Power of the Parent 101


Articles Dante Alighieri Arthur Dent Jesus Jones Thomas Paine Other Authors Contact Us! Letter to the Editor Dante Alighieri Arthur Dent Jesus Jones Thomas Paine	Power of the Parent 101 Thomas Paine Ponder: there exist, here at Terra Nova, teachers who actually teach. One may not believe it given some of the ranting in this paper, but there are a good number of men and women who come to work and don't just do their jobs - they become their jobs. Some of these teachers spend hours both before and after school, making sure things get done, making sure that their students are learning. Believe it or not, ladies and gentlemen, there are still some real ones out there. Ponder: Many of these teachers are being either overlooked or criticized, and the real criminals (the lazy, sad teachers who either refuse to work or are incapable of working) are being left alone to corrupt our minds with their idiocy on a daily basis. Your moms, your dads, your legal guardians - they are there to help you. If you have a problem at school, they can participate in its solution and are frequently glad to do so. However, the "power of the parent" is often abused, or misused, or remains unused when it is obviously an influential weapon in our scholastic arsenal. Following is a commentary on the various practices regarding the "power of the parent" and how it can be properly utilized. As far as abuse goes, some students use the voices of their parents to exact revenge on teachers they simply don't like. This is flat-out wrong, because our weak administration, ever-fearing of paperwork and the public outcry of a few offended individuals, is quick to punish those teachers targeted by disgruntled students. In many cases, students have cried to Mommy that "I am getting a C, and it's not my fault…it's because Mr. So-and-so doesn't like me." The sad result is that these teachers, often the good ones, receive censure for something they never did. Good teachers are chastised because select students are unable to come to terms with their own ineptitude, and instead they project their shortcomings onto their innocent educators. The worst part is that the really bad teachers are never punished in such a way. Kids never complain about their ridiculously easy government or Spanish classes that require completion of mere busywork in order to pass, and thus, the parents never call. Misuse of the parental voice is troubling as well. Sometimes, students are excluded from classes for the wrong reasons, like falling out of favor with an earlier teacher or perhaps from slipping studies that come as a result of a catastrophic event, like a death in the family. When such a thing happens, a parent may come in handy to help plead the student's case and ensure that they are allowed proper access to better classes. However, sometimes parental voice is misused here as well. When certain students fail to get into honors-level classes because of their inability to work at such a level, the parent who inevitably believes "my son/daughter is perfect and brilliant" will often come in waving the sword of concern. Again, Administration bows to the pressure of the omnipotent forces, and almost without fail allows unqualified kids access into full classes. Look around an Enriched, Honors, or Advanced Placement classroom, and chances are that you will see no less than one student who got there as a result of weak administration sacrificing qualifications for public favor, their knees quivering at the sight of the all-powerful guardians. It is obvious that parents hold many cards, especially when dealing with principals who have no principles - jellyfish who are more eager to please nay-sayers than stand up for what's right. Why, then, do most students refrain from using the "power of the parent" when appropriate? The effective parental voice goes unused where it matters most: praise. If Administration got some letters or calls from parents praising the good teachers who make a difference, who become their jobs and spend hours trying to better our school community, it would do nothing but good. And imagine how great it would be for the real teachers like Ms. Tom, people who spend their days explaining their subject matter coherently and compassionately, to get a bit of praise for their hard work. Furthermore, parents could use their power to let school officials know what teachers aren't doing their jobs and are letting busywork and cheating substitute for teaching. Believe it or not, there is an effective way of telling the principals that "this is bullshit" without getting the cold shoulder. Just know what voice to use. Instead of exploiting our parents' power in order to exact personal revenge or unfairly climb the educational ladder, we TN citizens can harness the "power of the parent" to make the school a better place. Maybe Administration will hear from some parents who actually care. Knowing that they cave in to the demands of most who call, we can give them a reason to make some changes for the better. Questions or comments on this article: write to TPaineTN@yahoo.com	Archive Back Issues Why? Cartoons Poetry Random Rants Disclaimers Losers and Kudos of the Week Letters to the Editor Editor's Notes Picture of the Week
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Thomas Paine

Ponder: there exist, here at Terra Nova, teachers who actually teach. One may not believe it given some of the ranting in this paper, but there are a good number of men and women who come to work and don't just do their jobs - they become their jobs. Some of these teachers spend hours both before and after school, making sure things get done, making sure that their students are learning. Believe it or not, ladies and gentlemen, there are still some real ones out there.

