Florida legislator files bill to let teachers grade parents.

[madfloridian]

It's an interesting concept, but many parents say it is too much of government holding them accountable.

Not completely sure of my feelings on this. But I would say if I were still teaching, I would hesitate to be honest about it. It could cause some very hard feelings that could bounce back on the teachers.

Lawmaker wants parents graded for student readiness

A state lawmaker wants pre-K through third-grade teachers to assess, monitor and grade parents on their involvement in their child's education. State Rep. Kelli Stargel, R-Lakeland, filed HB 255 on Tuesday, which calls for teachers to rate parental involvement as "satisfactory," "needs improvement," or "unsatisfactory.

Parents would be rated on their child's report card based on their child's absentee and tardy rates, completion of homework and preparation for tests and preparation for school.

"Teachers are frequently coming to me saying 'you can't hold me accountable for kids who aren't there; how can I expect to teach a child who is hungry,'" Stargel told Highlands Today on Thursday.

.."The bill calls for parent evaluations in third grade and lower because she believes the parent has the most influence and control over those three things in the lower grades, Stargel said.

Kelli Stargel's views on education are very different than mine, but she has latched on to an interesting idea.

More on her legislation:

Rep. Stargel's Bill Would Grade Parents' Role in Child's Education

State. Rep. Kelli Stargel wants to hold parents more accountable for their children by issuing them a grade for their child's education. Earlier this week she filed House Bill 255, called the Parent Involvement and Accountability in Public Schools bill.

"I'm assuming through this process that every parent wants the best for their kids," Stargel said. "You can have the best teacher in the world in front of the classroom but if the child isn't there, then they don't learn."

Here are the 4 areas included.

The bill states that each prekindergarten through third grade student's report card will include a section in which the teacher grades the parental involvement as satisfactory, needs improvement, or unsatisfactory. Parents will be rated in the following areas:

Parental response to requests for conferences or communication.

The student's completion of homework and preparation for tests.

The student's physical preparation for school that has an effect on mental preparation.

The frequency of the student's absence and tardiness.

Parents could appeal their grades, and there would be no consequences.

[meegbear]

1. Cool!

K&R

[MineralMan]

2. A great idea. Then, failing parents could be fired, right?

That'll work.

[Kolesar]

7. Neutered would be ok, too...eom

[sufrommich]

3. This will no doubt endear teachers to parents. nt

[Sancho]

4. How about a Govometer!!!

Every time the Fl Governor and legislature does something really stupid we can click on the dumb-dumb button and watch some sort of gauge!

[madfloridian]

5. That would be a very busy meter.

:wow:

[madfloridian]

6. This part is good..

"The bill is about fostering better communication between the parent and teacher and in this area of social media, there's no reason why the busiest parent and teacher can't communicate, said Stargel, who chairs the House K-20 Education Innovation Subcommittee.

"At least the parent is aware that they can be doing a lot better," she said."

http://www.theledger.com/article/20110121/NEWS/101215049/1410?p=all&tc=pgall

But I still think it would backfire on the teacher, especially in this environment where politicians are putting teachers down so often.

[madfloridian]

8. She's getting lots of national attention.

http://polkpolitics.blogs.theledger.com/10700/stargel-on-fox-cnn-and-soon-nbc/

"Stargel on FOX, CNN and Soon NBC

by Bill Rufty

Rep. Kelli Stargel’s parental responsibility bill in schools is gaining her national attention even before the first workshop or hearing on the legislation.

She appeared on Fox and Friends on Saturday, has been interviewed by CNN and was contacted by NBC Nightly News for an interview after she finishes committee meetings in Tallahassee this week.

Stargel’s bill would require parents to be involved with their children’s education by communicating with the classroom teacher and acknowledging teacher notes. Initially, although she says some wording will likely change, a child’s grade will include missing school frequently and whether parents are involved.

On her way to the state capital Sunday night Stargel said she began crafting the bill after her involvement with the teacher accountability legislation last year, known generally as “Senate Bill 6,” which tied teacher pay and retention to their students’ performance in the classroom."

[lpbk2713]

9. Sounds reasonable to me.

But I wouldn't recommend it to be used by new teachers.

Not if they want to be old teachers.


:kick:

[JCMach1]

10. What part of 'in loco parentis' doesn't this legislator understand?

Sorry, but the teacher IS the parent at school.

I am sorry, but that kind of intrusiveness would probably be the straw that made me pull my kids from public schools.

I could only support this ONLY with a rule that prohibited any more than 30-50min. of homework for this age group per night.

:grr:

Sorry, but this stuff grinds my gears.

[madfloridian]

12. Disagree on one part....the parent is ALWAYS the parent.

They have their child for 6 years before we get them. Those are formative years.

I just think that in this anti-teacher climate set by this administration....it would make parents even more ugly toward teachers.

[JCMach1]

14. I can remember having my first grader in lovely Florida breaking down after already

spending more than two hours of homework and still having another project due. Then, you would always get the snarky comments back from the teacher in their 'homework' journal.

Short of doing the project for her, sorry but she is going to bed by 10:30.

Time to take the 'high stakes' out of education and just start educating.

