Parents 11/10

On Monday night we had three parents from the community come and talk to us.

The first question that was asked was if they were happy with the teachers. One parent said that they were happy with the teachers who were in touch with current practice. They are using new ideas to make the classes more enjoyable. The work that the students were doing seemed more creative. The second part of the question was how do they deal with a teacher they are not happy with. The response was to talk to the teacher. Parents agreed that they don't want to interfere with their childrens school life unless necessary. If their children are not doing well in a class they will talk to the teacher and figure out a solution to the problem. They liked it when teachers were cooperative and willing to make adjustments and give extra help.

They were asked about No Child Left Behind and how they felt about it. The parents response was different than the administration, teachers and school board responses. The parents said that the test scores really don't mean anything to them. Now at conferences the teachers will show the parents a graph and talk about what it means. There is no time for the parents to ask questions about their child and how they are doing. The parents said that they don't know how to take the data and help their children. They said that the test should not determine the funding for schools. Now the tests are the main focus the parents really don't know what to do with that information.

All of the parents agreed that a second language should be taught at a young age. One of the parents said that they took a second language when they were in second grade. They think that knowing that language helped them when they took another language later in high school. They agreed that the language should be started at the second or third grade level.

The parents were asked if they felt the curriculum expectations for students is practical. They said that some of the material that the students do they don't know if they are really understanding it. The material may be better understood if they had waited a few years and taught students. They said that they don't mind getting more content in but if the students are not able to understand the material it is a waste of time.

I think that having the parents last was a good way to end the panel type of discussions. They had good information for us as we work toward becoming teachers. The parents also had some much different input than the others we had come in and talk with us.

It was nice of the parents to take the time to come and talk with us.