Grading parents: Does this idea deserve an “F”
A friend of mine in Florida — she is a former teacher who quit last year when she couldn’t sleep and was working 15 hour days — urged me to write about the campaign in the Sunshine State to create parent report cards.
State Rep. Kelli Stargel of Florida has a bill in the works that would require Florida teachers to evaluate parents on how involved they are in their child’s education.
Here are the measures in the bill that teachers would use to rate parents: Student attendance, interactions with teachers, children’s completion of homework and readiness for tests, and children’s physical preparation for school.
Parents would receive ratings of “satisfactory,” “needs improvement,” or “unsatisfactory” on their child’s report cards.
Bills like this are largely symbolic, as even teachers would balk at the added burden of assessing not only students but their parents. (I worked in Florida for three years, and its Legislature tends to get even more carried away than ours.)
Teachers on this blog often lament that parents are the problem in education today, that parents defend their children’s bad behaviors in class rather than punish them.
(But for a parent who went too far in the other direction, please look at this wild story out of Richmond County where a mother ran over her son at an area high school. The mom and son got into an argument after the 15-year-old refused to apologize to a teacher outside the school. The mother punched her son in the face and demanded that he hand over his cell phone. The boy refused and the mom jumped into her SUV and struck him with it. His leg was injured. The mom then got out of the vehicle, grabbed her son’s cell phone and left.)
In writing this blog for the last 18 months, I’ve been surprised at the hostility toward parents. As a reporter, I found that parents in event the poorest of schools wanted their kids to do well and did what they could. I have covered daytime events at many low-income schools over the years in three different states and observed mothers, grandfathers and even aunts showing up to watch kids recite poetry or show off their science projects.
How much can we expect of parents who hold two jobs or who never did well in school themselves and are uncomfortable meeting with teachers and principals? I consider myself a pretty informed parent, but have learned that it takes a lot of fortitude and perseverance to deal with the schools.
There’s a lot of rhetoric now about holding parents accountable and grading them for their contributions to their child’s education. But is there really any way to do it? Even more importantly, is there any evidence that grading parents would improve outcomes for kids?
It seems like grading parents is a sideshow that takes away from the main issues of improving instruction, moving quickly to remediate and getting the right curriculum in place.
–From Maureen Downey, for the AJC Get Schooled blog
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205 comments Add your comment
I love teaching. I hate what it is becoming.
January 30th, 2011
9:55 am
I think this could potentially be dangerous for teachers. I have worked in “good” schools and “poor” schools…and have had both terrific and terrible parental support. Those parents who would score low DO NOT CARE! A report card will not get them to care. All it will do is make them angry… In the past, I have received verbal and written threats and late night phone calls detailing what a parent is going to “do to me” because I dared give their child an “F” (well earned, mind you.) I can just see what would happen if teachers give those types of “parent” a failing grade!
I favor a honey rather than vinegar approach…maybe take the money that would be spent on such a program and put it towards gift card for parents who fulfill certain “expectations” during the school year – such as attending so many conferences, making sure homework is completed, getting their children to school on time, etc. Perhaps business partners would be willing to donate some of these “gift cards.”
C'mon man
January 30th, 2011
9:56 am
No, you provide one link to back up a statement that is absolutely counterintuitive when considering the current state of education. A statement that is used to make hateful, disparaging remarks against hard-working parents who do their level-best for their kids. All of them? Of course not, but most parents truly care, they have just been ill-equipped by society to live up to YOUR standards for them. Stop blaming others for your shortcomings as a teacher and check yourself…
Teacher / Parent
January 30th, 2011
9:58 am
Last time I checked parents are the first teachers. Honestly, I have many parents who would fail if they were graded. When you have kindergarten kids who are not potty trained until the month before school starts, parents pushing kids to school in a stroller, and allowing them to drink from bottles- big problem. These kids do not have a disibility. The parents stated that it was easier to let the child do what they wanted. Also, many kids have never touched crayons, pencils, and play dough- to messy for parents- at least that is what the parents tell me.
catlady
January 30th, 2011
10:02 am
Given our present state of teaching prowess and our current lack of money, the factors contributing to lack of student achievement are: lack of discipline consequences to get disruptive students out of the classroom, ineffective parenting, stupid cure du jour and rules forced by federal and state lawmakers and local administrators.
