-
Indianapolis Star Letter to the Editor
Consider IPS parents as partners instead of problems
On Jan. 10, I attended an education roundtable at Pike High School hosted by the Indianapolis Alliance of Black School Educators and Indianapolis Recorder. It was both inspiring and alarming. For the most part, administrators from diverse district and charter schools rallied around opportunities to improve urban education and spoke of parents as "valued customers" and "educational partners."
I am an IPS parent, so imagine how I felt when Superintendent Eugene White focused
on parents as the problem. He practically wrung his hands as he spoke about the
high percentage of single mothers and grandmothers raising their grandchildren.
He complained that some IPS meetings draw so few parents that "they wouldn't fill
a phone booth."
Little wonder. Who would have the spirit after work, dinner and homework to go to
a meeting where your schools' leader diminishes you and fellow parents in public? Perhaps parents would find the energy if IPS asked us when and where we wanted our meetings to be and then publicized these events widely and provided child care. Imagine our response,
if White asked us: What do you want for your child's education?
The school-parent bridge is crucial. I am deeply grateful for the countless IPS teachers, social workers and administrators who step on that bridge every day to greet me and all parents as unique individuals rather than woeful statistics.
With this, I tell my superintendent: Parents are your partners. Teachers have the
potential to make us better parents, and parents have the potential to make them
better teachers. That's not a problem. That's power.
Josefa Beyer
IPS parent
Member of Parent Power
Indianapolis
Monday, January 24, 2011
Letter to the Editor
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Ms. Beyer, thank you for this letter to the editor. You said it beautifully. Thanks again.
ReplyDeleteYes, he does frequently demean parents. He does the same thing to his employees except for his family members that he has hired.
ReplyDeleteWhile your letter is heartfelt and we truly need more Mrs. Beyers, Dr. White is right. Parent involvement--or lack of-- is embarassing. For teachers to sit an entire day during Parent in Touch and only see 5 parents is awful. It is not just our district,however. I have talked to countless administrators and teachers from outside the Indianapolis area and they said they are having the same problem.
ReplyDeleteParents are not the problem...they are the solution!!
ReplyDeleteNot busting weak wimpy unions, firing teachers because they make too much or because we thing they support Democratic causes. Parents ARE the answer and NO corporate or state solutions will remedy that. Let the "reforms" begin.
I'm sure teachers come across some real winners. But I'd be curious to know how many of those no-shows used to come but stopped. So many IPS teachers look down on parents. They don't see us as real parents so we don't see them as real teachers. Who wants to go to a meeting where someone wants to tell you everything that's wrong with you and your kid and why you're unfit because you don't have the Internet or because your kid hasn't ever been outside of the state. I wish they'd put a hidden camera in those parent in touch meetings in first or second grade. See why those parents aren't there in third and fourth grade.
ReplyDeleteAt least in the charter school set up, the parents who don't cooperate with the charter they signed, will be booted out. Especially if they don't live up to their end of the deal and there is a waiting list of "better kids" academically waiting to get into that school. Private schools have had that advantage for decades. Maybe now public schools should look at it that way. If you pick your students, how can your school fail? I mean all the ISTEP does is show the smart kids from the rest. It doesn't test what kids know how to do like people assume. It tricks kids more than anything. That's what makes it so inaccurate a measuring tool.
ReplyDeleteI agree. And bring a baby with you and see how you get treated. Better yet, bring a baby and a toddler. See if you get treated like a partner in education.
ReplyDeleteRaise your hand if it makes you angry when Dr. White criticizes teachers. Parents feel the same way.
ReplyDeleteCom'on guys-it's a double edged sword. Both sides are right. Besides- trying to compare a typical IPS "neighborhood" or "boundary" school to a township or charter is like apples and oranges. However, I am sure if you want to limit the IPS example to those schools that are magnet-it would be a more equitable match. At least in this circumstance you already have the similarity of parents showing enough involvment to make a choice of schools (magnet vs. charter)
ReplyDeleteYou've gotta admit that Dr. White also has a valid point. There are 4 scheduled parent advisory councils per year. They are listed on the IPS calendars, website and have been publicized through connect-ed. I have never been to one with more than a handful of parents. How much more advertising do they need. As an IPS parent, it is a little embarassing.
Last year, we had a "PTA" meeting. Many, many Hispanic parents came (as is normal), and one parents asked if the Anglo parents met on a different date.
ReplyDeleteAs a primary grade teacher in IPS, I think that it is sad that someone/some parents feel that all we do is tell you what you and your child are doing wrong. At PIT, I always tell parents where their child is excelling and what areas need more support. Then I tell them what I am going to do to help and give the parents suggestions as to what to do at home. I hope that my parents don't view my suggestions and/or comments as me picking on them.
ReplyDeleteAs for the comment made about babies and toddlers...that is upsetting as well. The only time that I don't like siblings attending a parent-teacher conference is if they are running around the room, tearing things up. There has been the rare time or two that this has happened to me.
I always have a crowd for PIT day. Parents seem happy to meet me and I am certainly happy to met them. As far as young children coming with parents, I always keep things for these children to do. After all, young children are the spice of life.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I will say that many of the parents complain about the way the secretary treats them.
My wife and I attended our daughters Parents In Touch day. We had two different experiences. I wish we could evaluate (with out teacher knowing our names, because they would retaliate) the teacher during the conference.
ReplyDeleteThe first was wonderful the teacher was acknowledging our concerns offering suggestions and solutions to helping our youngest doing even better.
