Things your child's school doesn't want you to know...

I guess I don't see what you are trying to get at. I was a teacher and now am a stay at home mom who is also involved in the school. I can't think of anything that our school system does that is so sneaky or wrong that we wouldn't want the parents to know about. Do you mind giving more details?

I'm sorry this is a bunch of krap, when my child is involved I want to know everything that is going on with the people I have involved in his upbringing. It's bad enough that your child is going to keep certain things from you but I am paying for the educators to do a job that I can't do, that means they are my employees for that job and I am the boss. If I pay or private school or public school I pay and they get paid by me and other parents like me. If you don' think you pay for public school look on your next property bill. If you are a renter your landlord passes this cost on to you. Anyway you look at it you pay.

I'd be wanting to know when we can start! Seriously. Parents entrust their children to the school system for a significant period of their life. Teacher's and the "system" play a significant role in shaping our youth in parallel. If there is ANYTHING that's swept under the carpet that's negatively impacting these kids, then people deserve to know about it.

Well from my point of view, since I am 17, I don't think it would be a good idea to have a book like this. But of course if I were a parent, I would want to know everything about my child and what to look for, so in that case it would be a very good idea. But I don't think a parent could just read a book and completely know everything going on with their son or daughter. My mom knows alot about me and what I have done, but only to some extent. She knows halves of the stories, and doesn't realize the depth to alot of the stuff I have told her or that she has found out. If I were to help you write this book, I honestly don't know what I would put it in. I guess that chances are, as much as you think you know about your child, there is always going to be something you don't know. Weither it be a specific event in their lives, a feeling they have about something/someone, or that only half of the story has been told.

I am also a very involved parent and actually worked for one of the local school boards, in adminstration not in a classroom. I am still very involved and luckily the principal went to school with my husband. I think one thing that uninvolved parents do not know is how much money is spent on getting levies and bonds passed. One of the school boards, not the one that I worked for, had pizza parties for parents and students to get them to vote yes on a levy.

I think parents should know it all. The good, the bad and the ugly. That way they can help to improve the bad and get rid of ugly. They can also make an informed decision about wether or not they want that child in that school. When it comes to our children no one has a right keep secrets from us. Especially when it is something that could harm or have a negative effect on the children.

Some things are better left unsaid. I speak from experience when I say this. I have served on the city council and have seen firsthand what some people do with information that is provided to them. They twist it and turn it into anything negative that they can. There is always a group of people in every community that are never happy unless they are causing hate and discontent. In our town we now have seven of those people on our council and every one of them is out to prove someone is doing something wrong (even if they are not). In the rare instance that vital information is being kept from the parents if a person were to write a book they better hope they have no children in school. Like it or not the child would be treated unfairly due to the parent's actions.

Theseare OUR CHILDREN, not theirs, OURS!!!! A friend of mine on another site was telling me about some trouble that her kid got into because the idiots in charge did not tell her or her husband the entire story. School adults should have to report back to parents like court stenographers should have to take notes. Parents need to know EVERYTHING!!!! If someone wrote that book it would be a very good thing. It would teach the meeker parents how to fight the schools. My friend is not a meek lady, and she's handing her situation perfectly, but not everyone has her strength.

I would tell you it had the makings of a best seller but you would need to do a lot of research and make sure you had proof to back up everything you said or you could be sued.

I don't think we have this problem between parents and teachers in this country, as parents are often called to discuss when their child is behaving oddly. I can't imagine the system working where there's no liason. How on earth do teachers and adminstrators have the right to keep anything from a child's parents. That, in my book, is totally out of order! Brightest Blessings.

Hmm, interesting topic. Well, where to begin--the pull on the school system to "soften", fluff, and outright minimize education in order to promote p.c. agendas on our children?--or the polar opposite that happens from time to time, religious zealots twisting and thwarting scientific education in order to demonize evolution and advocate completely unscientific agendas? The bullying that they don't want us to know about in some cases? The slow indoctrination of our children that they really don't have privacy (as a right) and that it's their duty to snitch? There's a lot of ground to cover--but if one were to research this topic, I'd suggest googling "Reece committee + Dodd + video" or to look up the so-called Reece Committee Report itself:Hearings Before the Special Committee to Investigate Tax-Exempt Foundations and Comparable Organizations, House of Representatives, Eighty-Third Congress, Second Session on H. Res. 217, Part 1, Pages 1-943. (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1954) And to read Charlotte Iserbyt's indictment of the educational system "The Deliberate Dumbing Down of America".

What you are talking about here is the very reason that all parents should be extremely involved in their childs education. I know that many parents work full time and don't feel they have the extra time. As an ex-teacher I will just say that the best room mom I ever had was a woman who worked full time and had 3 kids. She was committed to being an involved parent.

