Parents Complain about Report
- on 06.30.05
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This article was in the Daily Herald today. This was also the topic of discussion on Libby Collins Show on WKRS this morning.
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Homework project too much for 4th grader, parent says
By Sara Faiwell One parent’s objection to how a fourth-grade social studies project was assigned at an Antioch elementary school has teachers banding together to defend it. In April, teachers at Oakland Elementary School assigned what has become known as the “fourth-grade state report†to students. Everyone gets a different state and has to write a 10-paragraph report on it that includes information like major tourist attractions, climate, wildlife and products manufactured in the state. This was the second time Lindenhurst resident Valerie Nelson had a child who was required to do the project. “Some kids are sweating it out and freaking out, feeling like they don’t understand this,†she said. “I am not criticizing the report itself — it’s a great project. I just don’t think the kids were prepared for it.†Nelson said she has talked to parents who think the project is too tough for some of the students and that they weren’t prepared for it. When her older child was in fourth grade, she complained to the teacher, saying a lot of pressure is put on parents to make sure the kids complete the assignment. This time, Nelson created an anonymous survey and mailed it to all parents of fourth-graders seeking their feelings. It asked parents if they thought the project was too tough for their kids, if they had to put in a lot of time to help their child and other specific questions. When teachers at Oakland school learned of the survey, they got upset. “This is unfortunate,†said social studies teacher Kim Kleisner. “If there was a problem, she could have come to the teacher first. There is a chain of command.†About 30 percent of the parents responded to Nelson’s survey. A majority of them said students should be given smaller projects throughout the year to prepare them for this final assignment. Several parents said they spent between four and eight hours with their children working on it. Nelson approached the Antioch Elementary District 34 school board this week asking it to look at the survey results and consider making a change to the states project. School board members said they would take the survey into consideration. “We can’t please everyone,†President Steve Turner said. “It’s our job to do what’s best for the majority of the children and to challenge our children.†dailyherald.com |
These parents should be ashamed of themselves. This is just plain lazy. They should be helping their kids willingly instead of complaining that this is too hard. If they are only spending 4 to 8 hours helping, then they must be waiting until the last minute. This could easily take two to three times that amount for a well done report. The report would consist of notes, a rough draft, several intermediate drafts and then the final draft. This is a process that has to be learned and the parents should be helping in the process. It teaches discipline and research skills that will be invaluable as they get older.
The teachers are right to defend this. They should start this in third grade and not wait until fourth grade in my opinion.
My oldest just finished fourth grade. She had reports or a writing project due each month. Each was also to be at least 1 page long. She did several reports in third grade that were also longer than this assignment that these parents are complaining about.
The Carnival Of Education: Week 22
It is in the spirit of Casablanca that we are pleased to present the twenty-second edition of The Carnival of Education.As with other editions, those entries that were selected by us appear at the bottom of the page. The aim of the carnival is to pre…
That’s incredible. You’re right. Parents complain when the students are challenged, but say in a recent ETS survey that we don’t challenge them enough.
Are you all mad? Helping your children with homework?
How will the little dears ever learn if you don’t encourage them to do it themselves?
The project? Good idea.
It may have been done, and not put in the article, but perhaps the teachers need to hand out a sheet for the parents telling them what is expected of their child for this project (e.g. what kind of notes, what kind of drafts, what the deadlines are, what the parent should help with and what they shouldn’t).
“There is a chain of command”? What a telling statement. Ms. Kleisner, the social studies teacher, believes that she is superior to and “in command” above the parents! In actual fact it’s the other way around — the teacher is a public employee who works for the parents.
Ten paragraphs? Okay, when *I* had to do this report in fifth grade, I had three states (something like Montana, South Dakota, and Nebraska, no less), I had to get all of the information on state mottos, birds, flowers, etc., write about several attractions for each state (I repeat, NEBRASKA), and create a travelogue that included stops for gas and estimated cost. This is pre-Internet, too, so I think I had to write the Department of Commerce for each state or something to get the tourist info.
Yes, I did leave a lot of it to the last minute, but that’s my own stupid fault and I’ve learned a lot about procrastination and how to avoid it since then. I’m still amazed that I got the mileage and gas costs about right since I was kind of guessing, merely thinking about how long we went between tanks on long drives and how much they might have cost.
Ten paragraphs. Pikers.
At the carnival
The Carnival Of Education features Stop the Blackmail’s post on parents who think a 10-paragraph report on one of the 50 states is too much for fourth graders, plus discussion of teacher pay at Constrained Vision and Right on the…
If you notice, this is here second child that has had to do this report. SHe obviously knew it was coming long before it was assigned. I have learned there were other assignment prior to this report as well.
I am in the same boat. Parents DO complain when their kids are being challenged. Their statements such as “this is too tough for my kid” and “my child isn’t prepared to do this” are simply a clear admission of how much they underestimate their children’s potential. I have ultimately shut down our class website because I’m tired of being in the middle of parents’ complaints and not being supported by the administration.