Improve these and achievement will, even in these times of “poor teaching” (cough cough) and no money, increase exponentially. Unfortunately, it won’t happen, as it requires effort and commitment by more than just the teachers. Why give up your whipping boy?
Those of you who doubt this, please spend a day in a few public schools–NOT the ones in your neighborhood!
AlreadySheared
January 30th, 2011
10:06 am
“Back in the the day”, if you got into trouble at school, the punishment you got at school was the least of your worries – punishment at home would be at least double.
More objectively, I speculate that the perceived decline in parent quality (indicated by a perceived decline in student quality) is a direct function of the SOARING illegitmacy rate in this and other countries over the past 40 years. My dim recollection is that the percentage of children born into single parent (mother) households has increased from 5% of children to 40% of children today. 40%!!
I know that many single moms work very hard to do their best to raise their children, and what I am about to write may be hurtful to them. I don’t want to be hurtful, but we cannot ignore the elephant in this room. The research is very clear that, on average, the children of single parents do worse in school, have higher dropout rates, and a higher incidence of drug use, criminal behavior, and having out of wedlock children of their own.
On a personal note, my wife is a terrific mom who loves our kids, but I know that as their dad I bring additional parenting skills to the table that would be missed if I wasn’t around. Among other things, dads are often authority figures in their households. Many of the behavior problems in our schools today stem from kids who not respect authority or understand how to work effectively with an authority figure like a teacher.
homeschooler
January 30th, 2011
10:12 am
This idea just doesn’t make sense. How would we enforce this? So, a parent gets an “F”, then what? I agree with Jordan. It’s not about grading and scoring. It’s about learning. My 10 yr old child has never taken a history or science test and can tell you details about every War that America was involved in and exactly how water molecules react when heat is added.
To all the teachers. Everyone knows you’re fighting a losing battle. I’ve worked as a child abuse investigator for years. I know about fighting a losing battle. And I make 37,000 dollars a year after 17 yrs of service and a masters degree. I don’t have lobbiests fighting against furlough days and for raises. I haven’t had a raise in 7 years. You have to learn to think outside of the box. How many have gone out of their way to really get to know the parents? I work in the homes of these people and most of them really care. I had the privilege of hearing Ron Clark speak. He had incredible success at getting the parents involved just by making one home visit to each child’s house. The problems are not always in the home. It’s lack of communication. Believe me, the public school system is not easy to deal with. I’ve found that, in areas where there is little parent involvement, the parents who do care are discouraged from being involved because the teachers don’t know how to deal with the ones who are trying.
So many problems. Not going to be fixed by “grading parents”.
About Time
January 30th, 2011
10:18 am
@C’mon man: Now we know why YOU stand where you do. I give a multitude of points and all you can do is attack the ONE that deals with the TEACHER. Your verbal slight of hand does nothing to make me take the eye off of the problem of POOR PARENTING. First, grading parents is far from counter-intuitive. It’s right on the money. Do you see where 10 years of teacher bashing has gotten us? Nowhere. Why? The PARENT side of the problem remains unchanged. Second, none of my comments are hateful OR disparaging. They are observations from two decades in the classroom…. a fact I am sure you can’t claim. Third, MY standards?!?! Let’s review the list from the bill:
Student attendance
Interactions with teachers
Children’s completion of homework and readiness for tests
Children’s physical preparation for school.
Wow! That’s some unattainable list! I can see why you’d feel “ill-equipped” to handle it. Your statements reveal that you’re part of the problem and your comments now render you an unreliable source for consideration. That you would decry that someone has shortcomings without knowing anything about them shows your bias (and character.) The fact is, I have nothing to to feel ashamed of. And unless you’re in a classroom, I probably do more for children in one year than you might do in a lifetime. Get over yourself.
Fire Bad Teachers
January 30th, 2011
10:20 am
What is the purpose of grading parents? If a parent receives an “F”, will this parent be inclined to put in more effort, to do extra credit work? Seriously, what is the point?
On another note, it might be nice for teachers to complete a parent assessment record for a private file. These could be considered if teachers begin to receive merit pay.
Would any of these grading systems work? NO, teachers would be incentivised to score parents lower to make themselves look better.