The second conference seemed as if the the teacher did not care. When we would speak her eyes would be looking around the room. She would then start into something that had nothing to do with what we weere speaking about. She would not acknowledge our concerns. Spoke of our daughter as if she were a dog at the pound who needed condemned. She actually started back talking about something we had already brung up and she had not acknowledged. She did not realize our daughter had a IEP though there was a copy right in her folder with the grades she pulled it from. She told us that IEP were non of her concern she was there to teach and our daughter just did not get it.
I have since taken time off work and watched my daughters class. It is apparent that she does not care about educating. From my six days of observation at various times. If the kids stay quite with their heads down most of the time, never drop a pencil, never look around, never ever speak unless spoeken too, never ask questions they are considered excellent. Reminded me of a nun in a catholic school walking around with s ruler to use on the kids knuckles. The kids were even disciplined and called disruptive by the teacher if they even sneezed.
The other kids as she says, "just have no social up bringing".
When I discussed the teacher with a vice principal. I got party line. That she was the best teacher they had and she is excellent. It must be just the types of students she has this school year. He was not worried. Saying that all teacher understand the importance of IEP's and follow them to the letter.
My daughters are learning more at Sylvan in the evenings than they are in their classroom. I just wish all parents had resources such as myself. I feel for the other kids who's parents cannot afford the luxury of extra after school schooling to make up for a poor teachers that the administration has a blind eye too.
Save your money and get your evenings back. Charter schools are free.
ReplyDeleteThe comments posted about charter schools are correct. The students get booted out for numerous things; special education, behavior, academics. They are failing. Look at The Project School. And THEN they come back to IPS!
ReplyDeleteCan someone grab the governor's ear & Tony Bennett's too for that matter, and let them know that if students don't have a stable home environment things will never improve? Make the parents use some of their earnings (or welfare income) on 1 house that will meet the family's needs? Moving from place to place througout the year year really sucks for our students. You barely get them to calm down, or learn everyones names, or get them used to your own environment and they are transferred to yet another neighborhood because the parents weren't responsible and move everytime the rent is due. My heart breaks for these children. What chance do they really have? To get the children ready to succeed in school, no teacher or administrator or outside entity taking over a failing school will be victorious until the government quits condoning the pathetic behaviors of their parents. I think it is laughable that these 2 "incredibly educated" men cannot connect the outside circumstances to the struggles of education. Does anyone out there know anyone of power? Even if you happen to know them, would they open their minds and hearts to see what we see? I don't believe for one second that any outside contractor can make things better for our students or their families. It will take a total makeover of the environment of our failing students! I hate the fact that we are graded on the shortcomings of our less fortunate students. As much as many of you will hate to hear this, I am sad that our administrators bear this heavy weight, too. Hello? Elected officials - can you hear the truth? Can you see what is really going on? Stop letting people abuse government assistance and education. Do you not realize that these parents use us as a nanny and come in belittling us when their darlings get in trouble? It's always something or someone else - not a learned pattern from home. Also - if they have to pick up their darling before the end of the day - they are back on the clock as the nanny had to call it a day!
ReplyDeleteI call bullshit. My whole life, schools have been saying they need more money to educate poor children, and they've been getting it. Now in the last few years, teachers are saying it's all about the home. Then we can cut back spending to pre-1980 levels, right? Because it's one or the other. Either IPS is fraudulent (promising a service it knows it can't deliver) or it is incompetent (it knows the service can be delivered, but repeatedly fails to deliver it).Either way, under no circumstances is the solution to keep giving IPS the money to NOT educate poor children. That's stupid and immoral.
ReplyDelete@ I call BS
ReplyDeleteWow - who wizzed on you? The old saying is it's better to be pissed off than pissed on. Bring it down a notch. Walk a semester in the life of an educator and see if you can make a difference. Or would that require you to actually work? I'm all for getting the assistance modified with requirements. These parents are abusers and users of the system, and their children start out as victims and then also become users & abusers - are you somewhere in that cycle? Wow! From your tyrade it sure seems that way! We do all within our own means to take care of the children in our classroom - buying supplies, uniforms, food for the students to take home on the weekends. Screw you and your closed - minded opinion about the overspending of IPS. We get little to nothing from the state. True - a lot is spent on overhead which really pisses me off. I do believ more should be earmarked for the classroom. Most of our students, however are on free meals & textbooks. However - the biggest problem has been for decades (and will be for decades to come) rooted in the home environment. Get down off your pedestal before someone knocks you off of it! I will agree that most posters are whiny crybabies, but some of the most genuine people in this city are really in it to make possibilities a reality for those who are willing to work for it.
IPS Teacher:
ReplyDeletePlease enable a spell check on this blog. The poster above me misspelled a word, but made a fabulous point. I'm worried about the spelling police that have no true point to make will point that out and still say nothing meaningful. Kudos to you, above poster, for being so true to the purpose of nurturing our children. I'm with you all the way!!
Mary Busch has lost her support base and she will not be reelected. She has not had an original thought in 20 years. I wonder why no one has ever investigated to see if her position with U of I and all of the programs that come through there to IPS represents a conflict of interest....it seems it would to me...
ReplyDeleteNeither Mary Busch OR Michael Brown will be reelected unless they stand up to EW. Wake up, you two. Stop sucking up and LET HIM GO. Mike and Mary, the public is watching the two of you.
ReplyDelete