Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
What parents want at report card time
What parents want at report card time is honest feedback. Some schools in our division have taken to not giving grades to children in early elementary school. I understand the rationale, kids are learning so actually grading them is unfair and we want to create an atmosphere of cooperative learning rather then competitive. So instead of a report card, parents are given a checklist of things their children are working on.
The problem comes with us parents. We are responsible for raising a whole individual in which school is an important part. When they enter into school we can not be with them for many hours of the the day and we need some feedback. We need to know if they are excelling at reading or simply slipping past because we may need to do a few extra hours of reading with them at bed time. We need to know if they are in the 60 per cent range in math or the 90 per cent range because we may need to do some work with flash cards or games at home to help out.
If we get no clear feedback until grade 3, it might be more difficult to catch up. Children slip through the system quite easily especially if they are bright and quiet. Polite children often don't come to the attention of the teacher and reading skills can be difficult to evaluate in younger children if they are good listeners. They become experts at listening for directions (rather then reading) and picking up what is expected of them (with out reading).
If the school system is going to claim that parents are an important part of the process then we need information. We need that information presented in a clear straight-forward way that we can understand. I know if 60 per cent is a good grade for my child or if they are not working up to their potential because I know my child best.
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