The reality is we live in a messed up world. Often, parents don’t act like parents and teachers are expected to work miracles. The only sollution is to assume the student is only receiving what they are getting at school and we must find a way to make it work.
catlady
January 30th, 2011
10:22 am
Let kids drop out or be put out due to behavior, but put them directly into military-style youth camps to learn discipline, basic skills, and some viable skills. Put norplant into the girls and give the boys saltpeter until they show they have achieved some ability to structure their lives and provide for themselves and their futures. Debit the parents for their child’s support while they are in the camp.
I know this is way outside the box, but until you can break into the “don’t care” mindset, the disfunctional nonsense continues.
About Time
January 30th, 2011
10:27 am
The idea of grading parents in not necessarily so that we can follow through with a consequence. You can’t legislate parenting. Instead, it’s to demonstrate that society has moved in a direction in which we are willing to truly look at the ALL of the sources of our system’s failure rather than just espousing a teacher witch hunt as a knee jerk reaction that fails to acknowledge the greatest failure in the system: parents.
Truth hurts
January 30th, 2011
10:27 am
We cannot blame the parents for the kids doing lousy in school. The teachers are being paid to teach so it is their fault only when kids don’t learn. Thats it. The entire design of Obama’s and Duncans’ RTTT. When will Obama and Duncan take all of these welfare mamas and force accountability for their offspring? You guessed it. Not going to happen.
The teachers are controllable in this billion dollar game. Welfare mamas are not controlled by anyone.
EnoughAlready
January 30th, 2011
10:29 am
I’m 100% supportive of teachers grading me as a parent. However, as a parent, I would like the opportunity in return of this “parent evaluation” to have the ability to have my child moved upon my request out of an “ineffective/bad teachers” class on demand.
I’m sure the schools will have thousands of request for such transfers.
dawgfan
January 30th, 2011
10:31 am
” As a reporter, I found that parents in event the poorest of schools wanted their kids to do well and did what they could.”
That’s because as a reporter, you are only talking to the parents that want their kids to do well and did all they could. You are not talking to the parents that let their kids take off a day from school so that they can get their hair braided. You are not talking to the parents that buy food with food stamps and use their real money to buy their kids $100 sneakers or the latest Blackberry. You aren’t talking to these parents because they don’t care enough to talk to you. I’m afraid your perspective might be a little skewed.
Don't Excuse Single Parents!
January 30th, 2011
10:32 am
Stop making excuses for single parents! I raise my son alone and he had my undevided attention. I am a music teacher who taught private lessons several evenings per week to make ends meet. It was not easy, but he was #1 in my life. EXample: He knew left and right before entering pre-K because I talked to him as I dressed him as a toddler. He played t-ball, soccer, took violin lessons, attended private schools, made the honor roll, and receive academic & scholastic college scholarships (no HOPE.) He has recently completed his masters degree – all of this despite the fact that he was raised by a single mom w/o the presence of a dad, had ADHD, and developed epilepsy at age 11. I gave up alot and would not change a thing even if I could go back in time.
Grading parents is no more of a political pandora’s box than grading teachers by test scores!
Dr. Craig Spinks/ Augusta
January 30th, 2011
10:33 am
I Love Teaching… and Homeschooler,
We teachers and administrators do need to reach out to, and cooperate with, parents.
Recognizing parental involvement and visiting students’ homes may be two ways to accomplish cooperative efforts.
It’s going to take teachers and parents working as allies to solve the mess we have. An adversarial approach will doom efforts to improve our schools.
By the way, teachers don’t need any more clerical work. Rather than a report card for parents, administrators, board members et al., why don’t we insist that the grades on a student’s report card reflect what the student has learned, rather than an administrator’s or a parent’s prowess as an intimidator.
Don't Excuse Single Parents!
January 30th, 2011
10:34 am
*raised
*undivided
KB
January 30th, 2011
10:42 am
“…the main issues of improving instruction, moving quickly to remediate and getting the right curriculum in place”
I disagree and believe the main issue is how do we motivate students to work harder? That must come from parents AND teachers. And long-term solutions need to be discussed now – which should include a discussion about making sure that most (if not every) child is wanted. Someone (maybe one of you can help with the name) did a study that demonstrated that seventeen years after abortion was made legal the crime rate dropped significantly.
