<p>In a town like Montclair, in general the parents are already involved.</p>
<p>“The kid who turns in the 4-color mini-book published by daddy gets a better grade than the kid who wrote his essay on college-rule in longhand. This guy is just a bit more upfront about it.”</p>
<p>How True!
A friend and I were talking the other day about how our education was different than our kids, good and bad. We were laughing about the “papers” we wrote in middle and high school, in long hand, and how poorly we would have been graded if we handed in the same stuff today. Yet our SATs were no different (probably higher) than our kids. Their work, starting in elementary school, has always had the parent’s touch on it to a far higher degree than ours did. I’m not sure it really helped them much, though. You hear of students who go off to college and send their work home for review/editting by parents. When does it end?</p>
<p>“in general the parents are already involved”</p>
<p>Then is it a real problem? Or is it the subject matter? </p>
<p>I’m not a big poem fan, so I could understand a parent reluctance, but in my D’s case I found the scopes monkey trial and the questions we talked about totally fasinating and engaging. It gave me a new respect for her teacher whom I had only known as a soccer coach previously (and didn’t like). I really had a chance to go over the questions he asked and found them to be pretty deep discussion points. </p>
<p>I guess it depends on the subject matter.</p>
<p>Opie, as I already posted, I think it is very important that schools, teachers, and parents be a team in the educational process. I think it is very positive for teachers to share with parents what they are doing in their classrooom and assignments, with the hopes that they will be involved and interested in their children’s education at school. So, the intent is a very good one. I don’t, however, think required homework assignments for parents is appropriate, and even more so for high school. Optional ideas of how to share the experience with your student or how to help your student are good. Required written assignments or reading assignments for parents seems an over the top way. I support elem and middle school parents being required to sign off on homework assignment logs (particularly for kids who need this intervention) or for reading or journal logs. I’m all for teachers communicating with parents about the current studies in class and the assignments they are giving out. If parents want to assist their child or get engaged, that’s good. Requiring it seems a bit much in the mode that is being done here. I agree with your concern about parents who do not show up for parent conferences and the like. I can see requiring parent signatures on progress reports and so forth. I think presenting options of how the parent can be involved is also a positive thing. I was a very involved parent in my kids’ education but would not have wanted required assignments of reading/writing that I had to do. I’d like to be informed of what the teacher was doing and supporting the teacher at home. I do agree with you that not all parents are like me or like the many CC parents here (they are on CC becasue they ARE involved in their kids’ educations!). But required assignments BY parents of high schoolers is just over the top. Communication is needed. I would even support having parents sign off on reading the teachers’ communication about assignments for the students. But making the parents DO assignments themselves, nope.</p>
<p>BTW, I am a former public school teacher.</p>
<p>I’ll do Mr. Frye’s homework when he drops my office and writes up the Use Cases for the next release of our software. Deal?</p>
<p>"Then is it a real problem? Or is it the subject matter? "</p>
<p>It’s the approach and the threat. I’d love see a class-wide, families included book club with a website for parental comments or something similar. That you could participate in if you had the time and the interest. But the paternalism is very offensive to me.</p>
<p>“It’s the approach and the threat”</p>
<p>Yup. It is distasteful. </p>
<p>However, everybody here sees only from the perspective of being involved parents and we find it offensive because no body needs to tell us how to interact with our kids… </p>
<p>We are the tip of the iceberg. </p>
<p>Granted I don’t know the specs (demographics and scores) for this district and there are things that I don’t like in education (I know, I know, it shocks me too), I also know with the intense pressure to get the bottom “up” many things have to be tried and tested. This seems like a simple, inexpensive attempt. Does an idea only have meaning if it costs, or is a software program? </p>
<p>(with all respects to washdad) </p>
<p>Look at it this way, 20-25% of children in America are growing up to be tax takers, not tax payers. If ideas that can move this percentage towards making more tax payers, help even a little bit and if it slightly inconviences our time, is it a totally bad idea? I’m not saying it’s the best idea, but I am also not having to pay additional taxes to fund it. We certainly can improve it, but in general it reminds me of what my D used to do when I asked her to unload the dishwasher. She’d spend 15 minutes telling me why she couldn’t do a 5 minute job.</p>
