Mermaid wrote:
"toto" wrote in message
news
Any anecdotes?

I have several, but the one that is pertinent he
A parent came to the school with a complaint about homework in
geometry class. Parent said "If he can't get his work done in
school,
he won't do it at home. It cuts into my quality time with my son
if
he has homework to do."

You have to subscribe to Time Magazine (or go to the library
to get the whole article). I read it in print.

http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101050221/story.html

Parents Behaving Badly

Inside the new classroom power struggle: What teachers say
about pushy moms and dads who drive them crazy

By NANCY GIBBS

Posted Sunday, February 13, 2005
If you could walk past the teachers' lounge and listen in, what
sorts
of stories would you hear?

An Iowa high school counselor gets a call from a parent protesting
the
C her child received on an assignment. "The parent argued every
point
in the essay," recalls the counselor, who soon realized why the
mother
was so upset about the grade. "It became apparent that she'd
written
it."

A sixth-grade teacher in California tells a girl in her class that
she
needs to work on her reading at home, not just in school. "Her mom
came in the next day," the teacher says, "and started yelling at me
that I had emotionally upset her child."


--
Dorothy


No but I have a major school rant. I hope this doesn't offend any
teacher
types. This occurred today.

The school my dd goes to is lame on parents. They have stated that
overall
there is a few that parents will complain or not be supportive. They
are
just afraid to engage parents. They need help. They really need
help in
the classroom and in other areas like the playground. I can
understand why
they overall fear parents. Some of the stuff cited here in posts.
Some
parents can be tough. But here I am and there are a few other
parents as
well who are really wanting to help. Really great parents. WE are
begging
them to let us help out. (Someone on the school board had the nerve
to say
to my face that there are no parents who want to volunteer. At the
time I
thought maybe I was in the minority but I am by and far not. Several
of us
are practically begging and very proactive to be involved in our
childrens
education)

So anyhow finally last week I get a call to come and work with a
student in
2nd grade. He is one of the youngest 2nd graders and while he is
smart he
lacks the attention span at times to keep up. With 25 students in
the class
the teacher had trouble staying with him and taking care of all the
other
students during a lesson. So finally she asked for help. Principal
calls
me (and there are a few other parents involved as well for other
days) to
come by on friday for an hour and shadow him during the math section
which
is his hardest time of the day. So I go and I know two other parents
as
well did too. It is reported to me that this student did better this
last
week with us there just encouraging him to stay on task for 1 hour.

Today I get a call. Don't come again. Although it is helping the
student
I'm sorry but your presence in the classroom is bothering the new
student
teacher who states she can't teach while you are there because other
adults
in the classroom make her nervous. The other two parents got the
same
call.

Personally I find this absolutely ridiculous.

Anni

Yes, that is ridiculous. And I am a teacher type (well, child of
teachers-turned-administrators, very pro-public education, all my mom's
siblings are teachers, my brother's a teacher, etc, etc).

Relatives of mine pulled their son out of grade 2 three weeks before
x-mas, because they felt the school system had failed him/them.
Apparently, his kindergarten, grade 1, and grade 2 teachers, and
principal, all had insurmountable shortcomings (no two the same,
though) - IIRC, the grade 1 teacher "did not command his respect."
Clearly it was the school's fault that he was frequently in trouble and
getting unsatisfactory reports. So now they're homeschooling. Scarily,
this kid was socially a nightmare before starting public school, and
just at the end of grade 1 and beginning of grade 2, I had started
thinking, "wow, the boy's really made progress. He's actually pretty
functional these days."

I'm not against homeschooling, at all, just against this couple in
particular doing it. Especially since the only normalizing social arena
he's encountered appears to be public school. I shudder to think what's
going to happen to him over the next few years, if they keep him at
home. OTOH, I bet there are a bunch of teachers and a principal who are
only too happy to see his parents' out the door. . .

Melania
Mom to Joffre (Jan 11, 2003)
and #2 (edd May 21, 2005)