I believe our society would improve if judges required men behind on their child support payments to have a vasectomy so they weren’t producing more unwanted, unsupported children. Is that harsh? Perhaps, but once a child is born, then society has a responsibility to help support it. Think long-term solution, folks.
ID10T check
January 30th, 2011
10:43 am
“We cannot blame the parents for the kids doing lousy in school. The teachers are being paid to teach so it is their fault only when kids don’t learn. Thats it.” Is far from the truth…. so it does not hurt.
Don't Excuse Single Parents!
January 30th, 2011
10:43 am
I Have a colleague who is from France. She told me the French government gives stipends to parents if their children meet certain expectations. This could be established in the US by withholding food stamps and other financial support if parents do not meet predetermined obligations.
ID10T check
January 30th, 2011
10:45 am
@enough. What world do you live in? You can already make such requests. And stop mimicking political yammerings. The fact that you put “ineffective/bad teachers” in quotes shows that you are just hopping on the “It;s not me” bandwagon.
ID10T check
January 30th, 2011
10:48 am
Dr. Spinks, The adversarial approach began the second society attacked the teacher as the main and only source of the system’s failure. They are neither.
say what?
January 30th, 2011
11:02 am
@Nikole, TANF benefits are tied to the personal responsibility plan (PRP) and the Personal Work Plan (PWP). This began during the Clinton reauthorization of Welfare benefits years. Every six months for a TANF case, then at the 3 month interview for the work plan these responsibliities were reveiwed,a new plan written (waste of copy paper and ink), and the family was approved once again for more benefits. Remember TANF was then to be for a lifetime limit of 48 months, but that is not enforced in GA. NOne of the PRP and PWP are enforced in GA- no sanctions, no remediation, no nothing- Just keep writing these plans.
One of the PRP requirements was that you attend school events, meet with teachers, and your child(ren) advance one grade per year. But the schools (central offices)do not want to cooperate, DFACS puts so many blocks in the way to even getting a first sanction of a 25%reduction in benefits approved ( yes first line workers at the county office get the shaft from 2 Peachtree). For example, when I was an employee, we had a client who refused to cooperate, even said she would never cooperate, never get a job, and would not send her kids to school. We worked the case up, got approval at the county level, and sent to the state office for review and approval. The second level reviewer said, NO. Why? because the lady had a broken arm at an interview 18 months earlier, and we did not question if the broken arm was the result of domestic violence. So she kept all her benefits with no responsibilities.
this would be a great time for the AJC to delve into the workings of PRPs and PWPs sanction success.
EnoughAlready
January 30th, 2011
11:03 am
ID10T check
January 30th, 2011
10:45 am
What world do you live in? Classrooms are usually already over crowded and teachers assigned to them. Not only that but most schools only have 1 or 2 teachers who teach advanced kids.
And I’m definitely on the It’s NOT ME band wagon.
Parent Trap
January 30th, 2011
11:08 am
Part of the problem of course is that some parents shouldn’t be parents. We permit people to reproduce as many offspring as they care to without any consideration of whether they’re emotionally or financially prepared to raise children. Underclass women especially are incentivized to download lots of babies to get more welfare, and dad is whichever man impregnated them at any given moment. That kind of parent couldn’t care less if you give them an “F”. Clayton Co., DeKalb Co., and Atlanta have more than a fair share of this kind of parent.
ID10T check
January 30th, 2011
11:10 am
@ enough… of course you are. So is 98% of the country. Keep blaming others. That’s worked tremendously thus far. Parents are perfect, teachers are sh!t. We’ve got it.
drew (former teacher)
January 30th, 2011
11:14 am
The subject in question is a joke…grading parents indeed! Parenting doesn’t need to be graded; it simply needs to be improved, but that’s not the job of educators. Although, with everything else teachers have on their plate, let’s just pile it on there too. .
However, some posters have broached the idea of ending compulsory schooling, and that IS an idea worth discussing. I personally think ending compulsory education (or even lowering the age of compulsory education to thirteen), would improve public education more than any other single “reform”.
An education shouldn’t be a “right”, and it certainly shouldn’t be mandatory. It should be a privilege, a privilege that can be withdrawn if abused. And to those who worry: “…what to do when these dropouts start committing crimes instead of simple disrupting schools?” Well, we have “alternative programs” for them…they’re called “Youth Detention Centers”, and they provide these young people with a SECOND opportunity to “choose” an education. And if they’re still not interested, at least they’re not forced to sit in classrooms until they’re sixteen, disrupting the learning of those who DO value education.
