I loved this article! Speaking of stupid ideas…. True story: years ago I had a principal (no longer associated with my district) who tried to motivate teachers to have 100% parent conference attendance by letting them win a toaster….yes, I said “toaster.” The winner of the toaster asked the principal to donate the toaster to the faculty room because first of all, said winner already owned a toaster and second of all, realized that it was a highly inappropriate act that took away from the real reason that teachers wanted parents to come to conferences.

Teachers who see the value of parental collaboration and involvement do multiple things daily to ensure high parental involvement. However, having said that, there are conditions which can prevent high involvement at the fault of no one person. Poverty is an issue which can create educational hardships on many families. Some of these families may not have the ability to help with homework, come to every conference or meeting, nor be a presence in school leadership positions. Some work 2 or 3 part time jobs with no benefits and sacrifice much of their time with their children in order that their children have a better secured future in education. Some of these parents have not graduated from high school. And yet, some of these families DO come to conferences at the risk of losing their jobs. I agree that there is MORE to this issue.

I am fortunate to be working in a title one school that has heavy parental support. The community here has built this support over the years and are heavily invested in their children’s education. As a teacher, I am weary of outsiders of the school community making quick judgments about what is best for these families. A parent who had been in an accident who couldn’t come to the conference asked for a phone conference instead. Understanding the bigger picture about WHY we have conferences leads to greater support for these children’s families. Having a phone conference to let this parent know how her child was doing in school was not the only communication I had with her. Teachers communicate much more than is required by standards and so do parents. That is why the term “accountability” is becoming a dirty word to my ears… when did people decide that teachers felt no accountability? And why do some people think that giving away a “toaster” or “extra pay” will suddenly make teachers or parents “perform?”

Like many of my colleagues, I teach all week and teach groups after school as well. I communicate regularly with parents, look at data, collaborate with my colleagues weekly, write and acquire grants for the benefit of my classroom, and SOMETIMES get 8 hours of sleep a night. To top it off, I genuinely care for my students and their families, and they for me.

My response to those who try and legislate almost every aspect of education is this: “we are not “bubbles on a multiple choice answer sheet” So, please stop treating us as one.” There REALLY CAN BE MORE THAN ONE RIGHT ANSWER.

Denise B. really hit the key points about the origin and current state of our education system, but like Bren, I think we absolutely must keep open minds about new concepts.

The norm for educational performance assessments needs to be reconsidered – specifically, that of quantitative analysis. Tying performance or improvement to hard numbers commonly leads to solutions like the one mentioned in this post. Perhaps we could consider, for exampple, a parental incentive (such as a tax credit) based on improvement/involvement that is assessed qualitatively by a person with appropriate accredidation or training. Teachers could recieve bonuses for going above and beyond to attain this certification or training and performing the assessments. Teachers wouldn’t necessarily evaluate the parents of their students, but perhaps another teacher’s students.

It’s not a full-fledged, perfect idea. Let’s face it – there aren’t any in education. It is, however, an idea.