Yes, I am back to talking about parental responsibility again. So let me get right to the point. I have had to place many, calls to parents over the years for a variety of reasons: a child not completing homework, poor attendance, inappropriate clothing, disrespecting of teachers and peers, and the one that just blows my mind, the lack of school supplies. I am so tired of calling parents to inform them that their child is not completing homework and the response is almost always, he said he didn’t have any homework or whenever I ask he tells me that he did it already. Are you for real? I wouldn’t be calling if the assignments are done and up to date. Yes, I call when the child is doing well. I call those phone calls home, “good news” calls. But, too often, I’ve had to call for lack of homework. That’s crazy when a parent doesn’t notice their child isn’t completing homework on a regular basis. I can’t tell you how to raise you child but, I can tell you what I do. I ask what the assignment is, I check the agenda book daily, and I sign off on completed assignments.
How about this one, poor attendance? I recall some years ago placing a call to a student’s home to find out why he was absent from school (Yes that too is part of our job) and the parent told me that the child should be in school. Well, no he was absent. That’s crazy, I thought. How did she not know the child is absent? That tells me that she didn’t get up, make sure he had a good breakfast, and see to it that he left on time. What is going on? Once, I had to inform a parent about her child’s lack of respect and inappropriate clothing. I was told not to call back, that the child is my responsibility when he’s at school. That’s too is crazy. There is only so much a teacher can do. I can’t take away a favorite game, forbid the child from watching TV or give a time out. Frequently, I find myself spending way too much time dealing with behaviors and reminding students that they are better than what they are portraying. This takes away from on task time. Sometimes it would be nice to get the help of a parent. Yes, there are those who are trying hard. I mean really hard, and I applaud them. However, too often, we get others that just leave the parenting up to the teachers. And how about this, a child has been sitting in front of me for weeks and sometimes a month without materials. When you call home to remind parents that their child does not have the required materials the excuses range from, they’ll have it next week or I give him allowance he can buy it himself. That’s crazy, especially when he or she is wearing the latest and most fashionable clothes, shoes, sneakers, and the hair is all done up, and the nails are perfectly manicure. By the way, I get so tired of waiting for them to come with their own supplies that I just reach into my “emergency bin” and just give them what they need. (Sometimes the school provides a few materials too) Where is the parental responsibility?
I’ve said it many times; we are teachers, nurses, social workers, and career counselors. We do it all. We start on hour to an hour and a half earlier than we should and we don’t’ get into bed until late at night. I wouldn’t want to do anything else. I don’t even want a thank you. Rather, parents that are invested in their child’s education. Teachers can’t do it all, we need your help. Take back control of raising your children. That’s not so crazy to ask, now is it?
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