of 45+ kids each with a musical instrument and managed to get them to learn and work as a team.

Some teachers need to toughen up, improve your teaching skills and make the classroom interesting for your students again. Its what the rest of us who work with adults and youth have to do for a living.

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I am not sure where all of these posting are going. The report was about the lack of respect for teachers. No merit pay, unions, and all the other mess. The lack of respect is becoming worse each with each year. I have invested 21 years as a teacher. I would give anything if I could quit. Many excellent teachers are leaving as soon as they can. Our education system in doomed, the only people who will be willing to teach in the next 10 years are the ones who can’t do anything else.

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Drug issues (very very serious) and Lack of Respect (a problem but not terminal) are two entirely different things.

We also had a child who suffered from chronic illness. She was a straight A student until the health problems hit. The school and the county threatened to send a social worker and kicked her out of school because of absences (most had doctors excuses and all were health related). We had to struggle for two years and learn about the I.D.E.A. (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) before we knew enough to get them on the ball with part time home instruction. The teachers couldn’t handle that so we had to go to full time home instruction. She is now set to graduate a year late because of the schools mentality that the kids are the enemy.

That is the other side of the disrespectful student coin. Disrespectful teachers and administrators who see kids as the enemy. If you are a teacher who sees kids as the enemy please change careers now!

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Yeah, it’s lack of respect that finally forced me out (hence the “former” in my name) of teaching. But interestingly, the final straw wasn’t the disrespect of the students (although there was plenty of that), it was the disrespect from an administration that refused to provide me with the support necessary to do my job. Disrespect in the form of attributing misbehavior on the part of the student to poor classroom management on the part of the teacher. Now to be fair to the administration, the system I was in had made it clear to all principals that office referrals were to be cut by 20%, across the board…this was their way of “improving discipline”. Because everyone knows that less office referrals means less discipline problems, right?

Disrescpectful students are fairly easy to deal with IF you have a supportive administration. I worked for several years in a public alternative school, and because I had great administrative support, it was a wonderful teaching experience, despite the nature of our students. Students were respectful because they knew that if they crossed the line and were referred to the office, they would be dealt with. The principal was not their friend, and he ALWAYS backed the teachers…the teachers were the good cops, the principal played the bad cop. And it worked. Students knew they were not going to be able to talk their way out of their behavior, and we witnessed improved behavior, even from some of our most challenging students. But when our long time principal retired, an incompetent replacement made life at the school intolerable. He wanted to be the students’ friend, and his actions complete emasculated the teachers and the students responded exactly how you would expect, and it went downhill fast.

I cannot over emphasize the difference a caring, firm, supportive and strong (as in, not afraid to do what needs to be done) administration can make. Unfortunately, today there are few administrators who have the cajones to do what needs to be done. And if they did, they’d probably get fired, and that’s a crying shame. Until public schools can somehow rid themselves of that minority of students who have no respect for teachers, and no desire or intention of doing “school”, the ones who want to learn, and their teachers, will suffer.

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OK, here’s a question: Other than giving monetary contributions to the school, how do principals and/or teachers involve parents in the local decision making process? SO, if you don’t have the money to be involved, what purpose do parents serve? LET”S be honest here folks.
What if there were laws that gave parents the RIGHT to be involved in the creation and updating Codes of Conduct? Would that make a difference? Or should school personnel be allowed to make all of the rules and if anyone deviates from those rules, the kid takes the consequences and what happens if the parent thinks the rule is nonesense?
Well, believe it or not OCGA 20-2-736 gives parents the RIGHT to be involved in creating and updating CODES OF CONDUCT, and it is my guess that NO school system in this state neither implements the letter OR the spirit of this law. Thus, when you leave parents outside looking in, it is frustrating for them to stand by watching and trusting a system to do whatever with their kids.
How about a study with two groups. One control group consisting of a LEA simply following the letter of the law to involve parents, (OCGA 20-2-85 – 86 and the aforementioned law) and one group maintaining the status quo. Hey, what do we have to lose?
PS: there is a reason there are NO teacher unions in this state…

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The students’ lack of respect for education mirrors their parents’ lack of respect for educational institutions.

