A few weeks ago, I was watching CBS Sunday Morning and they had a little snippet on Parent Report Cards. That got me to thinking about a conversation with my colleagues about the state of our students- how they come to school unkempt, don't do their homework, have frequent absences, and are apathetic towards school/education- and how teachers are being blamed. "Why are we solely being blamed for the failure of our students?" was my thought. Then it came to me... we can't blame the parents! How do you tell a parent that they are not doing a good job raising their child? The Parent Report Card!
The Parent Report Card grades parents on things like: homework completion, student attendance, presence at parent-teacher conferences, response to teacher calls, student attitudes, and the amount of time the child spends watching tv and playing video games. Not such a bad evaluation, right? How many times do, we as teachers, want to ask a parent "Why did --- only get 5 hours sleep? He's sleeping in class." or "When was the last time you read --- a story?" Intruding on the lives of our students with these kinds of questions may seem like just that, an intrusion. But they are all valid questions in the community my school serves.
The new teacher evaluation system is supposed to closely examine teacher performance and use student performance and growth. How about asking student how they feel about their teacher, what their experience is like in the classroom, if they feel like their teacher listens to them. That is the kind of evaluation that is meaningful to me. I want to know if my students feel like I believe in them, that I want the best for them, and that I push them to do better than they have. If kids get a report card, why shouldn't we all get one. Wouldn't a little self-reflection do us all some good?
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