Ponder: Many of these teachers are being either overlooked or criticized, and the real criminals (the lazy, sad teachers who either refuse to work or are incapable of working) are being left alone to corrupt our minds with their idiocy on a daily basis.

Your moms, your dads, your legal guardians - they are there to help you. If you have a problem at school, they can participate in its solution and are frequently glad to do so. However, the "power of the parent" is often abused, or misused, or remains unused when it is obviously an influential weapon in our scholastic arsenal. Following is a commentary on the various practices regarding the "power of the parent" and how it can be properly utilized.

As far as abuse goes, some students use the voices of their parents to exact revenge on teachers they simply don't like. This is flat-out wrong, because our weak administration, ever-fearing of paperwork and the public outcry of a few offended individuals, is quick to punish those teachers targeted by disgruntled students. In many cases, students have cried to Mommy that "I am getting a C, and it's not my fault…it's because Mr. So-and-so doesn't like me." The sad result is that these teachers, often the good ones, receive censure for something they never did. Good teachers are chastised because select students are unable to come to terms with their own ineptitude, and instead they project their shortcomings onto their innocent educators. The worst part is that the really bad teachers are never punished in such a way. Kids never complain about their ridiculously easy government or Spanish classes that require completion of mere busywork in order to pass, and thus, the parents never call.

Misuse of the parental voice is troubling as well. Sometimes, students are excluded from classes for the wrong reasons, like falling out of favor with an earlier teacher or perhaps from slipping studies that come as a result of a catastrophic event, like a death in the family. When such a thing happens, a parent may come in handy to help plead the student's case and ensure that they are allowed proper access to better classes. However, sometimes parental voice is misused here as well. When certain students fail to get into honors-level classes because of their inability to work at such a level, the parent who inevitably believes "my son/daughter is perfect and brilliant" will often come in waving the sword of concern. Again, Administration bows to the pressure of the omnipotent forces, and almost without fail allows unqualified kids access into full classes. Look around an Enriched, Honors, or Advanced Placement classroom, and chances are that you will see no less than one student who got there as a result of weak administration sacrificing qualifications for public favor, their knees quivering at the sight of the all-powerful guardians.

It is obvious that parents hold many cards, especially when dealing with principals who have no principles - jellyfish who are more eager to please nay-sayers than stand up for what's right. Why, then, do most students refrain from using the "power of the parent" when appropriate? The effective parental voice goes unused where it matters most: praise. If Administration got some letters or calls from parents praising the good teachers who make a difference, who become their jobs and spend hours trying to better our school community, it would do nothing but good.

And imagine how great it would be for the real teachers like Ms. Tom, people who spend their days explaining their subject matter coherently and compassionately, to get a bit of praise for their hard work. Furthermore, parents could use their power to let school officials know what teachers aren't doing their jobs and are letting busywork and cheating substitute for teaching. Believe it or not, there is an effective way of telling the principals that "this is bullshit" without getting the cold shoulder. Just know what voice to use.

Instead of exploiting our parents' power in order to exact personal revenge or unfairly climb the educational ladder, we TN citizens can harness the "power of the parent" to make the school a better place. Maybe Administration will hear from some parents who actually care. Knowing that they cave in to the demands of most who call, we can give them a reason to make some changes for the better.

Questions or comments on this article: write to TPaineTN@yahoo.com