At my school, we have had countless parents show up to school in inappropriate clothing, including swimsuits, t-shirts with profanity, etc. Frequently parents call the school, scream at the secretary and demand a conference, the teachers and counselors show up, and the parent never shows up, never calls to cancel and is never heard from again, until the next bad report card when the cycle repeats itself. I have never had a parent actually hang up on me, but many of my colleagues have. I have made countless phone calls home, pleaded with parents to call or email me back, and never gotten a response.

Then there are the parents who will lie straight to your face: “He doesn’t act that way in anyone else’s class!” I learned my first year teaching when one mother was claiming that her student did “only acted up” in my class so I must be doing something wrong. A colleague overheard the conversation and piped in: “He’s a problem in my class also and you and I have talked about this before.” I nearly always insist on conferences with all the student’s teachers now because I have had so many parents LIE directly to me. For example, the school had video proof of a student skipping my class, and the parent continued to insist that I was the one lying.

Most of my students make teaching a joy, but there is that small group who are just simply awful. Why should everyone else care? Because this small group is inhibiting YOUR child’s learning, and teachers do not get the support they need to help these students or put them in a more appropriate environment.

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I think its time that education systems stop criminalizing children at every turn and it’s time to unlock the cradle to prison pipeline:
http://www.childrensdefense.org/child-research-data-publications/data/cradle-prison-pipeline-report-2007-full-highres.html

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First to Maureen, I want to thank you for the courage to constantly do the blogs that you do. They are to inform and to MAYBE get people thinking, and just maybe get SOLUTIONS. The sad part is that a great many of the persons who blog only want to lay blame and fault. First let me state that I am a mother to seven children, three of whom are autistic. I am a veteran of the Armed Forces and the wife to a twenty year veteran, and the eldest daughter to a thirty year veteran. I hold many titles, yet do NOT brandish them in a bullying manner.

The story was about bullying, disrespect, and drugs in our schools. Read some of your comments and you will see the bullying that you are displaying to anyone who disagrees with your opinion.
To the adult who feels that just because you are the adult you automatically should get respect from children, the most important lesson anyone can learn is that respect is a two way street if you want respect you must first give respect. respect is earned not an entitlement, as in the military you must respect the rank but under UCMJ you do not have to respect the person wearing it.
I have encountered teachers from all over the world, and the worst ones that I have encountered that were involved with children were from the southern states. The audacity to believe that children should all fit into one neat little box is absurd, and worse to blame all of the short comings on parents – or to call them liars. This is very reason WHY we have the problems that we do have currently. And, just for those naysayers yes I have been in the classrooms, in the breakrooms where I have heard some of the most wretching comments coming from teachers about this child or that child. And, you call yourselves ADULTS at the end of the day. We have a lot of outstanding teachers who all day and night they lead by example and have the belief system to back it up and then they come to school and listen to supposed adults who should not be in the system at all, those persons are the ones who cause a great many of the disrepect problems we have. Children are like little sponges and they are the most intuitive beings on the planet, they can sense how we feel and if they are given nothing but negativity from the beginning by the time they get to middle school years they are only reflecting what they have been shown. Now, I am not saying that we don’t have truly disrespectful, lazy parents because they are out there and some of them call themselves teachers by day.
To fix the system as we know it I have a suggestion take just one child and show them what respect is, show them pride in themselves, show them what they can accomplish. Stop brow beating and looking for everyone else is to blame. Show them real discipline not just the end of a stick, or a nasty comment. Not all children can be reached, but we have so much that we can do and it takes very little effort.
As, for one other thing that is causing our future problems is we must stop the violence that is in our schools that comes directly from the teachers. Children can not learn if they are afraid of being hurt, no one learns from pain. Here in the south they have the hard core thought that you must strike children in the schools and for anyone who feels this is not going on I suggest you go on PACER and research the many federal law suits that Federal judges are doing summaries on the prove the violence from educators is getting worse and the children are getting younger.
If you want evidence to back up anything that I’ve written please feel free to write me at hedwards08@comcast.net, and by the way this is my real name I don’t feel the need to hide.