I feel as parents we are entitled to know everything that happens with our child at school. The good the bad whatever it may be. I wouldn't send my child to a school that I didn't trust, and I certainly don't want to be kept in the dark about things. My daughter isn't in school yet, but I am going to be very cautious with her in school. My boss' grandson actually had a tick in him at school and the school nurse pulled it out, and never contacted him letting them know. When the boy came home he told my boss. Well it ended up that the boy got an infection in the spot where the tick came from. It was really upsetting. Parents have the right to know everything that goes on with their child. Schools should always be up front in every situations.

I feel that parents need to know everything regarding the education of their children. It is their right to know what is happening at thier schools and what effects have on children.

It's a bit hard to comment without knowing some of the things that you are talking about. I can't imagine what you are maybe referring to. If there are things going on in the school system then I think parents and the authorities should know about it. Why keep secrets? Health issues? That's a bad move. Like I said...I can't think what you are referring to so I'm groping in the dark, so to speak.

Well, I would think that it would be a best seller. I would love to see a book like this written as there are things that happen in schools everyday that no one knows about as far as the parents go. I home school my children for that very reason- I don't like what goes on with the kids that we don't know about. I know of several cases around her that the students are being molested by teachers. What a shame! It would never have been told if the police were not involved. I think the teachers background should be open to all parents.

I am a primary school teacher and so I know some things go on the school doesn't wish the parents to know. Parents know about testing but they have no idea of all the paperwork being completed. I was teaching Year 1 and Year 2, children aged 5 to 7 years old. I was given a form to say what result each child would get in exams when they are 11 years old. I had a class of children and each child was issued with one pencil that was meant to last one academic year. I had to buy pencils out of my own money. Parents don't know about what is said at meetings after school. A new head teacher starting can mean many changes over of short space of time, some great and others that are pointless.

Well... because of that 'no child left behind' act, most of the schools teach to the test, meaning they spend a disproportionate amount of time teaching kids material which is on these state standards tests in order to get the biggest percentage of their student body to pass these tests when they are given. This means the school gets a better rating and more money. Now the info on these state standard tests have absolutely nothing to do with what most of us want and wish our kids would learn in school, things that are valuable and actually do them some good toward functioning in real life situations. I also believe (although I do not have real proof of this) that the schools send home a bunch of crap busywork for their YOUNGEST students, expecting them to do this stuff at home INSTEAD of hiring a few additional teachers and aides for kindergarten and first grade to ensure a better student/teacher ratio and thus more individualized learning for the youngest kids. This material should be taught, covered, and practiced AT SCHOOL. I don't think that matters as much after 2nd or 3rd grade after most if not all of the kids can read what they need to to facilitate learning other subjects, but I feel it is unfair to send home a big pile of stuff for a FIVE year old and then act like their parents should be the teachers. I know I did not have homework in elementary school and my mother was not a teacher. I did not go to college nor get certified to teach school, that is why public schools exist. I don't like how they are passing the buck and claiming it's because of 'budget cuts'. If they want to give me free teaching credentials so I do not have to attend college for 5 years, they can be my guest, then I will confidently homeschool my daughter. Until then, the SCHOOL has the responsibility to teach these state standards which THEY require her to know. I am her MOM, not her TEACHER. I may not care if she knows the capital of Peru, so why would I spend 2 weeks teaching her about it? Right, I'm not going to. Some schools MAY claim that they are 'open door' and that parents can come into the classroom and observe at any time, but some of them likely get irritated if a parent actually does this. I think if they have a policy and you act within your rights, they have NO right to get mad at you, and if they do, you should have the right to complain, file a grievance, etc. I know if I run into this with my daughter's school, they will not like me because I'll be there all the time, ESPECIALLY when they aren't expecting me. In general terms, I think anything that people discover that the school is trying to squelch or hide is something that should be shared with ALL OTHER PARENTS you know, as fast and as loudly as possible. These are our kids going to these schools, we have the right to know and the right to take action against anything we don't like. Knowledge is power and anything bad needs to be removed from the table asap or kids could suffer because of it, even if the KIDS don't realize it.

I have three school aged children. I feel the more information a parent can get about their child's school or the school system in general is of great benefit. I have been very involved with my children's educations and do realize there are many things going on behind the scenes that parents are not made aware of. I believe parents are entitled to know the things going on in our schools, how else will we help our children cope when these things affect them? I think a book of this type would be welcomed by many a concerned, involved parent. It is a shame that our public schools are not truly "public" at all.

I am sure that there is stuff going on that they don't tell us. But yeah i think it is a good thing if someone wrote a book like that because we have the right to know if it's something that is bad for our kids.