As the so-called education blogger I thought I would add this in on the eve before school starts for most of our students. Some of our students have been back a week, but this message is important for all of our parents. Call this a preliminary statement before things get heated or tense.
For those of you that don't know, I am a school counselor by trade. There are quite a few licensed professional counselors that frequent this site, so let me fill you in on the difference between us. My job is to help students be successful and to keep them out of trouble. I like my job because I hate being the guy that has to punish your kid. However, 99 percent of teachers also hate that part of the job. When the assistant principal is handing out discipline, I am the one that usually helps students understand why they made a bad choice. When a student has a long-term psychological issue I will recommend that they utilize what we call a LPC or psychologist in the business.
Now that you know what I do (that certainly isn't all of it) I will go on to talk about things all parents need to know. The first thing parents need to know is that teachers are there to help all students be successful. You also should know that we didn't need to pass "No Child Left Behind" for that to be the case. That has always been the case. I'm not sure what happened in education, but this used to be the working assumption going on. Now, we get some parents that assume we are out to get their child. We would be a lot happier if all of our students succeeded.
The second thing you need to know is that we need your help. Education is a team effort. Most of us send home schedules, syllabi, and other documentation letting you know what is going on in our classroom. Some districts even mandate that their teachers have their own websites to communicate with parents. Please don't assume that what your child tells us about your homework is true. Even if its true for that day, there is probably some kind of long-term project they should be working on. If you arm yourself with the knowledge of what your child is supposed to do then you can help us make sure it is done.
Finally, let's keep the lines of communication open. If you want to find out if your child doesn't have an A average please let us know. Most teachers try to contact parents when their child is failing or in danger of failing, but some parents want more out of their kids. That's great, but please let us know. We will do the best we can to get with you when we think you need to know something. Moreover, remember what I said first: we are here to make sure your child is successful. Let's work together and make it happen.
My son's high school rarely gives homework. I am fine with this. My kid has ADHD and in elementary school, his entire evening was consumed by homework.
We ended up making a change to get up at 4:30 AM, put meds and food in him and have him do his homework then. That worked well.
He is in AP classes and I appreciate that their work is more creative and seems to actually be about learning instead of about preparing for TAKS like the non AP classes seemed to be.
I wish my son's high school was more technologically capable. They do very little online, and as a working mother, I cannot be dropping by to talk to the teachers when I want to.
It is hard and that goes back to the TAKS. We are ultimately judged by how students score on TAKS. Our school gives homework Monday through Thursday to every student. The amount of time changes based on the grade, but I can certainly empathize.
I just wish there wasn't so much homework. Last year, my daughter was in the 2nd grade, and had well over an hour of homework every single night, more when you counted all the things she was supposed to work on every day (reading and math). Extra reviews and studies, even research papers. 2nd grade! I'm very involved with her and it was really hard. I can't imagine what kids without that type of support must do.