Rock and a Hard Place

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-12-2003
Rock and a Hard Place
1524
Thu, 11-20-2003 - 10:45am

There's something on this board that has been bothering me, and I hope I can articulate it.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 11-23-2003
Wed, 11-26-2003 - 5:18pm
ITA. I would rather find out my child needed help in kindergarten than third grade.
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-02-2003
Wed, 11-26-2003 - 5:18pm
<<< You are pretty much proving my point here -you are competitive wrt your child/ren but don't want to accept any responsibility for the result - you want it all to rest with the teachers.>>>

No, I am not. I am assuming FULL responsibility for my children's education. I send them to school primarily for socialization. I don't live in your world, thank goodness, and have not witnessed the situations you describe. When I spoke of witnessing parents who don't accept their children for who they are, I was speaking to child welfare cases I worked on. I am not competitive with my children, and no matter how many ways you twist my words, it will not become a reality. I do not blame the school system for my child's success or failures. I see the school as a partner in my child's education.

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-28-2003
Wed, 11-26-2003 - 5:20pm
totally. Now that I think about it, the whole "Gymboree" atmosphere is very competitive. I mean, that's certainly not the intention of the classes, but it's totally there in the eyes of the moms (I know I'm totally being sexist, but the dads don't seem to have that "look"). In one class, we were in circle time and one baby suddenly stood up and took a step. Man, the look on that kid's mom -- it was priceless -- but the looks on the other moms... you can imagine the envy. Sigh, can't escape it. ;-)
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 11-26-2003 - 5:22pm
Because if they don't offer the comparison (and here they don't) the parents have the ability to ditch all responsibility, and/or blame the teacher/school/school system for their childs performance shortfalls. Its also what gives parents the ability to easily demand more from kids who are actually doing their best and achieving as can be expected, or more, for their level, and it is what allows such parents to so easily accuse such kids of not trying hard enough. The subjective isolated per-kid performance analysis is actually COMPLETELY open to parental interpretation and thats NOT a good thing.
iVillage Member
Registered: 05-28-2003
Wed, 11-26-2003 - 5:28pm
In my mind, the purpose is what PJM has already said.

1. Some parents may not be so in tune with what's going on with their child -- maybe one of those FT WOHP working 80+ hours/week who don't set foot in their kids' school (wink). This may give them a sense of where their child is.

2. For those who are at the bottom of the distribution, the parents may be able to better work with the teacher to try to help the kid improve. (to me, the "national average" means nothing. If the kid is below the "school average" then he is "below average."). Perhaps that kid has a learning disability and that's why he's "last" in his class. I think that information would be very useful.

3. For those who are at the top of the distribution, the parents may be able to work with the teacher to try to better the kid's education. Maybe she needs to be tested for a gifted program. Maybe she will benefit from having extra lesson. If she's really really bright, then I think it's important to challenge her.
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 11-26-2003 - 5:47pm
In fact he IS below average in comparison to his classmates. Its an important metric.

However, if all parents who discover that their child is performing below class average assume the extremely unlikely - that the class is full of highly gifted students - rather than the much more likely - that their child is performing below average for some child-specific reason - then the class comparison data is not as useful as it could be of course. A determined enough parent can find some way to avoid facing reality I'm sure. The class data at least makes it clear that the teacher and school aren't likely to be at fault. The knowledge of that fact alone could save the parents years of effort directed towards blaming the school for their childs relatively lackluster performance.

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-17-2003
Wed, 11-26-2003 - 5:53pm
Do you not have parent-teacher conferences? We are required to have 4 each year. Why can't the teacher sit down with the parents and say, "Jr is ahead in math, we need to challenge him more," or "Susie is a little behind in reading, you may want to work with her at home"? You must live in a city full of idiots if the parents aren't capable of assessing their child's progress without a public ranking of young children.
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 11-26-2003 - 6:01pm
<>

The chart isn't to help the teacher with her knowledge. Its to help you with yours.

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-19-2003
Wed, 11-26-2003 - 6:08pm
Maybe I'm misunderstanding the whole "charts" thing . . . but aren't grades in general a way of comparing students? If Suzy has straight As and Johnny has Cs, isn't this a *comparison* of their academic abilities as students?

Or is your issue that the comparison is only in the classroom, as opposed to on a larger scale?

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 11-26-2003 - 6:08pm
The comparison isn't between Jonny and Suzie. Its between Jonny and the rest of his class. I'd react differently to all kinds of academic school issues depending on top dog or bottom of the pile. Those aren't the most important demos though. I bet that teachers have the hardest time getting parents to come to terms with plain old vanilla middle of the road just about average nothing particulariy notable middle-of-the-pack. Thats where all the "my childs Bs who just would be As if the school system was up to par" reside afterall.

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