[blparent] Parent report cards?

Fri May 4 15:59:09 UTC 2012

some teachers do that to students, anyway. Even though I was making very 
good grades in my senior year of high school, because of my repeated and 
unremitting seizures due to a bad medication interaction, I was marked as so 
low functioning I was a lost cause, thus, never got my duploma, and was only 
allowed to go to college for two weeks before being tossed out and told to, 
essentially, go away.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jo Elizabeth Pinto" <jopinto at msn.com>
To: "Blind Parents Mailing List" <blparent at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, May 04, 2012 9:42 AM
Subject: Re: [blparent] Parent report cards?


> Exactly.  I think the disabled might drop down a grade or two by default. 
> Not because they aren't doing a good job, in general, but because of the 
> perceptions of the teacher that they might not be able to do a good job.
>
> 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
>
> --------------------------------------------------
> From: "Tay Laurie" <j.t.laurie at gmail.com>
> Sent: Friday, May 04, 2012 4:39 AM
> To: "Blind Parents Mailing List" <blparent at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: Re: [blparent] Parent report cards?
>
>> Being graded on your parenting is one more step towards, as hypothesised, 
>> the government stepping in. Remember the child who was taken away because 
>> he was severely overweight? There are two sides to every story. What if 
>> he'd had a medical condition, and diet and exercise weren't enough? Just 
>> because he wasn't dropping weight fast enough shouldn't have been enough 
>> to take him from his parents. And if they give the sighted parents all 
>> manner of heck, what kind of grading curve would they use for the blind 
>> or partly sighted?
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "Kate McEachern" <kflsouth at gmail.com>
>> To: "Jo Elizabeth Pinto" <jopinto at msn.com>; "Blind Parents Mailing List" 
>> <blparent at nfbnet.org>
>> Sent: Thursday, May 03, 2012 4:53 PM
>> Subject: Re: [blparent] Parent report cards?
>>
>>
>>>I can understand that they want parent invalvment but to be fair we don't 
>>>all have extra time working from home or out.  I make use of the time we 
>>>have and plan meanningful weekend day trips or do something speashel when 
>>>I have a few days off.  One modle doesn't work for all but it seams as my 
>>>kids get older there is moreunaform ways of doing things.  I don't 
>>>remember parents in the 80s being as strung out as we are but I was like 
>>>8 so maybe I didn't see it.
>>>
>>> Kate
>>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>>> From: "Jo Elizabeth Pinto" <jopinto at msn.com>
>>> To: "Blind Parents Mailing List" <blparent at nfbnet.org>
>>> Sent: Thursday, May 03, 2012 5:45 PM
>>> Subject: Re: [blparent] Parent report cards?
>>>
>>>
>>>>I agree.  There are two parents in the house for Sarah, but I'm in kind 
>>>>of a unique and often difficult situation because I'm trying to work 
>>>>from home out of necessity and give Sarah the attention she needs at the 
>>>>same time. It went fairly well when she was younger, but it's getting to 
>>>>be a struggle as she wants, and deserves, more and more of my focus. 
>>>>Plus then there's cooking and laundry, and I seem to be the only one who 
>>>>knows how to put stuff in the dishwasher, turn it on, and take the clean 
>>>>dishes out again. So I understand, I would probably toss the report 
>>>>card, good or bad, on a pile of "I'll get to it someday" paperwork, and 
>>>>think where I'd like to tell the school to put it if I could.
>>>>
>>>> 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
>>>>
>>>> --------------------------------------------------
>>>> From: "Kate McEachern" <kflsouth at gmail.com>
>>>> Sent: Thursday, May 03, 2012 3:32 PM
>>>> To: "Blind Parents Mailing List" <blparent at nfbnet.org>
>>>> Subject: Re: [blparent] Parent report cards?
>>>>
>>>>> 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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>>>>>
>>>>>
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>>>>
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>>
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>
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