Choices ——> consequences.
are you serious?
January 30th, 2011
11:14 am
How much can we expect from these poor, poor, parents? Are you kidding? I EXPECT them to raise their children to be responsible adults, OR DON’T HAVE THE CHILDREN. I can’t believe you even wrote that. How much can we expect…omg. This is the same attitude we give to the children, too! That is patronizing and condescending. I EXPECT you to be excellent, 1 job, 2 jobs, 3 jobs, and not whine about how it’s soooo hard! I see plenty of parents in the school demanding exactly what they should be: excellence.
And another thing….A Gwinnett county middle school recently invited a Braves player to be an “inspiration.”
http://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/home/headlines/Braves_bring_message_of_inspiration_to_middle_school_114844704.html
The article goes to say that he “wishes” he went to college, but hey, it’s all good. He is a professional baseball player! Nothing against the Braves team member, but that is exactly what we don’t need in middle school. Every child there thinks they are going to be a sports player or a singer actress- “because they are following their dreams.” Parents are pushing it, and we don’t need to join in as a school system. I have a parent in my school who is lying about their address to get their kid into Gwinnett County Schools- not for the academics, oh no, because we have a better basketball rec team, so he can play basketball! He’s going to be a star! Never mind that he has a horrible attitude and fails all of his classes. Star! Star! Who do we need to talk to the children? Brain surgeons, NASA engineers, and….wait for it….the superintendent!
YES YES YES to parent report card! This is what we keep telling you! It is an attitude of society, we pamper, we make excuses, and we do what you have alluded to in your argument. Stop it. Yes, make parents responsible.
ID10T check
January 30th, 2011
11:17 am
@enough…. and while I’m at it…. classrooms are crowded because those first in line to demand better schools are first in line to complain about the taxes required to pay for it. So we cut teachers and class sizes grow. Secondly, who cares about advanced kids?!?! [sarcasm]. In case you haven’t noticed, the system is geared toward the low performing and/or special ed kid. They are the ones causing schools to land on needs improvement lists. Duh?! You think an AP kids cause a school to fail to meet AYP? Special ed in now the largest department in most schools. The lowest denominator gets the vast majority of the resources. That’s the world I live in.
HS Math Teacher
January 30th, 2011
11:19 am
I have never come on here and blamed Parents for anything. Teachers grading Parents is a ridiculous idea, and if put into practice, would be an INSANE idea. I see a good number of parents during an open house before school begins; however, I don’t see them during the year. I have no idea what goes on in their homes. I live in a rural area, far from any metropolitan region, and I think Hard-working, poor Parents do well to wash their kids clothes, cook for them, buy the essentials, and show them some love every now & then. MOST of the Parents of my kids work in hourly jobs, and are bone-tired when they come home.
Kids have the ability to overcome bad parenting. Don’t give kids the idea that it’s either the Teacher’s fault, or their Parents’ fault for their crappy behavior, or lack of good listening and learning skills. We all know how much Parents can influence a child, but grading them is just plain stupid.
rosie
January 30th, 2011
11:26 am
I love this proposal, but not because it is realistic. This proposal allows the idiots in the political arena to consider how ridiculous it would be to ask teachers to grade parents on how well they parent. I hope this will also allow the political idiots to realize how ridiculous it is to grade teachers on how well their students perform on test.
Parenting is the main cause for lack of student achievement. There is not one thing educators will ever be able to do about parenting. Society as a whole must wake up and realize we can’t control what goes on at home. How can a teacher be blamed because a child comes to school not exposed to essential vocabulary needed to access knowledge in a kindergarten class? Who is to blame if the child doesn’t possess the necessary skills to sit, listen and participate in class? Who is to blame if no one helps the child with reading or homework in the evening so he will be prepared for the next day? Who is to blame if the child stays up too late and doesn’t get enough sleep to fully engage in class the next day? Who is to blame if the student doesn’t have school supplies? Who is to blame when kids miss too many days of school? The blame currently falls on the teacher. Yes, the teacher. According to most school adminstrators, teachers must engage students to get them to perform at school. Mom and Dad play no part in engaging there kids in the educational process?
