McKenzie’s Blog

So parent teacher conferences took place last week and since I am an elective teacher, my mentor teacher warned me that there would probably be few parents signed up to meet with me. He was correct. Out of the 52 students I have each day in class, only 4 parents signed up for a conference with me. Interestingly enough, all 4 of these students were getting high As in class. Was I surprised, no…just saddened.

The parents who need to be there, the ones who’s kids need a kick in the pants or help getting it together never seem to be the ones who sign up for these things. I got this confirmation from several other teachers. This probably explains why they are doing poorly to begin with…little to no support at home I would guess. I don’t understand parents, and perhaps I will have a different outlook on things when I have kids of my own, but really, how can one not take an active interest in their kid’s education.

It’s not like my classes are really that difficult. I rarely, if ever, give homework and offer several possibilities for extra credit. Most of my assignments are given in class, so when students don’t come to class, they don’t get the work, and when they return, many of them don’t make up their work, even when I give them every opportunity to do so. And to top it off, the students who do utilize opportunities for make-up work and extra credit are already getting As…go figure.

It’s so hard to feel like I have given time, opportunity and resources to allow students to excel and have to watch some of them sit through class and do nothing rather than simply try. What more can I do short of doing their work for them. I guess I feel like by high school its time to stop holding their hands. Maybe they are refusing, for whatever reason, to “do school” but I will be interested to see what happens when it comes time for them to “do the real world.”