Ulterior Motives.

Home

Chat

Blogs

Collection

Directory

Home : 2006 : November : 17

Ulterior Motives.
By Mrs.EastCoast

It definitely sounds like this mom is trying to get in to observe, not really to help you. You can let her know nicely that when you request volunteers it is for special projects at school, not for academic support. Thankfully
at my school, administration does not allow parents to come in as volunteers for academics (assistance w/ writing workshop, reading workshop, math stations, etc.) because it is a breach in confidentiality. We used to have all kinds of volunteers!! But when we got our new principal a few years ago, she felt very strongly that because each child's academic situation is confidential outside

of their parents and us, it made no sense to allow parents to work with children on academics in the classroom. Also, it makes sense that children learn best when they work with the adults they know well and trust. When you have random parents coming in to help, children are more likely to be less confident which causes some learning to be lost. In addition to that, these parents don't know the students; they aren't familiar w/ their learning styles, language used in the classroom, or procedures. It simply doesn't make sense to allow parents to come in as academic volunteers. I think that some parents at my school are in disagreement w/ this rule, but most parents understand or at least accept it so it is not an issue really.

Are you requesting volunteers for academic support or just special projects?