Why not grade parents? Not going to happen because we might hurt their feelings. This is not going to happen because our government has taken on too much responsibility and teachers are the scapegoat for all that is wrong in the lives of children. Wake up society and place blame where it belongs. Parents, we can’t do anything for your kids if you don’t take on your responsibilities.
CDC
January 30th, 2011
11:27 am
You are off the mark quite a bit where lower socio-economic students and parents are concerned. I teach at the high school level and am devoted to my profession. I offer remedial tutoring to seniors who failed to pass the section of the GHSGT that I teach. I send letters to parents informing them of this opportunity for their child and send notes to every student that needs this service. Most of these students I do not know since I never had them in my actual classroom but I try to hunt down each student so they will know who I am and I encourage them to attend. I even provide pizza and drinks for those attending. This year so far I have had three attend out of around 40 that need this exam in order to graduate. Those three passed. The others have had two opportunities so far this year and did not attend my tutoring. There is only one more chance during the year and I have sent letters and notes for the third time this year. Here’s hoping some of them show up with or without parental support. But yet the schools get blamed when such kids fail to graduate.
Beck
January 30th, 2011
11:36 am
In the trenches – the teacher rating site you mentioned is done by STUDENTS or anyone else who wants to leave a comment; it is in no way, shape or form a professional measurement tool.
NWGA teacher – I am so sorry to say this, and I hope that you take it in the spirit intended b/c I promise you I don’t mean this ugly. This is the 2nd or 3rd topic where you’ve mentioned neglecting your own daughter for the benefit of your students. Each time you’ve mentioned a different aspect f how you cannot be there for your daughter as a parent b/c of your teaching career. PLEASE reconsider your priorities for the sake of your daughter. I don’t know if you’re seeing it b/c you are the one writing it, but it sounds like you’re becoming the parent that you’re bashing.
I don’t know your life or your family situation and I’m not judging, I promise. But please, those who choose to become parents have the most important job in the world and any other job than that should be only secondary until you get them out of high school. Please give your daughter the support she’s been crying out for before something really goes wrong.
ID10T check
January 30th, 2011
11:39 am
@HS Math Teacher – Boo Hoo. Teachers are bone tired when they get home, too. Doesn’t let them off the hook, does it? I read earlier that a poster was up until the middle of the morning grading papers. Does he/she get to cry “I’m so tired” and not fulfill their obligations. NO! Grade PARENTS! Consequences are not required. We’ll at least get some documentation as the where the problem lies so we begin honest discussions as to the causes of failed education in this country.
James
January 30th, 2011
11:39 am
@David Sims, @Parent Trap and @Georgia Teacher the state of Georgia is constantly ranked anywhere from 47 – 50 in education. What is the black population in the state? About 30% (2009 census). The white population is about 65% (2009). As you can see the vast majority of the students are WHITE in the state of Georgia. Therefore, they are failing just as much or more than BLACK students. If the WHITE students were doing that much better the state wouldn’t sit at the bottom year end and out. I’m sure I can find plenty of whites in the trailer parks and shacks throughout Georgia that are a testament to how WHITE aren’t the pillar of academia. GET OVER YOURSELVES!!!!
Grading parents will move the needle very little. Its just another mechanism to waste resources.
The engagement of parents in the educational system starts in Pre-K. Eager parents can easily be turned off by schools that make it difficult to access the classroom. Educating our children is a relationship/partnership that requires both parties to work together. Often times in majority black schools the teachers aren’t ready for these relationships. Most teachers in the lower grades are right out of school and don’t have clue how to deal with parents. One ill prepared teacher can easily make a bad parent worse.
As far as this homework turn-in on time droning. Google – Smart Boys Bad Grades.
ID10T check
January 30th, 2011
11:41 am
@CDC… your comments mirror a myriad of tales I have heard from my education friends. Parents and students not giving a damn seems to be the universal component to kids failing in school.
SpEd Teacher
January 30th, 2011
11:41 am
Parents are a key component of the educational development of a child. If we feel that it is necessary to evaluate teachers, then sure, let’s evaluate parents as well, who studies show are a much more determinant factor in student achievement. The evaluations will be meaningless however, unless consequences are attached to poor evaluations. Is there a politician in the land willing to tell parents that they have to parent in order to receive the aid they get to support those children?
