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By Linda Dobson
My e-mailbox overfloweth. There’s no question anymore that a significant number of parents are questioning what’s going on in public schools today. More importantly, they are searching the Internet for information and resources, and reaching out to anyone they think may be able to help them in their dilemma.
Oftentimes, these parents speak about the “gut feeling” they are having that their children are stressed, bored, and not learning. The saddest part is that most question the “feeling,” refusing to trust one of the most powerful tools nature has provided to parents in the care and nurturing of the little ones they bring into the world.
I write this post today to say one thing – trust the feelings you’re having about your child’s education. Ignore them at risk of irreparable damage happening to your child right before your eyes.
If your child is in school, speak up for him.
I know. It’s hard to make waves, especially when a teacher, counselor, or principal is your next door neighbor or your best friend’s brother-in-law. But you know what? In school your child is but one of hundreds (or, in the case of my high school, thousands) of children all being processed in the same way. It’s so incredibly easy for your child to slip through the cracks, forever suffering from some brief note one teacher or another once wrote in his transcript that follows him throughout his school days.
You must advocate for your child, much like the Seattle mom who wrote to her son’s teacher. The letter is printed in a post called “One Parent Acts to Protect Her Son: No Tests for Connor” at Education Week. I highly recommend you read the entire letter; it’s very compelling, and includes the teacher’s response. The gist can be summed up by this note at the end of the post:
It makes me want to cry – what we are doing to our children….
What we are doing to our children has made me cry more times than I can count. What I have cried about has grown worse with each passing school year since I took a long, hard look at what was happening to my son in school and decided to jump into what was then the unknown world of homeschooling.
“Parents Say FCAT an Unreliable Measure of Student, School Performance.” (They’re right.)
“Does Teaching Kids Earlier and Earlier Really Work?” (No.)
Parents are questioning. Add your voice. Your child is young for such a very brief moment in time.
Link to this page
Thank you for this! I'm a teacher by trade, and not yet a parent, but I think it's *so important* that parents speak out about what's happening to their children. From my own experience, I know that parents aren't the only ones concerned– teachers are too, but we're often afraid to deviate from the pack because our jobs are at stake. Teachers can be fired, but parents can't. If more parents began openly questioning the standardization going on in the schools, it could create a wonderful opportunity to form a powerful alliance. When parents and teachers work together, kids win.
Sabrina, thank you so very much for taking the time to write and share your experience. I firmly believe we need more communication between teachers and home educators in the mutual goal of kids winning. Thanks for being here, and for caring.
All best,
Linda