Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, September 2, 1995 TAG: 9509060026
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
A little insulting, huh?
And if their child misbehaves and they refuse to meet with school officials, they can be fined $500, adding injury to insult.
In Montgomery County, a district where schools reopened before Labor Day, parents got an early look at the letter. Some are incensed - both at the implication that they need to be instructed how to fulfill and prodded into carrying out their parental duties, and at the threatened fine if they don't.
The reaction is understandable. Threatening to impose a fine is a less-than-ideal way to ensure that parents take an active role in helping their children succeed in the classroom. There are better ways.
But if the state's effort is ham-fisted - and this is a state mandate, not a local option - the thrust behind it is well-intended. And the need it addresses is sadly real.
Probably not for most parents. Probably not for most of the parents who object to signing the statement.
But it is well to keep in mind that the point of requiring parents to acknowledge their role in enforcing discipline, however this is accomplished, is to restore authority to teachers in their classrooms. Thus, parents of even the best-behaved youngsters might benefit from taking a broader view of the matter. Their children presumably lose instruction time and attention when teachers are distracted by a few unruly students.
And, far from the good ol' days when parents matched any punishment teachers were obliged to hand out, some parents these days defend their kids - right or wrong - against school authorities, often to the detriment of the children. Or, more often, they simply don't care.
Worse, all youngsters are endangered by the increasing numbers of students carrying weapons.
One consequence of having signed acknowledgments is greater assurance that parents and students understand the severe penalty for carrying any weapon on school property. They will be expelled for at least 365 days. It's another state rule. Neither kids nor their parents should be caught unaware.
Such measures are among lawmakers' attempts to increase accountability for the success or failure of public schools. As the drumbeat for educational reform grows louder and steadier, the taxpaying public is demanding results. Results demand accountability.
Roanoke Superintendent Wayne Harris is among those pushing hard on this front. This week he told teachers that the city school system and they, individually, are accountable for the academic achievement of their students. Throughout Virginia, the state has imposed more rigorous requirements for math, science, English and history. In Washington, D.C., the superintendent warned teachers: "We can no longer say, despite students' poor test scores, that we've taught. ... we have not taught until students have learned. And if students are not learning, the performance of teachers and administrators is not satisfactory."
It's called accountability. It's a welcome development - but it must be shared. Teachers cannot be held accountable for parenting. That's parents' job. And so on. The challenge will be to find ways to hold all parties, including students, accountable in ways that carry consequences.
Methods less crude than the threat of fines may be found. But any methods that make a difference are likely to provoke defensive reactions.
by CNB