Inspired by another thread--How do you feel about parents volunteering in the classro

[disfan07]

To the person who mentioned wanting the webcam in the classroom, that is so far over the line of whats acceptable that you can't see the line anymore. That is absolutely and completely absurd. I can't imagnie ANY teacher ever thinking that it would be a good idea because a parent wants to look at their child. Thats crazy.

 

[chloelovesdisney]

To the person who mentioned wanting the webcam in the classroom, that is so far over the line of whats acceptable that you can't see the line anymore. That is absolutely and completely absurd. I can't imagnie ANY teacher ever thinking that it would be a good idea because a parent wants to look at their child. Thats crazy.

I thought the webcam was for a sick child that was spending the winter at home so they could still "attend" school.

 

[disfan07]

I thought the webcam was for a sick child that was spending the winter at home so they could still "attend" school.

No, sorry. I forgot to quote the person. I was talking about the parent who wanted a webcam in their childs room just so that they could see their child and watch how they were interacting during the day.

The person who was talking about the webcam for the sick child, I am seriously curious as to what would have happen with that it there were parents who refused to sign the consent form for it. Would the parents still havent gotten their request for the webcam or would they had to have found something else?

 

[Mkrop]

It goes beyond how they act. Some kids are often late and chronically unprepared. At the elementary level, I put the fault of that kind of thing squarely on the parents' shoulders. Parents that are that "relaxed" about school are, in my opinion, irresponsible.

I have read several people mentioning parents being in there "every day". Who on THIS thread says they are at school daily??? Most people say they go in once every week or two. Hardly excessive IMO. No one is defending being in the classroom every single day.


My daughters' K class had one teacher for 20 kids. The morning K teacher was in the room at times as well. But she had her own work to do. She was by no means an assistant to the afternoon teacher. I was going to say there was no other aide but now that I think about it, I remember there was a para who helped shadow a particular student. She was not there to help the class at large. If the teacher wanted the kids to work in small groups, parents had to show up. The teacher wanted 2 or 3 of us every afternoon for about 90 minutes. The beginning of the year he'd have that. Half way through the year he'd have days no one would show up at all.

Not every day, once a week at best.

The webcam seems over the top to me as well.

 

[castleview]

No, sorry. I forgot to quote the person. I was talking about the parent who wanted a webcam in their childs room just so that they could see their child and watch how they were interacting during the day.

The person who was talking about the webcam for the sick child, I am seriously curious as to what would have happen with that it there were parents who refused to sign the consent form for it. Would the parents still havent gotten their request for the webcam or would they had to have found something else?

From what I understood, the webcam would have to be positioned or panned in a way to avoid the child whose parents didn't want to be a part of it. It was only a few days a week so I don't think a lot of parents were offended. The teacher wasn't thrilled since in the beginning it was a lot of work and she had no idea she was getting this child until the day before school began (fortunately we have a new administrator now that has the parent work with the teacher months before school starts).

This was a case of extremes keep in mind. The child's situation was extreme so the needs were extreme. The child was the parents first to enter public schools so they had no idea how things worked there and there was an extreme lack of communication due to previous administrators. The parents did get extreme empathy from the other parents too. I'm never wild about special needs demands that are infringe too much on the rest of the classroom. But seeing this child and how isolated the mom became just caring for this child, the only thoughts I had were "By the grace of God, go I…."

 

[golfgal]

I find it very sad that a parent would even CONSIDER not signing a release so a sick child could "go" to school

Now, wanting a webcam so you can hover over your child in school is just sick I think.

As for being in school every day to volunteer-we did have some parents that were there pretty much every day but they weren't in the classroom every day, they were usually helping in the library or at recess. When I was chairing our large fundraiser were were up there every day for that, and pretty much every day for the couple weeks before setting up, but again, that wasn't in the classroom and I may or may not have actually see my kids. After the fundraiser was over I didn't step foot in the school for a LONG time

 

[Pooh Crew]

I must confess that I have volunteered at school every single day for a couple years. I have four children in the same elemetary school, so one day for each teacher (it was never a full day, usually just a couple hours in the morning) was Monday through Thursday, and there was usually something going on on Friday's that required volunteers, so five days a week. It was no big deal for me to do it, it made the teachers' jobs easier, and the kids are fine with me being there. It was a win-win-win.

Last year, my older kids teachers did not need help very often, but an office worker's mother passed away and she needed an extended time off. I was available to fill in in the office answering phones, doing whatever needed to be done. I was glad to be able to help.

I do volunteer a lot. I do it for my children--taking care of menial tasks for teachers means that they have more time to teach! BUT I have never spoken about things I see or hear in the classrooms or the office. I have even offered to sign a confidentiality agreement. I don't hang out to see my children--they are happy and secure. Many days, I never even saw them.

To me, if you are a volunteer at a school, you should be held to the same high standards as the teachers and staff.

 

[crzy4my2]

I must confess that I have volunteered at school every single day for a couple years. I have four children in the same elementary school, so one day for each teacher (it was never a full day, usually just a couple hours in the morning) was Monday through Thursday, and there was usually something going on on Friday's that required volunteers, so five days a week. It was no big deal for me to do it, it made the teachers' jobs easier, and the kids are fine with me being there. It was a win-win-win.

Last year, my older kids teachers did not need help very often, but an office worker's mother passed away and she needed an extended time off. I was available to fill in in the office answering phones, doing whatever needed to be done. I was glad to be able to help.

I do volunteer a lot. I do it for my children--taking care of menial tasks for teachers means that they have more time to teach! BUT I have never spoken about things I see or hear in the classrooms or the office. I have even offered to sign a confidentiality agreement. I don't hang out to see my children--they are happy and secure. Many days, I never even saw them.

To me, if you are a volunteer at a school, you should be held to the same high standards as the teachers and staff.

I agree with this..
I also wanted to mention that I'm not sure how the "CORI" requirements are. If it varies by town, state or whatever but to be around any kids at all..in my town anyway(again not sure of the law) you have to fill out a CORI form and have a background check for EVERYTHING. I helped in the class room, I had to fill out a CORI form. I went to another school in town to help out, another CORI for that school. I volunteer and teach CCD for my kids, YUP another CORI. I was the assistant coach for DD's Softball team..you guessed it, another CORI check...and you have to update it every year. I'm not too happy about my SSI# being out there so much but it's worth it to know the kids are for the most part safe (I know, things can happen after someone is CORI'd) so if there are people in the schools, they should be CORI'd.

 

[chloelovesdisney]

No, sorry. I forgot to quote the person. I was talking about the parent who wanted a webcam in their childs room just so that they could see their child and watch how they were interacting during the day.

The person who was talking about the webcam for the sick child, I am seriously curious as to what would have happen with that it there were parents who refused to sign the consent form for it. Would the parents still havent gotten their request for the webcam or would they had to have found something else?

Oh sorry. A webcam in the classroom to watch little Sally during the day is over the top. Time to do something else to keep busy during the day.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

We have two different kinds of volunteers in our school. We have volunteers that do the clerical stuff that we need (very rarely do these volunteers work with students due to confidentiality). We teach in a very low income area, so the parents earn $5/hr that can be spent in the school store on things like children's clothes, hygiene items, etc. It's a great program that gets them inolved in the school and gets them what they need.

The other kind of volunteers we get are Youth Friends who are assigned one or two students to mentor. To do this, they must have passed a background check. Any parent who goes on field trips must also have a background check and opportunities are fairly limited.

I like having the volunteers, and all the ones I have had have been a big help.