[blparent] Parent report cards?

[Kate McEachern]

I don't like this either, what about single parents who don't have the time 
for activities every night and don't always have the lluchery of time to 
birn?  I think people should parent how they can make it work.  For me, I 
have had to let my kids play video games rather then have me sit with them 
because I have no one else to do the laundry, or cook, or the other things 
that to most require two parents.  I won't be responding to any parent 
report cards if my kid sends it my way there is just too much to do.
Kate
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Erin Rumer" <erinrumer at gmail.com>
To: "'Jo Elizabeth Pinto'" <jopinto at msn.com>; "'Blind Parents Mailing List'" 
<blparent at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Thursday, May 03, 2012 1:53 PM
Subject: Re: [blparent] Parent report cards?


>I don't agree with the parent report card either, but it's a sad time when
> parents are so uninvolved as a whole that this is even being considered. 
> I
> know of lots of parents like myself who are involved a ton with their
> children, providing them both quality and quantity time, but so many folks
> load themselves with more to do in a day than there are hours that the 
> kids
> get the shaft.  I think that community involvement is fabulous and key in 
> a
> child's development, but family time needs to come first before soccer
> practice, dance class, piano lessons and so much more that parents are
> running their kids to something nearly on a nightly basis.  I say 
> depending
> on the age of the child they should have no more than 2 extracurricular
> activities at one time on average in order to fit in that quality family
> time.  There are so many of us busting our humps to do all we can for our
> kids but there are also lots of parents who are on survival mode
> continuously and allowing their kids to eat in front of the television
> instead of talking as a family and playing video games all the time to 
> keep
> them occupied.  This is why such ridiculous ideas like the parent report
> card even come up.  Lots of parents are acting like kids, so the 
> government
> is wanting to treat them as such.  Behavior aside though, who are they to
> say what's good enough.  I'll turn to much better resources and mentoring
> than the government for parenting advice, thank you very much!
>
> Erin
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blparent-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Jo Elizabeth Pinto
> Sent: Thursday, May 03, 2012 10:33 AM
> To: NFBnet Blind Parents Mailing List
> Subject: [blparent] Parent report cards?
>
> Who's judging whom? Parent report card proposal stirs debate
>
> There's a movement afoot for teachers to start issuing report cards... on
> parents! How would you feel about being graded by your child's teacher? 
> One
> Florida state lawmaker is proposing just that. NBC Education Correspondent
> Rehema Ellis reported the story for TODAY, and it got her thinking about 
> her
> own parental participation.
>
>
> NBC News Correspondent Rehema Ellis
>
> By Rehema Ellis, NBC correspondent
>
> As I researched this story, it made me think about my own family. I asked
> myself, would I mind being graded as a parent?
>
> All my son's life -- he's 8 years old now and in the second grade -- I've
> embraced the notion that my school days are starting anew. Of course, the
> big difference now is that I'm in the teacher/tutor role. I make him
> breakfast every morning and sit down with him. I read all the school 
> notices
> and frequently communicate with his teachers and the school. There's a big
> payoff: I know how he's doing in school and his report card has never been 
> a
> surprise. (And I should add, he's doing really well in school.)
>
> So, based on my involvement in my son's school life, I think I'd get a
> pretty good parent report card. Still, I got to thinking: What kind of 
> grade
> would I get if I missed a few school notices or didn't check all of his
> homework? It could happen, because as we all know parenting isn't easy.
> Parents, especially those who work outside of the home, have long days on
> the job, often exhausting commutes, and frequent challenges to keep the
> house in order AND keep an eye on what's happening in their child's 
> school.
>
> Susan Rayburn, the principal at Lincoln Elementary School in Plant City,
> Fla., told me that grading could jump-start involvement from parents who 
> are
> not actively engaged in their child's education. But she also cautioned 
> that
> if not handled properly, the parent report card could be a turnoff. Some
> parents could feel intimidated, she said. If the bill passes in the 
> Florida
> legislature, Rayburn said she hopes teachers use the parent report card 
> "as
> a tool for partnership versus a 'gotcha.' "
>
> She makes a great point. After all, the ultimate goal is to help children 
> do
> better in school. If the parent report card is used, as she says, to
> "showcase what parents are doing and then help bridge that gap for what 
> they
> are not doing," everyone's grades would improve ... kids AND parents.
>
>
> I read the article online and decided to post it for an idea to chew on.
>
> Personally, I think the idea sucks rocks.  Most parents, including me, are
> hard enough on themselves, and now to be judged by teachers as well?  No
> thanks!
>
> The idea is also dangerous, in my opinion.  If teachers start issuing 
> report
> cards based on parental involvement and student progress, the next step is
> for the government to take action against the parents that don't, in the
> opinion of teachers, measure up.  What happens to the parents who don't
> pass?  Or the average ones who get C's?  Will the government have the 
> right
> to step in and force them to improve their "grades"?  Bad idea.
>
> I do believe parents should be involved with the education of their
> children, and I don't believe it's all up to the teachers.  My sister
> teaches in public school, and I've heard the stories about hard times in 
> the
> classroom with no parental backup, and adversarial relationships between
> parents and teachers over who is at fault when kids don't thrive, or when
> they get in trouble.  So I support teachers wholeheartedly, but I wouldn't
> want to be graded by them on my parenting skills and philosophies, any 
> more
> than they would probably not like me to send them a report card on their
> teaching habits and expertise.
>
> Jo Elizabeth
>
> "How far you go in life depends on you being tender with the young,
> compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant 
> of
> the weak and the strong.  Because someday in life you will have been all 
> of
> these."--George Washington Carver, 1864-1943, American scientist
>
>
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