NWGA teacher
January 30th, 2011
11:43 am
Home visits: I hate the thought. A couple of years ago, I accompanied other educators on a few home visits. After we arrived, I realized that the parents did not expect us. I was horrified. One family was playing with their children, and another was cooking dinner. We interrupted their evening. I don’t invite strangers into my house; why should anyone? My own friends and family do not drop in at my house, nor do I drop in at their homes. If my child’s teacher or administrator asked to come to my house, I would politely refuse. Home is a private space.
Beck
January 30th, 2011
11:45 am
KB – It was in Freakonomics, and I was thinking about saying the same thing!
I hope all of you that are parent bashing left and right are pro-choice and are for free and/or low cost birth control being readily available for anyone of childbearing age.
NWGA teacher
January 30th, 2011
11:50 am
@ Beck: Of course I see it. That’s the point. Most of the teachers at my school are in the same situation. We’re like many of the parents of our students: doing the best we can with a tough situation.
sissyuga
January 30th, 2011
11:56 am
Schools are a microcoism of society. In the past I have sent home school work when a student has not completed in correctly. I write a brief note stating that _______ had a hard time with these addition and subtraction word problems (pretty easy folks) and asked that the parent assist their child. I asked for a signature also. The student usually returns it, signed, but the problems are still wrong because the parent did not work with their child. C’mon! Work with me. You are going to grade me on my effectivness? Don’t breed if you aren’t going to do your part. By the way, we are going to do these words problems in my small group because I can’t let it go. It will push us back, but I can’t ignore it either.
KB
January 30th, 2011
11:58 am
Thanks, Beck.
Here’s the summary from that chapter of Freakonomics:
Freakonomics Chapter 4 Summary: Where Have All the Criminals Gone?
Research showed a link between the legalization of abortion in the United States in 1973 and the drop in violent crime in the 1990′s. The author’s research suggests that the drop in violent crime in the United States occurred at the same time that the first wave of babies conceived after the legalization of abortion were entering late adolescence. The author claims that many of the additional children who would have been born annually if abortion had remained illegal would have been at high risk for engaging in violent crime. The authors do not take an ideological stance on the issue, however, they do conclude that women with the right to choose abortion tend to make good decisions.
Long-term solution to several economic and societal problems – make vasectomies free. Judges: order vasectomies as an option for dead-beat dads.
HS Math Teacher
January 30th, 2011
11:59 am
Hey, IDIOT CHECK: Grade all the Parents you want. You don’t have to have a law telling you to do so. Let us know how that works out for you.
knock out punch
January 30th, 2011
12:02 pm
@ About Time….couldn’t have said it better myself!
Lisa
January 30th, 2011
12:09 pm
HA! Go ahead and grade the parents and you will see a major increase in the number of teachers getting their butts whooped. Where do you think some of these kids get their bad behavior? And also, who are we to tell someone how to raise their kids? This is crossing the line because we don’t know what goes on a child’s household to be judge and jury. PLEASE!!
But honestly, I think we put too much emphasis on the parents. The problems at public schools is multi-layered and we simply can’t point the finger at one entity. Parents are a problem. The curriculum is a problem. Admininstrations/boards are problems. Kids are problems. Teachers are problems. The method of school funding is a problem. No Child Left Behind is a problem. Politicians are a problem. The bottom line is that we need a complete overhaul of our educational system. Singling out parents is just a simple and convenient means for a more complicated problem that no one wants to deal with.
Maureen Downey
January 30th, 2011
12:11 pm
@Dawg, I understand that the parents who show up are the involved parents. My point is that there are involved parents at every school, regardless of how poor the community is. (But to those of you citing high school parents failing to show up, doesn’t parent involvement fall as kids get older across the board? I think there are fewer parents involved in high schools everywhere.)
I have to share one personal story here. Growing up, we had a family down the street where the dad had walked out and the young mom worked during the day and dated a lot at night. She likely had a drinking problem as I can remember being at their house on weekends and her coming home in the morning, still drunk.
Billy, the oldest boy, assumed the role of parent to his five younger brothers and sisters. I saw that in action once when all the kids on the street rushed outside for the first deep snow of the year. I saw Billy strip off his gloves for one of his younger brothers, give his hat to his little sister and his jacket to his brother. He played for hours in just a shirt and bare hands.
