Do you agree with this?

[PeterPan09]

Oh no, I am planning the evening meal, which is going to be corned beef in the crockpot or if I consult my grandmother's book, "Marriage Record and Hints on Housekeeping (circa 1935) ....

"A good deal of close observation must be practiced before the housekeeper can herself judge of the quality of the meat, poultry, and fish."

"she must rely upon the probity of her market man"

"Her trust in the dealer should not, as a rule, be carried so far as to allow him absolute freedom in the matter of cutting off meat."

Or here is an ad...

"Good Wives Make.....the Best Husbands"

Jeremy Taylor said- "A good wife is heaven's last best gift to man-his gem of many virtues, his casket of jewels. Her voice is sweet music, her smiles his brightest day, her kiss the guardian of his innocence, her arms the pale of his safety, her industry his surest wealth, her economy his safest steward, her lips his faithful counselors, her bosom the sofest pillow of his care. Of earthly goods the best, is a good wife.

In Every Happy Home You'll Find An Alarm Clock, a Bible, Wilson's Better Milk and Healthy Kids

I'm just not seeing the connection between this and what the teacher sent home. If anything, it's the opposite. It's trying to say that Mom does NOT have to be June Cleaver. Marriage as a partnership and everyone taking responsibility for household chores instead of just June and her pearls doing it all.

 

[PeterPan09]

Our schools also send home this boilerplate junk. It typically grossly simplifies what the research says or just plain overlooks the research in honor of enshrined educational truisms. I wish they'd stop killing trees for this type of nonsense.

What research says that kids should be disobedient and ill-mannered, should watch TV all day and night, never have any responsibility in the home and not be taught to achieve?

 

[FlightlessDuck]

I wonder if you came across some teaching or educational articles how it would be received if you sent them in?

You are assuming the teacher is doing this, as opposed to the school office or administrators.

 

[DisneyCher]

I think it's funny how this seems to be such a touchy subject, especially #1. I'm sure I'd find plenty of take home papers from school with something that would offend someone on the Community Board.

I don't even read them. I see a title "How to Help Your Child..." and toss it in the garbage.

The only one I really have a problem with is #7. When will the "TV rots the brain" myth finally die? My children have so many activities, especially in the fall, that when they get home, I think they should be allowed to relax with TV.

I think that is a crock, too. I think the problem lies with parents who rely on TV to be their child's sole source of "family time" and don't spend any time reading, talking, etc.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Don't forget a list with tips from the teacher!

Well now I am reading "How to drink like a gentlemen".

Practical tip....(wonder if this is true?)

"Never wash beer glasses with soapy water as the slightest film of grease flattens beer at once. Instead use lukewarm water to which a small amount of salt has been added"

And now onto "Beer for Luncheons"

"Beer is rapidly regaining its position of importance in the home. For luncheon now, smart housewives see to it that beer is included by all means. So many savory foods are associated with the foaming lager. They taste better with it. Also, beer affords a gay note to such affairs...for it warrants the use of brightly colored linens, pottery, and china to match"

Suggestions for menu...

A. Egg Cutlets
B. Chicken Celery Salad
C. Fried Cheese Balls
D. Crab Meat Salad
E. Scallop and Tomato Salad
F. Cheese and Pepper Croquettes
G. Asparagus Au Gratin
H. Spring Salad
I. Scrambled Eggs, New York Style

 

[FlightlessDuck]

You're making her point though. Your kids do LOTS of things. They don't spend all their free time in front of the TV. TV is not an evil thing, but I don't think anyone can deny that spending every free moment in front of it without exercise or other interests can be unhealthy in a number of ways.

I'm not really commenting on OP, her children, or anyone else. Just the list.

The step was "Let tv and video games into your children's lives very little, if at all." I don't think that's even in the same ballpark as "don't let your children spend every free moment in front of it without exercise."

 

[Scurvy]

Agree with all but #7, which I think is completely wrong, and # 8 in that I think that sports can be great hobies. I have been a runner my entire life. It is amazing and helps foster a healthy lifestyle.

I like the whole list except for number 7. I think TV and video games are fine. Certainly they aren't good if done to excess, but then nothing else is either. Some games or television shows are better than others, of course, but hopefully parents are monitoring what their kids are watching or playing and not just plopping them in front of the television and giving them free reign to watch/play whatever they choose. I also agree that sports can be very good hobbies, though I do think it's good for kids to also develop other, non-athletic hobbies as well.

We get things like this in our school newsletters sometimes, and also hints at helping your child love reading etc. I have no problem with it. If you don't want it, throw it out. Do you think most kids actually read any of it?

We are getting to be such a thin skinned society.

I agree. I think it's silly to be offended by a list of tips like this. I'm usually one to object to schools overreaching and trying to control children when they aren't in school, but this isn't an attempt to dictate what the kids do in their free time. If it was an assignment to do all these things and keep a log of them, that would be inappropriate. It isn't. It's just a list of suggestions, and parents are free to disregard it if they so choose.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I'm just not seeing the connection between this and what the teacher sent home. If anything, it's the opposite. It's trying to say that Mom does NOT have to be June Cleaver. Marriage as a partnership and everyone taking responsibility for household chores instead of just June and her pearls doing it all.

It is one's opinion that can be embraced or rejected. The content is not what is important. In other words you see what you want to see if that makes sense.

 

[luvmy3]

Well now I am reading "How to drink like a gentlemen".

Practical tip....(wonder if this is true?)

