School costs and parent involvement

[AtLast]

Originally Posted by DapperButch

Ok, so I was about to hit submit to a post in the "what is on your mind" thread, but realized that maybe it would get lost in the shuffle and the parenting subforum may be a more suitable place.

Please expand on this topic in any way you might like. Maybe people want to talk about school costs in general or parent involvement in general. But this is what was specifically "on my mind"...


So copy/pasting:

One thing I have noticed from talking to parents is that it seems like there are higher and higher expectations in school on the "projects" kids have to do. Like crazy high...out of their age range, so the parents have to do it.

Also, a lot of these projects seem to cost a lot of money for the supplies.

So, "what is on my mind is":

1) My client was telling me about this intense project that her 3rd grader had to do...seemed more fitting for a 7th grader to do. There is NO WAY that she could have done this project without a parent. What do the kids do who don't have parents that want to help them? Just fail?

2) Some of the projects now a days seem to include a lot of supplies that cost money. What do kids do if they have parents who can't afford these supplies? What about the kids whose parents have the money, but aren't willing to go to the craft store to get said supplies b/c they are just parents who don't care?

I went to public school. As I recall, the teachers always had available any supplies that were needed for projects if your parents couldn't buy it for you. And it wasn't expensive stuff. At all. A couple of bucks and one or two projects a year. And the projects were things that weren't outside of a kids ability level and they could do the projects on their own. Things seem to have changed.

What are these unlucky kids doing if they have a parent who won't help with a project or won't or can't purchase supplies? Are teachers "in tune" to these kids and their needs do ya think?

Much of the time, it isn't the teacher being out of tune with this- it is what has been legislated in the US with things like "No Child Left Behind" which has been extended by the Obama administration. All has become based upon schools competing for federal funding and the districts that traditionally have had a higher tax base usually wins out. So, the developmental, financial and social aspects of students are just lost. In some schools, teachers get a financial bonus for higher test scores on national achievement tests.

Regular classroom teachers have been pushed in many ways to leave child development behind or lose their jobs. The politicalization of education in the US has rendered it out of touch with the real variables that enable students to learn. And makes teachers robots.

The whole damn system is out of touch with kids and their families.

The other thing that bothers me is that there is just not enough available in apprentice and trades programs for students. Vocational education is pushed back while college is pushed ahead as the only way someone can earn a living. Yet, how can a house be built without carpenters, plumbers, electricians? What about scientific glass technicians- they produce the test tubes and beakers used in experiments?! Who builds roads? The list goes on.

I am very thankful for having the opportunity to go to college and grad school. However, The US educational system needs to widen its vision and provide educational opportunities for all of its students including those that want to develop skills in non-college bound types of employment. And stop this crazy testing!!