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one of mine’s stuck in the filter

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go on keep making fun…. the funniest thing of all is that some of you posters keep going on the attack, yet give a solution! Do you have a solution or do you guys just whine for the sake of whining. Can i have some cheese with that whine

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ga- come teach for a week and get back to us. No, it’s not all of them- but even one can interrupt learning for all the rest. The child may not see his/her actions as bad, but every kid in the room will tell you that the child needs to be put out. I’ve had kids ask me, “why can’t you get him out of here so we can have a normal class?”

Some teachers create many of the problems in their rooms, and they don’t tend to last long in education. As a veteran of twenty-plus years, I can tell you that childrens’ behavior directly reflects what they see in pop culture. I remember my days as a student, and we acted the way we were taught by our parents and by the people we idolized in the world. Look at the attitudes and actions on TV and in music, and you have a good idea of what we work with each day. I love my kids, I love my profession, but I do expend WAY too much energy trying to teach kids that what they see on TV isn’t going to help them in the real world.

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@Meme – what harm is it to the educational process for a kid who wants to call their parent. Please explain. If it is a habit where the child is feigning sickness to go home, then there is an issue. My 13 yr old daughter has had to call me for female issues. And there is nothing wrong with that either. I say teachers need to get over themselves and some of the nonsensical rules. This is not to say I mean no consequences. Of course I mean consequences. If a kid makes a mess by sticking gum on the desk, make ‘em clean it up after school. Better yet, make them come in on a Saturday to clean it up. Your problems would be solved.

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@ga talk about making fun, could you possibly use the word whine one more time? Follow some of your own advice, but first…please spend the rest of this school year either home schooling you own as you suggested would be fine with you or spend the rest of the school year in a classroom, any calssroom for 8+ hours a day. Once you have completed your homework assignment maybe someone might pay attention to your personal “solution” to the ills of education, Anything you have posted up to this point means nothing.

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Parents and teachers should be on EQUAL footing. A parent knows their children, you guys know the material. When schools treat children and parents with equal footing and respect, you will solve some of the issues. Until then, I don’t see it happening. whine whine

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@dogmom, that would be a tremendous waste of any sheriff’s office. They need to fight real crime, they are not an escort service. If the situation you describe is true, I just have to ask…where were the parents at the first sign of a problem. did anyone make every effort to contact them? Not one time, but several times. Was a school psychologist involved. I already pay my taxes for these things…the teachers need to use them and trouble shoot what is going on with these supposed ‘misbehaving’ kids. Students and parents are not your enemy as some other poster said, and I think that is true. Work with the students, for pete’s sake, help the child in that circumstance

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it’s really easy to spot folks who’ve never taught
in the public school system.

quick with all kinds of silly assed assumptions, and
no grasp of reality.

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This is what’s going around Facebook this week – it is Special Ed Week BTW!

Yeah – and this is on my status…
People need to understand that children with special needs don’t have an illness, so there is no cure & it’s not contagious. They only want what we all want, to be accepted. Most of you probably won’t copy and paste this. Will you do it and leave it on your status for at least an hour? It’s Special Education week, and ………this is in honor of all the kids who need a little extra help & understanding

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one more thing before I forget. Louisiana Today passed a corporal punishment bill out of their House Ed Committee which will prohibit corporal punishment on special needs children. It will be headed to a full house vote. My understanding is it has wide support from teacher organizations, parent organizations and even a few administrator organizations. This is an outstanding step forward for the state of Louisiana, shame GA isn’t on the ball just yet.