"Never wash beer glasses with soapy water as the slightest film of grease flattens beer at once. Instead use lukewarm water to which a small amount of salt has been added"

And now onto "Beer for Luncheons"

"Beer is rapidly regaining its position of importance in the home. For luncheon now, smart housewives see to it that beer is included by all means. So many savory foods are associated with the foaming lager. They taste better with it. Also, beer affords a gay note to such affairs...for it warrants the use of brightly colored linens, pottery, and china to match"

Suggestions for menu...

A. Egg Cutlets
B. Chicken Celery Salad
C. Fried Cheese Balls
D. Crab Meat Salad
E. Scallop and Tomato Salad
F. Cheese and Pepper Croquettes
G. Asparagus Au Gratin
H. Spring Salad
I. Scrambled Eggs, New York Style

I love the washing the beer glass tip, I never knew that. Now I can make sure that when I bring dh is beer on the silver serving platter it won't be flat by the time it gets to the TV tray next to the recliner.


And I just had to google an egg cutlet, I never heard of those.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

It is one's opinion that can be embraced or rejected. The content is not what is important. In other words you see what you want to see if that makes sense.

I never really liked the Reader's Response form of literary criticism.

 

[Pigeon]

What research says that kids should be disobedient and ill-mannered, should watch TV all day and night, never have any responsibility in the home and not be taught to achieve?

I wasn't referring to this list, which has nothing whatsoever to do with research. I was referring to a seemingly endless supply of material similar to what another poster was mentioning. At a time when the school no longer distributes its newsletter in print as a cost saving measure, which actually contained useful information, it's irritating to see money get wasted on this sort of useless fluff.

This material usually is sprinkled with phrases like, "According to research..." without actually citing the research.

 

[FireDancer]

I wouldn't be offended. As far as my objection it has nothing to do with the validity or quality of the list. It has everything to do with this crossing of the line from what are school issues to what are home issues.

Being on the outside I have seen a disturbing (IMO) pattern of the schools creeping more and more into what was always none of their business.

When I was in school there were kids who had some home-life issues. The school offered them counseling and had a support group for them. This was something done on an at-need basis and only with parental permission. That seems a better option than sending these lists home if you really want to help a child with home issues while at school. There is a difference between crossing that home/school line yourself and being asked over by the parents.

 

[Sorsha]

Totally agree with every single one of them except #7 - and TV and video games are things we usually do together as a family - the kids don't watch a lot of stuff unsupervised. But TV will not rot their little brains and they can watch it if they want, as long as *I* don't have to listen to SpongeBob and iCarly.

My kids have been cleaning floors and bathrooms since they were very small - not unsupervised, mind you, but they have been helping me or their dad do it - and now all three of them are more than capable of cleaning the bathroom or the kitchen, running the wet-swiffer, scrubbing the sink or the tile, cleaning the toilet (but they'd rather not LOL), etc. That's not to say I regularily make them do all those things, but on house-cleaning day, they CAN.

Reading, travel, hobbies, experiences, etc ARE more important than STUFF.

Overall a good paper - but not sure I would need my kids' teacher to send it to me.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I never really liked the Reader's Response form of literary criticism.

You don't like my grandma's book? I enjoying comparing literature tips from differing time periods.

I like old books and read them for enjoyment.

To me the teacher's list that was sent home reminds me of the old stuff I read.

In the future who knows what that list is going to be like?

 

[Pigeon]

You are assuming the teacher is doing this, as opposed to the school office or administrators.

I'm sure it comes from the administrators. That doesn't make it less patronizing, and I doubt they'd welcome random lists of suggestions from parents on how to be an effective school administrator.

 

[2girls4me]

Not appropriate for her to tell parents how to raise their kids. This list bugs me.

 

[KimR]

Wow, I disagree with ALL of them except for 3, 9, and 10.

 

[marcyinPA]

Unlike your sweet angel that LOVES to clean, it is like the Spanish Inquisition to get my kids to clean.

Kind of "hard to relax" when your kids think they are being "put on the rack".

This kind of made me chuckle, because my own boys, who are teens, HATE to clean. They do it, but never without a grumble.

On the flip side, I teach 2 year olds in a preschool setting, and when it is time to clean up (including washing the art table and the table we did playdough on), I always wet some paper towels and ask who would like to wash the tables. I'd say six of my twelve little ones knock each other over to get a wet paper towel to wash the tables!! Little ones LOVE to help. A lot of parents don't take advantage of that fact. If we give them little jobs like this, it gives them ownership of their environment, and before you know it, they are moving on to bigger jobs.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

I think some of you are reading too much into this. Teachers aren't passing judgement on you when this stuff gets sent home. It's nothing more than junk mail, most likely from some higher up muckidy-muck in the school office. "Hey, this looks like a good article. Let's copy it and send it home!"

 

[mdsoccermom]

For heaven sake, I can't believe anyone would be offended because of getting a flyer like that. It was sent to everyone, presumably. It's not like the teacher said "tell your mom I think she's a crap parent".

And as for chores for young children. Where did it say you have to give them skin-burning cancer-causing potentially fatal chemicals. Jeez, I took from it that children can start doing chores at a very young age. And they can!! My DD was using a wet rag to wipe down the bathroom sink when she was 2. She loved it. She's also been mopping the hall floor since she was 4 - loves that too. At first, of course, the hall was a mini tsunami after her but she actually does a pretty good job of it now at 7.

Relax people. The day we think we know it all is the day we stop learning and growing.

Thank you! I also wonder why so many people are acting like this is some mandate that they have to follow or their kid will get kicked out of school. I wonder why people take it so literally.

Good lord. It's a piece of paper. I get stuff home all the time from the school I don't like or want. I just toss it and keep the stuff that interests me. No big deal.