Question for parents

[fifty5]

I disagree on that one. I am very diligent in teaching my children about basic American freedoms. They know exactly what freedom of speech is. She knows that this assignment is infringing on her freedom of speech. She's being forced to say political things that she doesn't want to say or suffer the consequences. My child is very politically astute for someone her age. She researches where candidates stand, and makes up her own mind. I DO NOT force my opinion on to them. I make them come up with an opinion, then be able to explain it on an 6th grade level.

I have chosen to allow the child to form her own opinions, and say what she wants to say within reason. I feel that this teacher is usurping my daughters right to free speech, but also my right to raise my kids the way I see fit.

I will be calling the school early in the morning to set up an appointment with the teacher. It will be just me and the teacher at first. If I'm not satisfied with how that's going, then I'll start to involve others from further up the chain.

I will either get this matter resolved very locally, or all the rest of you may be hearing about it on CNN in a few weeks

Of course, if this thing blows up and goes nationwide, My cover as a mild mannered part time porn writer may be in jeopardy....

Ky,

I'm writing this before reading the later bits, which may be foolish, but still...

That seems to me an admirable response. As I said earlier (and others concurred) the big mistake was that the letters would be sent, which turns it from a learning exercise into the freedom of speech issue.

On the other side of the coin, teaching is not just sodding hard, there are almost intolerable time pressures. This could be just bad judgement when planning an assignment without the time to think it through.

Going to the teacher direct, without going over her head, gives her the opportunity to reconsider without losing face in front of her superiors.

Of course, if she doesn't - like you say - then it's time to bring up the big guns.

 

[fifty5]

Here's the update for the situation:

I had a talk with the teacher this morning. I have several suspicions, but I won't go into all of that.

In court, those suspicions might not be admissible, but here, they may be very illuminating.

The teacher backed down on this assignment. NOW, the kids must still write A LETTER. They can write it to a candidate of their choosing. They are not required to sign their name to the letter, and the teacher will only mail the letters if a kid asks her to.

The second bit, to me, is the essential.

It may well be that sixth grade is too young to learn the other lessons available from the other aspects of the exercise - I don't know enough about the generality of sixth grade American kids to call that one, much less of the maturity of yours. Nevertheless, the ability to disregard one's own real feelings while writing is a skill worth learning. To me, as long as the letters stay inside the classroom, the exercise could be worth the sweat (considerations of maturity aside).

This is the second incident I've had with this teacher this year. The first one was over her telling the class "There's no such thing as proper english".

Yes. she is an english teacher...........

As Liar pointed out, that's technically true, but as he also said, it's a helluva challenge to make the real meaning of that clear at sixth grade.

Does this teacher have that ability? If so, just possibly you should cut her a bit more slack. Both issues could offer enormous learning potential if she's got the talent to take them all the way.

In classrooms, the teacher is often the weakest link. I'm certain that in deciding to send these letters she made an error of judgement, but in ALL other respects, it might be that she's something wonderful: a teacher who actually encourages her pupils to think (and even as young as sixth grade, having such high expectations can be justified).

Or she could be a stupid cunt. Only you are close enough to call on that.

 

[Wildcard Ky]

Or she could be a stupid cunt. Only you are close enough to call on that.

She's not a stupid cunt. She is idealistic, but sometimes takes things too far. She tries to expand their thinking which is a good thing, but she gets too ....expansive ........... sometimes.

There is a proper way to speak. Our president elect is an outstanding example of that.

There is a proper way to get kids interested in politics without crossing the lines that she crossed with this one.

I'm not ready to demand that my child be pulled from her class or anything like that. I always respect enthusiasm, even if it does get misguided at times. She means well, but as a parent, one needs to keep an eye on things to keep her enthusiasm in check.

 

[Safe_Bet]

She's not a stupid cunt. She is idealistic, but sometimes takes things too far. She tries to expand their thinking which is a good thing, but she gets too ....expansive ........... sometimes.

There is a proper way to speak. Our president elect is an outstanding example of that.

There is a proper way to get kids interested in politics without crossing the lines that she crossed with this one.

I'm not ready to demand that my child be pulled from her class or anything like that. I always respect enthusiasm, even if it does get misguided at times. She means well, but as a parent, one needs to keep an eye on things to keep her enthusiasm in check.

To me a teacher with enthusiasm, even if somethimes misguided, is vastly prefered to the alternative.

 

[fifty5]

To me a teacher with enthusiasm, even if somethimes misguided, is vastly preferred to the alternative.

I'm with SB here.

Talking with the lass apparently worked with your issues this time. It might be good to talk with her more, in a more constructive way. Let her know exactly what you appreciate about her approach as well as where you have reservations. Positive criticism might perhaps serve your daughter - as well as the rest of the class - even better than just trying to bring her back into line.

My guess is that if you understand this teacher better you may well start to like her a lot.