<p>
No crickets here. I couldn’t get a seat at son’s last week. Parents get there early just to sign up for the private conferences at the best times. Moms & dads fight to be picked as trip chaperones. Parents (including H) regularly do class demonstrations or career day seminars throughout the year. And we’re not a town known for helicopter parenting. I’m heading to open house for D tonight, and her school has to provide off site parking with shuttle buses. Your wife’s situation really isn’t universal, Opie.</p>
<p>Like Garland, I am in a town neighboring Montclair. The pretentiousness of the town turned me off when we were house hunting. I’ve attended some adult ed courses in Montclair (usually crafty/creative stuff) and always come away with a chuckle. A woman with a sewing machine & a few shelves to store fabric and notions living in my town would refer to that space as her sewing room. A Montclair woman calls the same space her studio. It’s amusing. But their school system is torn apart with racial unrest & test scores lower than my more laid back town. </p>
<p>WashDad: LOL!!!</p>
<p>Since I also have seriously resented having to sign homework logs for middle and high school kids (and have given my permissions to them to forge my initials on such documents whenever needed), you bet I would refuse.</p>
<p>I sent children to school with the instruction that they were to listen, follow directions, raise their hands and ask questions when they didn’t understand, be kind to the other children and respectful to the teacher, and do their homework. If there were issues we would work out at home the best way to approach the teacher together. That’s my job. Not doing assignments myself at the direction of the teacher. Nope. I would probably be taking my objections to this one up the chain of command.</p>
<p>And if the teacher tried to take it out on my kid? You haven’t seen my mother bear imitation have you?</p>
<p>Sorry Opie, my husband is a 25 year veteran of public school teaching. He has taught in small town, inner city, and suburban schools in 5 states. His classes always end up having the highest test scores in the district, no matter what level of kids he is teaching. And he thinks this is over the top. He would refuse to do it. There are many other ways to improve educational results, if the teacher is willing to work at it.</p>
<p>Yes, it’s juvenile. From the linked article:</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Kindergarten teachers have reason to request this. Some of their students are not able to articulate anything interesting. When asked for experiences as roots for writing a story sentence, lots of kids stare blankly. So this assignment, at a Kindergarten level makes sense, to give the teacher something to work with in the classroom.</p>
<p>How inarticulate are these same kids in 9th grade? Well, I’m sure there are many blank stares then too, but how does tapping into the parents’ thoughts bring out the students’ willingness to speak?</p>
<p>"Parent-teacher conferences, open houses, how well attended? (crickets in the background). "</p>
<p>Here in my neck in the woods, parents have to pick up report cards and see teachers in order to receive the report card. I’m fine with that because it’s all about the kid. What if the parent were hardworking, well-meaning, showed up all the time but was functionally illiterate? Non-English speaking, or working several jobs? This plan, I think, could be a suggestion rather than an order.</p>
<p>Don’t get me wrong, I love Montclair. I have many friends there, go there for my CSA veggies, love the local stores. Hey, my D lives there (proving you don’t have to be rich.)</p>
<p>But its (much lauded) school system is just too precious for me (as would be a lot of UMC schools). But Montclair had to go to a total school choice magnet system to desegregate their schools. i’m in favor of neighborhood schools, and my kids walked around the corner to our very diverse school, because they live on a very diverse block in a very diverse neighborhood. We didn’t have to engineer intergrated schools here.</p>
<p>And again, if we’d paid the mortgage and taxes to live there, we wouldn’t have been able to send our kids to the colleges they’re at!</p>
<p>OK folks, where am I accusing any of YOU as being neglectful absent parents? You’re personalizing this situation as the examples you all are giving have alot of “I” in them. As I said, look around, no, really look around. If you are telling me SS that “everybody attends” and my3 girls, were the classes your husband “perfect” before he got those kids, or did he have to work? My spouse is an advisor for the Highly capable program and just like your hubby she is known as an excellent teacher… but it’s not about her. </p>
