I'm pissy and tired and defensive. I've been here since 7:30 this morning and still have hours of grading to do tonight. I also haven't eaten all day and went to three meetings between teaching and planning and writing six billion parent emails and answering voicemails. I may not be in the best state of mind right now to be having this discussion. I'm sorry. I'll try to come back when I'm not so frazzled.

Kristin, I totally sympathize. I think public school teachers rock, and between parental pressure and the dictates of state-mandated curriculum, you're not left a lot of room to be creative and really challenge the kids, I bet.

Ben and Jake have had one mediocre teacher between them, and even he was just depressed, I think. Teaching is a hard, hard gig.

No midterms and no cumulative exams?

Boggle.

Can you do end of section tests or is there no way to assess what learning goes on?

of things being done for the child

This I've seen a lot of. In fact, my son's 4th grade teacher gave F's to several of the kids on their first book report because it was obvious to her that the parents had done the work not the kids.

Children are not supposed to learn! Children are supposed to be happy and have everything done for them and kept in abubble until they are of age and then they are to be given a kick ass job where very little is expected of them and they make a ton of money!

Jeez.

You guys are all so out of it.

(Emeline! Get back in your bubble! If you want to move, Daddy will come and pick you up!)

Wow, Kristin, that's just craziness. All of it. And get some food, sweetie!

I just did a Nielson movie survey. They're so much fun!

Speaking of surveys, I'm analyzing survey data. It's slow-moving, but TOTALLY fascinating.

Being told that no teacher in the school can give a cumulative final exam because it's "too difficult" for the students to remember the beginning of the year...while simultaneously also decreeing that teachers are not allowed to give midterm exams because they are "too stressful", for example.

Um, that is totally craxy. And, God, how insanely frustrating for the teachers.

I'm sorry. I'll try to come back when I'm not so frazzled.

::hands Kristin a light snack, a chocolate martini, a lavender-scented handkerchief for her temples, and a masseuse on her way out::

Some of those things, with the cramming the kid's day with "worthwhile" activities and arguing with the teacher, seem to be a reaction to more kids going to college and more parents being aware of what colleges want -- like, if I think my kid's got a shot at Big Fancy College, then clearly he needs to be doing those everprecious "extracurriculars," and also if his history teacher gave him a poor grade that I don't think he deserved, well, that's going to affect his chances. I can see the urge to do something about it. Obviously in a lot of cases parents are overprotecting so their kids won't make mistakes, even if they could be valuable mistakes, but in other cases I think it's because of an awareness of the increasingly serious consequences of those mistakes.

Er, I think. I don't really know. I have heard that while twenty years ago the parent always sided with the teacher in a conflict, now they tend to side with the student. I'm just saying, there are more reasons than that article seems to suggest. The parents aren't doing it just because they've got smothering personalities.

kristin, I didn't find you frazzled at all. I thought what you posted was really interesting and thought-provoking.

My MiL is one of "those" parents. I've watched my SiL and BiL go from grade school to high school and on to college in the last 15 years.

She's argued with teachers on assignments, illness related absences, her kids needing "special assistance". She even had my SiL register as "handicapped" for college so she could get special consideration if she missed too many classes. She had their family doctor fill out the paperwork. I'm not fucking kidding. She's bad-mouthed every teacher they've ever had. She insists that her son is under-achieving in high school now because he refuses to "suck up" to the teachers.

DH was bright and over-achieving as a child. His sibs didn't quite get up to his level but it's not for the lack of trying on my MiL's part.

I'm the product of 17 years of public school eduction (from grade school to a public university). I can honestly say I had fantastic teachers who appreciated my abilities and pushed me to achieve as much as I possibly could. One of my high school teachers noticed my interest in Shakespeare and offered to teach a class provided I could gather the requisite 14 students to sign up for it. I got 18 kids signed up and it was the best class I've ever had. That's the kind of thing I respect my public school teachers for.

I ran into my GRADE SCHOOL librarian last year. She's 82. She met Owen and we chatted about how I used to hide out in the library reading instead of going out to recess. She is a fantastic woman who touched my life more than a lot of people.

I know not all public schools are that good, but I think a lot of parents (none here) that expect teachers to be miracle workers.