The Bakersfield Voice
Parents ... Come Back to School
Parents ... Come Back to School
Topics: Education, school, teachers, parents, meetings
Posted by WalMcC Wed Sep 10, 2008 13:25:49 PDT
Viewed 303 times
0 responses 0 comments Location: 93312
Back to School Night ... nothing says school has finally started and things are up and running like the event of parents sitting in chairs and desks too small for them listening to a teacher.
The teacher has spent considerable time preparing for the event. The teacher explains the discipline system and what it takes for the student to lose privileges. There is a discussion of the grading system and how frequently grades will appear on the grade-book the teacher has on line as well as the password assigned so parents can see their child’s grades. The teacher may even give out a list of student competencies each child will be expected to master during the school year so parents can help the child be successful. Homework expectations are reviewed, how to reach the teacher via e-mail, when calls can be taken and other assorted details that are important to the teacher and parent bond needed for a successful school year.
So why weren't you there?
The discussion in teachers rooms the morning after were along the lines of ... is this “poor parenting” or merely an “indifferent parent” when a parent is so disinterested in their child’s school success that they can’t be bothered to come to school one evening?
In listening to these discussions, there was genuine concern about the five or six families in some classrooms that did not show up. Best guess, the “no show” parents are where the problem children will come from for the year. The kids who never complete or turn in homework, who blame the teacher for bad grades due to shoddy student work, who misbehave in class and feel they are “picked on” by the teacher because he/she enforces a discipline plan, will almost certainly come from parental Back to School Night “no-shows.”
So where were you? Is it possible meeting your child’s teacher for the year was not as important as a football game played by millionaires? Or maybe your child was involved in an activity that was more important than meeting the teacher? It's possible, but the activity would REALLY have to be important, like an organ transplant. Yes, I’m using hyperbole here.
But let me say what is rarely said. You want to know what makes a parent fall into the range between “poor” and “indifferent?” Don’t show up to events planned specifically for parents like Back to School nights, parent conferences, retention meetings, special education IEPs, suspension meetings and Open House, and you are on the bottom end of the parenting scale.
If you choose soccer (and you are not personally playing in the World Cup) or worse yet, a practice, my money is on you being an indifferent parent and, more than likely, your student will perform poorly in school.
I know, there really are reasons to miss an event. As adults you get to make those determinations. Just keep in mind, nothing says what you value most like not showing up at school events that are designed to get you working closely with your child’s teacher.
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