There is already a great deal of transparency. At some point, "transparency" becomes so intrusive, the demands on already overtaxed teachers so extreme, that public education becomes impracticable. State legislatures are demanding publicly accessible cameras in every classroom, detailed daily lesson plans online that allow parents to opt out of each individual element on an ala carte basis, and that parents be allowed to sue for anything they dislike. Some calls for transparency, such as yours, are in good faith. But many are intended to undermine public education in America. At some point, if parents want full, absolute, individual control, the choice is homeschooling.
Parents SHOULD have a say. The problem comes, as I said, when calls for transparency are intended to make teaching impossible, or when a very loud, aggressive minority overwhelms the wishes of a more silent but much more numerous majority.
For sure. I’m not saying that parents shouldn’t care what their kids are learning about, because they should. But it’s the entitlement that I don’t like, and yes, the loudmouth Karens and Kevins that come in and try to tell educators what to do. At that point, as a parent, do what you need to do and educate your kids yourself or maybe put them in private schools.
I didn’t say there was zero transparency. I said I think there will be calls for more. For those who argue that this is too much transparency - that’s a subjective opinion, so I certainly understand that the threshold for what’s reasonable will be different for different people. I just think that when you have hyper concerned parents, instituting a system where lesson plans just go up online is going to be the simplest and fairest way to dispel parent fears (I do hate to see teachers stretched even thinner with yet another work demand, but I think there are many other ways teacher workload could be reduced, and should be. That’s a separate topic though.)
Guys. THIS is why this bill exists.
Guys and gals. THIS is a typical response when there’s no understanding/possibly some entitlement.
Question - if a parent read Wrightslaw and came into an IEP ready to self advocate, would you refer to them as “loudmouth Karen and Kevins” and “entitled”?
I’m a sixth grade language arts teacher in a blue state.
What made parents get more involved in schools is the fact that their kids were locked out of them for months/years. Now they are involved, they are seeing a lot of what is happening here.
That’s a completely different situation. I’m not referring to kids with IEPs. I’m referring to parents who want to dictate what their children should learn in their classes.
What are you even talking about? The curriculum and instructional materials were already required to be online. This bill did not add that. It doesn’t add transparency. Parents could already participate in the approval process and see the materials.
I’d just love to be provided with another example of someone writing a bill with one intent and then somehow getting something so completely different that doesn’t do as they intended. It’s just such a bizarre scenario. Even if you do think the text seems neutral, why support someone with such open intentions who isn’t able to properly craft legislation?
I think that’s a big factor too… I think mindsets about education are very different in this generation of parents for a number of reasons. I think parents in this cohort see themselves as members of a team that includes them, while previous generations’ conception of education was more based on hierarchies - the teacher is the boss, and families try not to tick him or her off. Pros and cons to both mindsets, no doubt.