<p>I would imagine no one person here has kids that aren’t college material. That also makes this group NOT normal. We aren’t representative of the american parent. SS, yes I too have had to stand in a room for parent teacher conferences, but I’ve also had the room to myself. It depends on the group of parents. I can’t remember if your a public or private, but most public’s don’t get more than a quarter of the parents for open house and/or confrences. I imagine if we looked up NJ grad rate, your school or town might be the exception for the state. </p>
<p>my3, I am sure your husband is not just polishing finished products. He’s having to work, isn’t he? </p>
<p>Unless our president is lying or our offices of public instruction are in on it, roughly 25% of our kids don’t graduate. Remember before the war, he was the education president? no? So as you look around, I have no doubts both SS and my3 (along with myself) have kicked educational butt out there with your kids. (That’s a compliment folks) but where do these 25% come from? How are their parents involved in the education process? </p>
<p>While it’s not the best idea, maybe it brings a couple more parents over to our side of involved parents, is that bad? As a parent maybe if you’ve had to spend a few minutes talking with your s or d about an assignment together. He asking that you spend time with your kid, talking about their project. Is that honestly bad, when you think about it? Doesn’t it allow for you to really talk about a school subject rather than just ask “did you finish it?” </p>
<p>Hey I was more than a little ticked that my D had to use my TV to watch inherit the wind as her homework assignment for her english class. That interferred with my free time. But you know, it turned out to be a temporary inconvience and a wonderful adult conversation disscussing the movie with my daughter for her english class. We shared opinions father to daughter on a school subject. It became “our” project, and we would talk about it in a different way than other class assignments. </p>
<p>Maybe, just maybe one of these parents will talk with their kid about the subject matter. Maybe they will talk a bit more, maybe they will share an interest. </p>
<p>While not perfect, can you not see that there could be benefits in some households for something along these lines. I’m not thrilled about the consquence aspect of this program, but again look around. Threats for noncompliance are pretty common in our society. </p>
<p>I don’t like it that much, but the question becomes do I like it less than a 25% drop out rate? One side inconviences me for a few minutes, the other creates people who need my tax dollars to support what ever life they end up with. A few minutes or a few dollars which is easier to come by?</p>
<p>Montclair does not have a 25% dropout rate, not even close, i am sure.</p>
<p>And yes, i do think there are real consequences for the vast majority of families that this does become a stress for. Not to mention that the patronizing attitude of the teacher turns this into an indictment of the family that dares not go along with it.</p>
<p>Infantalizing has consequences, too.</p>
<p>Opie…I think you are confusing the good intentions with the actions taken here. I can’t imagine an educator arguing with the intentions of getting parents involved in their kids’ schooling and supporting what is being done at school. As I wrote earlier, a teacher can send home frequent letters about what is going on in the classroom and their expectations or major projects or grading criteria, etc. I’m not opposed on parents having to sign off as having read it. A teacher could include suggestions of appropriate ways to support the child at home. Maybe there is an assignment where the student might have to interview a parent or whatever. But mandating that parents do assignments of THEIR OWN is just not right. I am a very very involved parent. I would not want to be required to do the high school readings and write about them. However, if my kids wanted to share a paper or project and have me look it over and give feedback, I would. I agree that many parents are not involved enough. But mandating assignments for parents is just not the way…and mandating it for all parents who may already be supporting their high school kid in other ways. I do think communication between teacher and parent is important. If a kid is not doing well, a teacher should call, write or have a conference with the student and parent and in that conference, perhaps draw up some solutions and who will be responsible for which aspect of that plan. Maybe there is a step a parent has to do (look over to see that assignment was done and with some standard before passing in?) or some such. But requiring parents to do assignments, let alone of their OWN, on a regular basis, is just not a good idea. Optional suggestions such as the ones he is doing, are OK. Intervention for students who are having problems and getting parents involved, is also advisable.</p>
<p>StickerSchock and Garland are right on target about Montclair’s very precious self-image and complex demographics. The NY Times seems to have thought having parents blog literary homework was just a wonderful idea, right in keeping with intellectual Montclair’s public persona–perhaps it is also seen as a way to make parents more hands-on. No thought apparently given to parents who might be too tired or busy after working long hours to pay the disproportionately high Montclair/Essex County taxes and monitor their children’s other activies–or perhaps the there is an assumption that in a pinch the nanny or au pair can lend a hand here. </p>