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if only we could spank some of these stupid parents…

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There is obviously NO ONE size fits all to education. Some thrive in charter schools, some homeshools, some in smaller classrooms, some in somewhat restrictive classes, some who even drop out and get their GED.
I think oen issue is: If there was one magic pill that could make Georgia a state in which businesses requiring a variety of cognitive levels would come in and provide an additional tax base and economic boosts, then we’d all be lined up at CVS pharmacy to get our refillst. However, we all know that education takes work, on the part of teachers, parents, and students. We are not always a cohesive group, but when there is dissention, the only one who truly loses out is the student. Parents need to recognize that Gerogia’s Constitution only offers the kids a free and appropriate education and Ga. Law states compulsory school age 6-16. Teachers need to recognize that we would not need teachers beyond age 16 if the kids don’t stay in school. (except sp. ed maybe)
Thus, if the education system does not give a child what he/she needs to reach their academic potential, then it is on the parent to supplement their child’s education process if they believe their child needs more. I think we have some serious issues in communication. It’s obvious that some might not value children in all of our communities, and some might see education as a priviledge rather than a right. Well, according to the law, education is a right and a priviledge depending on the age of the individual.
Again I turn to the law…how many of you actually sit on your school council? How many of you are in regular attendance at the school council? How many of you know what issues your school council is discussing?
BTW: has anyone ever noticed that it is administration and central office staff who make the rules that everyone must obey? However, implementation and enforcement falls mainly on the classroom teacher? How many teachers are actually asked for input in the local education process? It never made sense to me how parents can have an issue with a rule or administrative decision, but somehow the battle always becomes a fight between the parent and teacher and then the name calling starts? Yes, I can see how a parent’s attitude influences the attitude of his or her child, but I can also see how some parents might have an other than positive attitude when they are treated as inferior to educators or school personnel.
The research is: involved parents are likely to have academically successful kids. Now, who gets to decide which parents will be welcome at the school? Soemtimes the teachers are left to choose some parents over others like the all important elementary “room mom/dad”
Sometimes I have seen where a teacher will only call on one or two parents to be involved because it is easier. I’m just saying, all educators should be conscious of spreading the “involvement” around to all parents and if you know a family does not have the resources to be involved then try not assume the parent does not care. Some may not, but if we error, why not error on the side of the child?
PS: Thanks Theresa Edwards for your thoughts

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@drew – calling parents liars – not helpful. On the same token, there are liars in public school systems too. Sure students lie, embellish, or stretch the truth. So do some bad educators as well. And why would anyone oppose Saturday school. I say inconveniencing a parent and a student on a Saturday is most definitely a good solution. Too bad if the teachers don’t want to be a monitor, maybe the school can rotate people, or have parents volunteer. Giving students the natural consequences of cleaning up their own mess is effective.

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Anyone ever heard that perception is truth? Here’s a thought or two…ever heard the phrase, “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak? Now, what do we know about cognitive dissonance? One source defines it, “n. Psychology
A condition of conflict or anxiety resulting from inconsistency between one’s beliefs and one’s actions, such as opposing the slaughter of animals and eating meat

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scienceteacher671; In one of my previous postings I mentioned that the classroom teacher is charged with implementing and enforcing rules they had no hand in creating or updating. Thus, I totally understand the position administrators put teachers in. Thus, that is prbably the reason we have no teacher unions in the south.
We can never know for sure why parents do or do not do in the education process, but if I might say, in the US we have been educating minoirities and disabled kids “equitably” as per ESEA of 1965, which gives us about 45 years to undo a “fundamental” belief/practice that some were indferior and uneducable. For southern states we have been tasked with “equitably” educating after the federal court order in 1970 to integrate, which leaves us 40 years to convince everyone that all children are created equal and will receive a free and appropriate education.
OK, so let’s look at this. We have the majority whose culture allowed educational processes within our society since the first settlers to America more than 200 years ago. I’m not making any excuses for any parents, but I understand this. In my lifetime, all people were NOT created, nor were they treated equal in our society. Even with de jure laws mandating equity and civil rights, can we be certain that de facto behaviors are congruent with written laws?
Should victims of the education processes years ago believe that school districts are doing anything differently for their kids?
Yes, technology is available to bridge the communication between home and the school. However, the primary stakeholders, parents, review results of tools utilized by educators, but it is up to the parent to interpret the “final outcome/grade”
If I were a betting person, I would bet that the parent who is blindsided or surprised by the outcome is the one who becomes the most frustrated, (for many reasons and on many different levels). We know from research that frustraion begets aggression, and it is at this time when I believe the parents may say or take action against the teacher, which will affect how the student views the educator and the process.
PS: I am guilty of NOT checking my child’s “grades via internet access provided by our school district and I have been surprised on more than one occasion. It works better for me if I email a teacher and fully support the teacher in front of my child. Then I ask for a conference where my child is NOT involved in “adult” conversation. I may not always agree what goes down, but at least my concerns were heard and dialogue continues, because I appreciate teachers and I truly believe they need to know my expectations for my child’s education process. If my child does not reach my expectations, the teacher is NEVER blamed because I am the parent and I am ultimately responsible for my child, before, during, and after the 10 yr. education process provided in the Georgia Constitution. .