In addition, my guess (from far, far away) is that she'll appreciate your input. My own abortive teaching experience suggests that a parent who cares and wants to talk about things in a constructive way could be a jewel beyond price.

Everyone is human - we all make mistakes - but it sounds to me that this lady has much more to offer than to threaten.

The word "education" means to lead out. It sounds to me as if this woman, humanly fallible, is a real educator, worth nurturing and supporting as well as keeping within bounds.

You are obviously one who cares. Take it further. Your daughter could well value that cooperation all her life - and both she and her teacher could be role models for many more.

Yeah she made a blooper this time, but don't we all?

 

[sr71plt]

Talking with the lass apparently worked with your issues this time. It might be good to talk with her more, in a more constructive way. Let her know exactly what you appreciate about her approach as well as where you have reservations. Positive criticism might perhaps serve your daughter - as well as the rest of the class - even better than just trying to bring her back into line.

I have visions of 30 helicopter parents buzzing around the teacher--and the picture ain't good.

 

[SweetPrettyAss]

WHAT IF your child came home from 6th grade with the following assignment:

Write a letter of congratulations to ________ ( a person that won a political race yesterday). In this letter you must congratulate them for their victory. You CANNOT say anything negative in this letter. You can only praise and congratulate them.

Failure to write this letter per the instructions will result in a zero.

These letters will be mailed to the winning candidate.

Would this bother you as a parent? What if your kid didn't care for that candidate? What if you didn't care for that candidate?

Maybe you could have your child write a letter of congrats to a winning candidate of his or her choice, and you could include a note to the teacher telling what you feel about such a partisan assignment. Requiring a student to be a hypocrite and congratulate a person who may be a liar and a crook is just wrong.

 

[lisa123414]

Have one more thing to say here, as it has been ruminating since the first post. In Cub Scouts, which is admittedly younger than sixth grade, there is an exercise where the kids have to write a letter to the president. Then turn it in and the Den Leader mails it.

As you might expect, my kids had to write a letter to the sitting president (hint the years 2000 to 2008) and I was not happy with the leadership at the time (lets don’t even go to now.) But I thought it was a good exercise, for a child to communicate their feelings to government with a forced bit of grace.

Rather than think of this as a political thing, think of it as a patriotic thing, like wearing a flag lapel pin, which I think many folks seem to get behind. I bet this “exercise” has been around for a very long time.


Or, to quote Cloudy "It's a letter, ffs, not a lifetime commitment. " (love this)

 

[fifty5]

I have visions of 30 helicopter parents buzzing around the teacher--and the picture ain't good.

You have a better opinion of folk prepared to make the effort than I have, sr.

What I was proposing was that while it is entirely valid to give negative feedback as appropriate, it's also (maybe even more so) to give positive feedback too.

My premise is that this teacher is using imagination to bring classroom exercises to life by being topical and real. She deserves the positive feedback just as much as she needs the negative stuff.

And, especially since she took the negative bits to heart, the positive bits should go up the tree. Her Head should get told that the lass is doing some good stuff - and that when she makes a mistake, she's willing to acknowledge and correct.

Teachers, like many others, are often told when they get stuff wrong. Just like the pupils, it's usually more valuable to tell them - and their superiors - when they get stuff right.

If there are 29 others doing the same, bet on blue moons and pigs flying past.

 

[sr71plt]

You have a better opinion of folk prepared to make the effort than I have, sr.

What I was proposing was that while it is entirely valid to give negative feedback as appropriate, it's also (maybe even more so) to give positive feedback too.

My premise is that this teacher is using imagination to bring classroom exercises to life by being topical and real. She deserves the positive feedback just as much as she needs the negative stuff.

But what you posted entailed a whole lot of buzzing around the teacher and telling her what to do. That's known as a helicopter parent.

My daughter-in-law is one, and I wouldn't blame the teacher for shooting her.

 

[slyc_willie]

I'm not ready to demand that my child be pulled from her class or anything like that. I always respect enthusiasm, even if it does get misguided at times. She means well, but as a parent, one needs to keep an eye on things to keep her enthusiasm in check.

Having been a fifth-grade teacher, I can understand and sympathize with the teacher's intentions in this case. Many teachers feel the need to set a good example, to encourage the children they teach to show good faith and offer them the chance to do 'something good.' Sometimes, though, that enthusiasm goes too far, or teachers take their own role too seriously.

The image I get from this particular teacher is one who means well, but she is obsessively worried about the way 'kids these days' are raised. So she takes the opposite high ground and tries to impress a sense of optimism and encouragement by telling her class they need to congratulate Barack Obama because, as far as she is concerned, he represents something she enthusiastically supports. She means well, but she does not realize that what she is doing is imposing her will upon impressionable children.

I've met teachers who think they always know what's best for their students. They fail to understand that teachers, at best, are guides, and not preachers. Education is not an absolute, it is a process of give and take between the information given and the way it is processed.

Sorry to ramble. Just my humble opinion on the matter. However jumbled it may be.

Ky, you've done the right thing.