<p>If the concern is getting families engaged in learning it might be more to the point to have parent-child discussions on a specific theme or a single literary work–the projects as described in the article struck me as quite burdensome for adults with other responsibilties. It is after all a student’s job to go to school; most parents have other job, whether paid or unpaid. I also think a discussion of social studies or civics or history would be at least as relevant but obviously you can’t make parents follow a totally parallel academic path to their ninth-graders. And then what about math? What would happen to those of us who freeze at the sight of an equation? And what happens now to parents who are not fluent in English or adept at writing and fear they will embarrass both thenmselves and their children with their “homework”?</p>
<p>:) I wonder if his parent teacher conference schedule is full? :)</p>
<p>As I said I think the ideal is Ok, but the execution is wrong. I can understand the goal, but yes, maybe there is a better way to get there. </p>
<p>and sooz, I agree with you on just about everything you’ve mentioned. A compromise solution is certainly possible. But I understand the need. The need was never necessary at my house or SS’s or my3 or yours or anybody here, but as to some of the other places?</p>
<p>I thought I made it clear, my husband has taught all levels at a wide variety of kinds of public schools. He is as successful with mainstreamed special ed kids and English language learners as he is with AP kids. Why? He works his butt off. And he does want parents to be involved, but he sees their job as getting the kids there, supporting appropriate behavior, and providing an environment to study, NOT as doing assignments for his class themselves.</p>
<p>Like was said above, perhaps this teacher had good intentions, but it is frankly, a stupid idea. The need to get univolved parents involved, especially in high school, will not be met by assigning their parents homework.</p>
<p>Somehow I missed it the first time around that he only has 65 students in 3 sections. Really. If he can’t teach them without asking the parents to do the reading he shouldn’t be teaching. Maybe he could motivate the students by getting them so excited about the material that they would want to share the experience with their parents. 65 kids in 3 sections. Give me a break.</p>
<p>Aaaaaaaughhh!!!</p>
<p>OK, perhaps it’s my authority issues rearing their ugly heads, but I find the notion of being assigned reading assignments, being graded by my children’s teacher, and having the grade the teacher assigns me affect my children’s progress in the class to be offensive in every possible way. </p>
<p>I think that it sets up a weird power dynamic. While the teacher is appropriately an authority figure for my children, he is my adult peer. We have different roles with respect to the child. With a good teacher-child-parent relationship, the teacher and parent will work collaboratively. But there are times when my role as a parent may bring me to the teacher’s door as an authority on my child’s values, needs, responsibilities, and rights within that classroom. One hopes that in these latter situations, the parent and teacher will still be working collaboratively. But it is grossly inappropriate for the teacher to try to impose his own authority role, infantilizing the parent, in one aspect of the relationship, when it is in the child’s best interest that teacher and parent interact as adult peers in every other aspect of the relationship. </p>
<p>Think about some of the unfortunate classroom situations that have been described on CC in the past year. Would you really want the music teacher who made the girls hike up their dresses so he could be sure they were wearing pantyhose and not sheer knee-highs to be basing part of your child’s grade on the fugue he made you compose the night before? (The night before you went charging into the principal’s office to find out what the h@#$ is going on with the music teacher peering up your kid’s dress?) Not me.</p>
<p>I don’t think that the teacher assigning ninth grade tasks to parents with negative consequences for the child if the parent does not comply, or comply in a manner that meets the teacher’s standards, is inappropriate only because it undercuts the parent’s authority if the parent has to do battle. I think it’s inappropriate because it’s a kind of power-tripping blackmail; do as I say and submit to my assessment of the quality of your ninth grade work, fellow grown-up, or I’ll hold it against your kid. I am also troubled by the underlying assumption that the parents will not be sufficiently interested or involved in the children’s education unless there are externally imposed negative consequences for their failure to comply with the teacher’s notion of the correct form of participation.</p>