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Science Teacher671: Amen!

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ga, actually it’s “easier to blame the parent” when the parent has been called numerous times and (1) the behavior doesn’t change, (2) the parent never responds to the message you leave because no one answers the phone, and/or (3) the parent hasn’t left any working contact numbers with the school.

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Both ga and science teacher have excellent points and perhaps Oleguy’s question in an earlier posting could begin the dialogue. After all, it is human nature to voice the problems, and it takes collaborative efforts for the solutions, as per research partnering stakeholders with education systems.
Ole guy wrote: OK, so we’ve identified a boatload of problem areas, discussed them into oblivian, provided first-hand descriptions of the deteriorating effects these problems cast upon the education field, kids, and, ultimately, upon society (that’s you, me, and everyone else inclusive). So what’s next?
How about starting with the letter of the law first and work on the “spirit of the law” later. OCGA 20-2-85-86. It is May, and every public school has a state mandated School Council. Every school council should have at least one opening for a parent representative on their child’s school council. If a parent is out here and wants change, start by getting involved in your child’s school council. Everyone in the community can go to a council meeting and read the minutes and offer feedback to the group. Everyone can make sure the school council has a parent in charge and that parents represent the majority. Teachers can also offer feedback on these councils, but we all know what can happen to a teacher who “may NOT ” be aligned with fundamental traditions of their boss, the school principal, who answers to the LBOE who actually makes all of the decisions..
If we are talking about Public schools that is designated a Title I school wide program than all of us can look at how compaqs are inititated and created. Parents are supposed to be a part of that collaboreative process as well. Anyone can go to a school and ask to see the compaqs and also ask to review the results of “parent surveys” that are mandated by USDOE. The more we know about the laws that involve parents the more likely we can ask the “right questions.” Georgia received almost $1/2 BILLION USDOE Title I funds in 2008, where did that money go? Parents are also supposed to be involved in deciding where they believe the $$$ might be directed,. School systems are to spend at least 1% of its Title I funding on parent involvement, so parents or community members might ask the school council or principal, how do we use the millions of dollars to include parents who do not have the resources to be involved in the education process?
Now, we can all attend school board meetings and ask questions, offer feedback as per OCGA 20-23-736, HB 605, The Student Disciplinary Act of 1999. This law gives parents the RIGHT to be involved in creating and updating Codes of Conduct at the district level, and/or school level.
How about legislation like HB 251 signed into law last year allowing “intra district choice” in which a LBOE can make up rules like a capacity standard to minimize choice. What can we do about that???
Run for a LBOE seat this fall and/or lobby legislators and let them know about the loopholes in their laws. Legislators on the education committee only know of concerns if the public or primary stakeholder perceives there is a problem. Edcuation systems DO NOT have problems, because they have a Constitutional Right to manage the day to day operations schools in their district. Also, if the district acknowledges a problem, how many of us would say…. hey, why are we paying millions of dollars for you to educate ourchildren and now you say there is a problem? Parents need to push the rigid ethnocentric boundaries in the education process established over the decades, but it will take the community as a whole to be engaged in the education process.

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