And in the life-isn’t-fair category, Billy died in a car accident in his 20s. (My mother sent me the obit when I was at college.)
He and his siblings had no parental support. I doubt his mother ever showed up at school for a single event. They left our street when she failed to pay rent and was evicted.
I can only hope that somewhere along the way, those kids had some teacher who did not write them off because their mother was an alcoholic and their father was out of the picture. I hope someone saw that these kids needed someone to care, that they were born with many strikes against them and would not succeed without help.
And while I know that teachers and ministers and reporters all have their own families, I thank any of them who “adopt” a child and make an extra effort.
Maureen
LA teacher 2
January 30th, 2011
12:11 pm
When my son graduated HS, I asked him why his friends who had been in gifted classes with him were not graduating w/ honors as he was. He said,”because you kept your foot up my butt for 12 years.” Crude, but that’s the vernacular. I asked if he minded that I did “micromanage him.” He admitted in hindsite that it was a good thing. I never helped with homework unless asked, but I made sure it was done. I asked about projects. I didn’t check teacher websites; that was his job. What I did do was read to him every night from the day he could hold his head up, and I showed him that I cared about him and his education. Would I get an A? Nope, far from it…but parents have to get involved and stay involved. You can wash your foot later.
ID10T check
January 30th, 2011
12:19 pm
Maureen, the problem isn’t that “teachers… write [kids] off because their mother was an alcoholic and their father was out of the picture.” The problem is that when alchy mom’s and absent dad’s kids fail in school because they have no support, the system says it’s the teachers fault and either docks their pay or fires them.
whatoblame
January 30th, 2011
12:24 pm
From the ancient parent/child schooling to the present day assault on family, we are coming full circle to barbarianism. The social implications and history of “how we arrived” at a more sophisticated method of imparting knowledge to the human young of our species.
The “blame game” doesn’t sufficiently answer the question(s), and is insufficient to correct the problem. The blame lays across cultural communications. The culture created a false notion of success: beauty, fame, talent, money, extravagant living…. The children suffer as they try to live out someone else’s beliefs: buy this, buy that, use this, use that, and success will come without knowledge and skill. Rich or poor, parents who care may also be trying to live out a dream that is part of America fable and unattainable. It’s a dream. And some of the dream is unrealistic: for we all end the same way. The label of “educated person” places everyone in a state of limited access to the dream, regardless of rich or poor. The value system itself prohibits an achievable goal. What is the goal of the educational system? What is the goal of having an “education” and marketable “skills”? What then is education? We need to go back to the basics and simply allow children to enjoy learning: take away the stupid electonic games. Make them a reward for learning, or simply create a more realistic assigned value to the objects of the child’s fantasy value. We’re drowning the mind in the fantasies. No wonder learning is boring and a useless endeavor for many young minds, even older minds. It simply has no significance in the moment, as children live in the moment and do not plan for the future. We’re placing values on values on values. We’re making the discussion a wall between identifying the problem and its many facets, and actually resolving the conflict. How much weight do we give to each part of the created complexity of learning, parenting, the NEA, the textbooks, the teaching methodologies, the curriculum, the child’s aptitude and interests, the basics, the intermediate, the advanced?
This nation is drowning in its own fantasies, attributing the blame to one “cause” or another, without spreading the causation. The anxiety then is prohibiting us from solving the problem. Education has become the new Tower of Babel.
ID10T check
January 30th, 2011
12:25 pm
@HS Math Teacher: Are you mental? You don’t need a law! Works like this:
Student attendance – If you’re student is constantly absent, you get an F.
Interactions with teachers – If you fail to attend conferences, open house ot PTA meetings, you get an F
Children’s completion of homework and readiness for tests – If your student never shows up with homework and fails test because they are unprepared, you get an F.
Children’s physical preparation for school. – If a kids comes, without materials, disheveled and hungry, you get an F.
Easy enough for you?!?!
Lee
January 30th, 2011
12:29 pm
ROFLMAO. The same government who cannot get two traffic lights to syncronize now wants to grade my “parenting” skills. Yes, the same government who exacerbated this mess by paying the dullards and non-producers to procreate and allowing our country to be invaded by tens of millions of third world trash.
The same government school system who cannot administer a simple multiple choice test without cheating…
Need I go on?