Jeanette Deutermann: A Message to Parents and Teachers: EMPATHY!
Jeanette Deutermann is the parent on Long Island in New York who launched “Long Island Opt Out.” It is now part of NYSAPE, New York State Parents and Educators, which has led the successful opt out movement. She read some angry posts on Facebook, with blame as the common factor. And she wrote this plea on her Facebook page, which has been widely shared:
All of our Facebook feeds are filled with posts of parents furious with teachers giving too much work, too little work, teachers furious about kids not logging on, kids sleeping in, and kids not completing the work. I want to implore everyone to keep one word in the front of their brains right now: EMPATHY. We all like to think we have empathy for others, but now is the time to prove it.
For parents: if you think a teacher is assigning too much work, just realize – some teachers are untenured with chairpeople scrutinizing each and every assignment. Some are getting nasty emails from parents demanding more work. Some just are unaware of how long it is taking students to complete their work. Communicate with them. Most teachers will respond “no problem! Just CONTINUE READING: Jeanette Deutermann: A Message to Parents and Teachers: EMPATHY! | Diane Ravitch's blog