On the flip side... trust me when I tell you that you don't want the kind of parental involvement that you get here in the Middle-East! Schools here practically have to bar the doors to keep parents out. Otherwise, you would have someone coming to argue every point on every test with you. This is only slight hyperbole. Then, once they are done arguing about the points comes the begging for a higher grade.

[madfloridian]

21. Teachers who do snarky comments should be ashamed.

Kids are very sensitive to things like that.

[Starry Messenger]

11. I wouldn't really like this...

but I'm still laughing. :popcorn: Seriously though, I think many parents see through the anti-teacher crap and are allies. That's my experience out in CA, minus the success of some front groups like Parent Trigger. I think we would be better served with unity. Parents who are having a rotten time need structural support, not mocking from the public sphere.

[Mojeoux]

13. It's an interestng idea.....but....What about the KIDS?

Would a low parent quotient lower chances for getting into college and getting scholarships?

Would these kids get help? That's what really matters.

[Reader Rabbit]

15. Seems like an appropriate thread for this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sr5kWOdkHYA&feature=related

[madfloridian]

18. That has a familiar ring.

I had so many parents like that....the good part was that I had even more who were supportive.

In the last school where I taught before I retired, I once had two parents continue a fight in the classroom they had started outside the door. It was a physical fight, too. I had some parents there who really scared me if they came to the school drunk or high....but the majority were fine.

I noted in the video that she personified the parents who insist on their kid being tested for gifted, and who would prefer their having a label like ADHD rather than admit they had behavior problems.

Ah, I am so glad I am retired.

[Still a Democrat]

16. Not a good idea for several reasons

1) I assume teachers could do this currently if they so choose - this would just force them to do so?

2) There's enough of a political current against teachers - something like this would just compound it.

3) How long before parents start assessing teachers?

[realisticphish]

17. On point 3, you better believe they already do

School boards are filled with "old friends" and "golf buddies" of parents

[Donald Ian Rankin]

19. Because of course no teacher would fudge their grading to maintaing good relations with parents...

One of those ideas that stops sounding good after five seconds thought.

[madfloridian]

20. Yes, it could do harm to relationships.

There were some parents that I had that I just knew would be all over me if I crossed them. And some of them were pretty hot-headed. I would have thought about it twice at least.

[greiner3]

22. A bit off topic but;

My mother taught briefly in NYC back when. One of her co-workers spoke a little Spanish and tried to convey her thoughts about one of her students to his parents in their native language, Spanish. Whatever she said brought not only misunderstanding but actual threats to her well being.

My ancestors were from Buffalo. I heard of the stories of immigrants who were part of the great melting pot that did their best to assimilate. One of the best stories was the fact that within Buffalo was the second largest newspaper in the world, at that time about 1890-1920, written entirely in Polish. It is so difficult for adults to learn a new language. I recently completed my Bachelors in Biology. Of all the courses I took, including many at the 400 level and above, the most difficult was the 100 series in Spanish. I struggled to get Bs and now, a couple of years later, I find it difficult to catch even a few spoken words or translate even the most basic text; use it or lose it.

My point is that the children of immigrants will assimilate for the most part. English is the dominant language. Newly arrived foreign language speaking adults will find it difficult to function and rely on their children to make the transition. If the children are not able to make this possible, through the ignorance of society, there will be a lost generation both ignorant of their past and present cultures. They will be stuck in poverty and will start the cycle of not being able to assimilate into American society.

Pedagogy of the Oppressed is a great book to start understanding this concept. From Widipedia;

Pedagogy of the Oppressed is the most widely known of educator Paulo Freire's works. It proposes a pedagogy with a new relationship between teacher, student, and society.

Dedicated to what is called "the oppressed," Freire includes a detailed Marxist class analysis in his exploration of the relationship between what he calls "the colonizer" and "the colonized." From his own experience helping Brazilian adults to read and write, the book remains popular among educators all over the world and is one of the foundations of critical pedagogy.

In the book he calls traditional pedagogy the "banking model" because it treats the student as an empty vessel to be filled with knowledge, like a piggybank. However, he argues instead a pedagogy of the oppressed would treat the learner as a co-creator of knowledge.

According to Donaldo Macedo, a former colleague of Freire and University of Massachusetts professor, Pedagogy of the Oppressed is a revolutionary text, and people in totalitarian states risk punishment reading it<1>; it is also banned in Arizona public schools.<2> The book has sold over 750 000 copies worldwide.<3>

I weep that AZ deems it necessary to ban this book.

[Roy Rolling]

23. Almost worthless grandstanding

From my experience as a local school board member, this is another political grandstanding effort. Teachers can call parents any time they want and get them involved in the child's education. Grading them without any consequences is simply for show, it does not carry any weight. It is true lack of parental involvement is a giant issue in kid's failure, but simply grading a parent has "no teeth" in solving the problem. It is a political over-simplification whose foundation is if you embarass someone they will be goaded into action---that is simply not true. Some parents just don't give a shit despite grading them.

[starzdust]

24. It doesn't go far enough

As a retired high school teacher for 30+ years I would have included all grade levels. Fair is fair. Teachers are evaluated every single day by students, administrators and even fellow staff.

At least, parents (or guardians) might become more involved in their children's education and every little bit helps.