Comments on: It’s official. School is now my second job.

By: Larry C. McKenna

Larry C. McKenna — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 01:29:55 +0000

I have got trouble with your page clearly via the newest version of Opera. Looks fine in Explorer 7 and Firefox however.

By: It official School is now my second job Frantic Home Cook | Cast Iron Cookware

Tue, 26 May 2009 17:53:25 +0000

[...] It official School is now my second job Frantic Home Cook Posted by root 17 hours ago (http://frantichomecook.com) When did school become a second job for parents is it just me school debate based on one woman comment on a cooking blog 2008 frantic home cook home cooking recipes healthy frugal powered by wordpress Discuss | Bury | News | it official school is now my second job frantic home cook [...]

By: holly

holly — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 18:44:01 +0000

I am not a parent but a young aunt. I have seen all the things you ladies and gentlemen have disscussed on this blog. I agree that parents should give the kids more responsibility for their own work. I recall only two times my busy mother helped me with my homework beyond kindergarten. I constantly forgot to turn in permission and the like, and suffered the consequences. When i forgot homework and got zeroes on them I received stern talk and a firm pop on the rear to remember to never do that again. It pretty much worked. My education did not suffer for it. I recently graduated with a degree in biomedical engineering and I am now in medical school. The responsibility she placed on me made me more responsible and driven to succeed on my own. Now I look at my nephews (who requrie much more help than i did) and i see them overloaded with work. Too many packets with too many pages do by friday on top of the book report and other daily homework. I am overwhelmed by the amount when i help them. I truly beleive it is ridiculous and not necessary. I understand teachers have a lot on their plate. My aunt is a teacher and yet even she agrees that the amount of work some teachers give to students is outrageous. Parents cannot always prioritize or afford all of the petty extras that some (not the word some) teachers require of parents. Some parents have jobs, and homes, and other kids, and afterschool activities, and their own college homework (all in the name of bettering their kids lives), and and and and …. The list goes on. Mom’s just need more help and a little more respect and sympathy.

By: Francie

Francie — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 13:49:22 +0000

@ Roxie, I totally agree that it’s a tough time for kids. I know the No Child Left Behind is a controversial program and that’s adding a lot of work on teachers. School funding is broken, and we have to rob Peter to pay Paul. Under the current system, no matter how you slice it, some kids will be shortchanged.

Our school district has over 1/4 of the children speaking 12 different languages. They enter kindergarten speaking virtually no English. By law, the district must hire ESL teachers for these students to learn English at school. To pay for this, our district had to cut spending on other areas not required by law such as gifted programs, music and arts. My 6th grade daughter is now repeating the same math she learned in 4th grade because her gifted program was cut. She’s terribly bored and begging to be homeschooled. (Sadly, this is not an option as I had to take on a new job to help pay for gas and groceries in this recession.)

So where do we cut? ESL? Special needs? Gifted programs? Arts? Sports? Two years ago, our school district threatened to cut all sports programs to save the district from going into state-takeover. I’ve never attended a school meeting with more vitriol and threats! Parents were spitting and swearing at one another over whether Susie’s softball program should exist. In this economy, no one wants to pay more taxes, but no one wants anything cut.

I honestly wish I had answers. It’s really a sad state of affairs and our kids are suffering.

By: Roxie

Roxie — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 03:38:21 +0000

Unfortunately, as hilarious as it was for me to read and then reread to my 22 year old daughter, I TOTALLY relate. Yes, those days are behind me, but I think it started around the time my kids were young. One school year, I actually had to read every book my daughter did and then write a summary in her notebook! I went to school and told the teacher I already graduated from school and did not wish to attend elementary school a second time. I understand that times have changed and I totally believe in being responsible, but, I pay school taxes, for a school district that didn’t have a high school the entire time my children went to HS. One daughter went over the state line to OH and the other daughter to a school district in state that never acknowledged them right. Now we have a performing arts school that was told by the governor that the town’s children were to go to HS there and they are so coddled its ridiculous. People my age (50) and older and those who are about 15 yrs younger are not stupid, have made advances in medicine and research, have even worked on the patriot missile (someone actually from my HS and a graduating class of 65 kids), and we didn’t have half the “opportunities” that kids have today that burden parents and grandparents. Sometimes I think we need to just let our kids be kids again. Childhood is gone so fast and we have plenty of time in our adulthood for the “opportunities.” I have a sister-in-law and her daughter, my niece, who are both elementary school teachers, and I do hear the other side of this story. I think this country is so into throwing so many things at our children that there is nothing left to look forward to. Parents pay for so many extras instead of our children just getting a rock solid foundational education. I don’t know about you, but they made our kids work so hard in elementary school doing NUMEROUS papers and homework assignments to turn around and have high school be a light workload and practically not challenging. The level and amount of work is not carried thru in the older grades and even in a lot of colleges. Our kids our “working hard” at a time when they should be playing and “playing” when they should be working hard for their futures. Geez, didn’t mean to say so much. Guess this hit more of a nerve than I thought!

By: Julie

Julie — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 03:38:40 +0000

Oh my gosh, I so totally agree! I’d like to take the 5 pounds of papers each kid brings home every night and have a bonfire in the school playground.
My son’s teacher sent a note home she wanted 2 green apples sent to school. I make a special trip and scrape up change to buy them. He comes home next day…apples still in backpack. (he’s autistic and doesn’t think to say “hey mrs. teacher, I’ve got apples for you”)
Next week, same darned note. I send the same darned apples. Next day…still in backpack! I really wanted to drive up there and stick them where the sun don’t shine.

Anyway, like you said, I really don’t think it was like that for parents when I was a kid. I guess times have change.

By: aimee

aimee — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 02:40:38 +0000

@Kara: I noticed Kathryn’s spelling mistake as well (and I’m a MUSIC teacher) but let’s not make start the homeschool/public school debate based on one woman’s comment on a cooking blog.

By: Kara

Kara — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 01:48:25 +0000

<> Now that I’ve seen the teacher’s perspective misspelled and horribly written, I may have to give a second thought to homeschool. “Unsurmountable ammounts?” Please Kathryn, tell me you’re teaching something like art or PE.

By: Francie

Francie — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 13:52:21 +0000

Thanks for sharing a teacher’s point of view. I don’t blame the teachers. I blame the school district and school funding. I know the teacher is not sending home fundraising kits the SECOND day of school. I know the teacher is not responsible for pulling my daughters out of math class so they can be told that they can WIN A WII just by selling 500 boxes of candy. (It’s my job to bring them back to reality when they get home.) I know it’s not the teacher’s fault that you have to buy additional supplies. That’s messed up school funding. BUT I will say that this is in ADDITION to my full time job as opposed to my full time job. It’s tough on everyone, but my workload easily *quadruples* when summer vacation is over. And bear in mind, that with just two children in PUBLIC school, the required school fees and supplies have added up to over $600 in two months alone! Something’s got to give.

By: kathryn

kathryn — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 00:59:07 +0000

Yes, there is a lot for parents to do in regards to school; however, that’s part of being a parent and having children. As a teacher, our duties have probably increased five or six times in the past 5 years also. We aren’t responsible for making sure that two or three children have stuff ready to come to school the next day, instead, we’re responsible for making sure that 20-25 children have stuff ready to come home every day. In addition to that, we have to make sure detailed weekly newsletters, lesson plans, behavior reports, and the list goes on and on are in. Oh year, and then there’s teaching too! As a teacher, we also spend unsurmountable ammounts of money on additional supplies that parents are never asked to supply so children can be more engaged in learning. Before you write about giving teachers bubble bath, think about what it might be like on the other side.