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"Get a grip" reprised

Posted by Word Camel on October 05, 2003

In Reply to: Agreed. On parental participation... posted by Lotg on October 05, 2003

: : : : : : : : : Our daughter has come home from school with a list of 60 proverbs that have been abbreviated by their first letter eg A.M.T.H.G.F - ABSENCE MAKES THE HEART GROW FONDER. Can anyone help with the 6 that we can't do? They are driving us mad with frustration!
: : : : : : : : : I.L.F.A.D.H
: : : : : : : : : S.O.O.A.H.A.D.O.T.O
: : : : : : : : : A.B.A.T.A.O.S
: : : : : : : : : I.L.L.T.S.D.W.T.H.H.B
: : : : : : : : : C.S.B.T.A.G
: : : : : : : : : T.C.B.T.S

: : : : : : : : : Thank you for your time.

: : : : : : : : I've been paging through books of proverbs with no luck so far. My sympathies.

: : : : : : : Was the assignment given to the students or to the parents?

: : : : : :
: : : : : : ::: Don't knock parent participation. There isn't enough of it. Are you seriously saying you never received help from your parents? Sad if it's so.

: : : : : I don't knock parental participation at all; but is this homework, or a game? I can't imagine what grade level an assignment like this might be for, or for what subject. There were 60 of them??

: : : : Participation, encouragement, supplying resources, fine. Doing the child's assignment, not fine, assuming it's the kind of homework that the student is expected to do for herself, in order to learn something. Maybe the list of sayings was handed out as something interesting to play with, a set of brain teasers. I balk at "earning" a grade for someone else's work.

: : : : Like GPP, I never had exercises of this kind in school. I probably would have enjoyed them.

: : : School ain't what it used to be.

: : It seems, from reading and talking too people with children of school age, that there is far too much parental participation these days. It's not uncommon for homework to be designed especially so that it is impossible for the student to do the work *without* parental participation. A little help now and then, if it's selective and doesn't ever become a case of the parent doing the work for the student, is okay in my book. Parental participation for the sake of it is not. Students don't learn to work independently. I have even read about parents helping their children with their term papers in college and I have to say I find it very disturbing.

:
: ::: What on earth is wrong with you people??? You'd think poor Sarah had killed your grandmothers or something. And you should read the stuff you've written. I hope this isn't Sarah's first time on this site, because it is a very sad example.

: Why didn't you begin with 'in our day....' or 'we never had those opportunities when we were young', or 'life was tougher then...', or 'we were better behaved...', or some other hard done by garbage to the effect that so many have been saying since time immemorial?

: And how presumptuous you are!!!

: How do you know that Sarah's daughter didn't figure out the other 54 proverbs all by herself. And so what if she didn't. Do you really think that all the successful people of our time and before did everything themselves. Of course not. They delegated. They utilised the strengths of others.

: Get a grip, or maybe even a life. All Sarah has asked for is some help in working out something that I note, you geniuses don't appear to have been able to work out yourselves. Presumably if you have you would offer it, unless you are being absolutely childish!

: Sarah, I've had a go at figuring these out, searched the web, and I've got to say I haven't been able to figure these out. But when your daughter does submit her assignment and her marks come back, I'm very curious and would be most grateful to discover what they stand for. Maybe our 'learned' friends might learn something too.

I admire that you want to defend Sarah and her daughter but I think you are misguided in your interpretation of comments here.

I don't think people here *are* being presumptuous. No one here was having a go at Sarah for wanting to help her daughter. The fact is there is a trend, at least in the United States (and the UK to some extent)for parents to be expected to do homework with their children. I think it's a fair subject for comment.

I certainly feel for Sarah and her daughter. I'm actually wondering if there is some specific source they are supposed to consult since that's the way these things often work.

Fianlly, don't presume everyone is commenting from the sidelines. I can't speak for everyone but the quality of the education children receive and how parental participation is being used as an all purpose cure for the malaise public education is a live issue for me, live and crawling, in fact. :)

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