Thursday, November 1, 2012

BRIBING CLUELESS PARENTS – A CLUELESS EFFORT « Teachers Fight Back

BRIBING CLUELESS PARENTS – A CLUELESS EFFORT « Teachers Fight Back:


BRIBING CLUELESS PARENTS – A CLUELESS EFFORT

Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel and Walgreen company have announced a plan to increase parental involvement in Chicago Public schools. Parents who pick up their children’s report cards and participate in teacher conferences will receive one of the drugstore chain’s “Balance Rewards” cards worth $25 in free merchandise at stores. The plan is to be implemented at 70 schools with low parental involvement. The city will track data on parental involvement to measure the effort’s effectiveness.
Here we go again. Has anyone asked teachers if this plan will work ?  Of course not. Any veteran teacher could have told these city and business leaders that this plan is just plain ridiculous. Yes, there might be some parents motivated to attend a conference that they otherwise might not. What does picking up a report card and attending a conference have to do with a student’s success ?  ABSOLUTELY NOTHING when the parent is