Oh god, do I really have to come up with another post? Didn’t I just write one? Like yesterday? And the day before that? And the day before that?
Ok *squaring shoulders* let’s see…
Our school district has one of those grading programs where parents can log in and see all of their student’s assignments and grades. Every pop quiz, every homework assignment, every ten-point spelling test — it’s all in there, and you can check daily to make sure your kids are doing what they’re supposed to do.
I think this is sick.
On the few occasions when I’ve logged in, I felt like a stalker. What is the purpose of this other than to give helicopter parents more encouragement to hover? I have one friend who does this. She checks her kid’s grades every day, checks his planner, goes through his backpack, says did you hand in this and did you hand in that and let me check those math problems for you. And then she wonders why her kid is so disorganized. Hello, try giving him a chance to learn from his own mistakes.
It’s no picnic for the teachers, either. My husband teaches high school history and he often feels pressure to give pop quizzes just so that he can have something to enter into the gradebook. Because if there aren’t lots of assignments (say, because they have a big term paper) parents will think he’s not doing his job.
What a stupid waste of resources.
Mo's Blog 
carlaat
/ January 20, 2011Right there with you, Mo.
dorothysantos
/ January 21, 2011This is a great post! I think kids get ‘smarter’ with every generation because they have to become smarter than the technology they are working with. If that makes any sense at all. That’s why kids many hackers are, well, young! The ability to teach your child responsibility through allowing them their independence is huge. It’s also a great way to have your child speak to their parent much more freely. All this new technology puts so much unnecessary pressure on children as well.
It’s bad enough that there’s an iTot generation that can’t get their little fingers off gadgets and all things electronic. Whew!
Like carlaat, “Right there with you, Mo”! Gaaaah!
dorothysantos
/ January 21, 2011I meant to say, “That’s why many hackers are, well, young! They’re kids!” Got a little bit too into my comment.
oldereyes
/ January 21, 2011Wow. Nice rant. You’d make a great curmudgeon someday if you were a man (sorry, curmudgeons are men, Merriam-Webster says so). Are there curmudgeonettes?
Mo
/ January 21, 2011Why, oldereyes, coming from you that is quite a compliment. I don’t know about curmudgeonettes, though. I prefer to think of myself as a termagant.
Thanks for the comments y’all. I’m glad to know I’m not the only one who feels that way. And oh ha ha, iTot!!! I never heard that before. Can’t wait to use it.
territerri
/ January 21, 2011Yes, I know! This daily posting thing is definitely a challenge! Guess that’s why they call it a “challenge!”
I hated the online grade thing. I have one child who struggled so badly, it only served to make all of us feel worse when we checked in on him. Thankfully, my youngest sails along just fine on her own. No need to check up on her.