School Volunteers....
Find a Conversation
School Volunteers....
| Thu, 09-23-2010 - 9:49am |
I think there are always going to be those that I wouldn't have an issue with, but I do believe that checking for felonies, keeping children safe first has to be the priority.
Latest from the board
- It Couldn't Be More Apropos 7
- If we only hear of schizophrenia in the context of a violence...
- Gun Control Law Fails 5
- Have we loosened up on Terrorism 17
- Margaret Thatcher Dies of Stroke at 87 3
- Marriage and Politics 3
- New Pope: Does he matter politically? 9
- What's Next for Venezuela after Chavez? 3
- Do you have gun control questions for the White House?
- Inauguration Thoughts? 2
Memeber Support
Visit our Member Support area or browse the iVillage Help forum
| Q: | Where can I change my password? |
| A: | Log in, go to Edit My Preferences, and click the Account tab. Make and save your changes. |
Pages
I guess this could be a hard call, but there are people in our school who get upset that a background check must be completed before volunteering.
We want parents to be involved in their children's education and then do something like this, punish them for the pasts that they had before they had children.
I remember one parent who confided in me that before she had her children, she was a meth addict. I don't know if she was ever busted for it, but the point is that she cleaned up her act. Her daughter was one of my best students and the mother was very involved in her education. Lots of people do change completely when they have children, and I don't like the idea of barring them from schools because of their past.
<>
I'm not understanding your statement. If the school has the resources to do background checks on parents who want to volunteer in their child's school, it doesn't cost any money whatsoever to make a determination that child molesters or people who committed other past crimes against children can't volunteer.
This strikes me as another one of those unreasonable "no tolerance policy" things. No rational thought needed.
I agree ... it's not like a parent is missing a major life experience by not being able to volunteer at a child's school. I've seen enough to think that volunteers (regardless of record) should be assigned in random pairs whenever possible, too. Some grownups have an inappropriately controlling relationship when they're alone with children that isn't apparent when they're around other adults.
Deborah
From your example, how does the school know that the meth addict has recovered?
"Some grownups have an inappropriately controlling relationship when they're alone with children that isn't apparent when they're around other adults."
That is a really good point and I like the "pairs" idea :)
I AM pretty irrational when it comes to my kids' safety. Sometimes a former addiction or felony is the tip of an iceberg...sometimes not. In any case, as I stated in an earlier post, volunteering at a kids' school is not a major life experience. I think homeschooling is legal in all 50 states, if the parent feels a need to be more involved in the educational process. And after school enrichment is always a possibility as well. And I have known a former meth addict who is a wonderful father, but I also don't think that addiction or stealing, etc., are things that just "happen" to people. Not everyone does that stuff; I think we're more safe filling our volunteer list with people that we know have "clean" backgrounds. JMHO.
Deborah
<>
The school never would have known if she didn't have a criminal background. She certainly didn't look like a current meth addict.
<
It would depend on the crime and how long in the past it was.
<>
Background checks are not reliable, either. For example, in my school district, every year there is a case or two of a teacher who molested or was otherwise inappropriate with students. Every single teacher gets a background check, including fingerprints that get run through the FBI. None of them had a prior record.
<>
In the schools where I worked, parents weren't left alone with students.
Pages