What is teacher looking for???

[dislal]

My DS 10 is in 5th grade and the first day of school his teacher sent home "homework" for the parents, it says I need to write a million words or less about my son!! I am stumped I don't even know where to start! I mean I could go on and on about my little "snowflake", but what is she really looking for?

 

[C.Ann]

I'm guessing his likes; dislikes; things that make him happy; things that make him sad; how he interacts with other people; the things he enjoys doing with his family; what his hobbies are; if he collects anything; any after-school activities he enjoys.. That sort of thing - kind of like "who"' he is - and what his life is like..

Just pretend that you're describing him to someone who has never met him.. I think that would be sufficient..

Good luck!

 

[MM27]

I teach 4th grade and I sent home something where I asked the parents to tell me anything they thought I needed to know to help make their child's school year successful. Parents responded with things such as weaknesses in various subjects that they wanted me to watch for early, one mentioned that her child is very shy and will not willingly raise her hand, but she usually understands the material, another mentioned behavior challenges that they actually wanted to meet with me soon about to discuss further.

 

[Eeyores Butterfly]

I wonder if she meant 1,000 and mistyped?

 

[dislal]

Thank you both, I have sat down to try and write something a few times and I just don't know where to start, so maybe your suggestions will help me get started.

 

[dislal]

I wonder if she meant 1,000 and mistyped?

No it says a million words or less!

 

[HeatherH]

I think the teacher may have been speaking tounge-in-cheek about the million words.

BUT, I do agree, this is a GREAT opportunity to let the teacher know anything about your child that you think is relevant to his success in the class this year. I always LOVED teachers that did this, it really sets a good tone for the year if they know any quirks/issues/etc. that can affect his year. And of course, always good for her to know his strengths too!

 

[Mary•Poppins]

I wonder if she meant 1,000 and mistyped?

I am a teacher and I think this is a typing error too. I just wouldn't have the time to read a million word essay about each child. Just write down what you think is critical for the teacher to know. Good luck with your homework assignment.

 

[nskjerven]

This is also an assignment given to us for our DS 5th grader.

The one million words was written tongue in cheek. I'm suprised by the number of people that don't see the sense of humor intended on this assignment.

3 years ago we did this for our DD - it was a joy to write for her. Actually my DH and I fought over doing the assignment. We ended up creating a power point to include pictures that captured her personality.

It's our back to school night tomorrow and we've yet to start on DS hmmmm not as easy the 2nd time around

 

[Tamarap]

I use the same assignment in my high school classes. I simply want you to tell me something about your child you think I might need to know. When I say a million words or less I mean just that. I have had parents write anywhere from one word to 4 pages handwritten front and back! Think about how you would describe your child to someone who didn't know anything about them.

 

[Northstar]

Here's a link to an article about why we're all getting the same "assignment"... it's something teachers have shared with each other.

http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/profdev/profdev080.shtmlhttp://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/profdev/profdev080.shtml

I just did this for my DD. To avoid rambling on and on, I decided it was a 30-minute timed essay test. I used the tried-and-true opening formula "If I had to describe my daughter in three adjectives, they would be X, Y, and Z." Then I used those adjectives to decide what 3 things I was going to talk about in my daughter's life (it ended up being a vegetarian, cheerleading, and online graphics design of fantasy animals).

Of course, this meant there were lots of things I didn't talk about, including a few I would like to talk to the teacher about privately. The assignment was structured in such a way it was clear that the child was going to read what the parent wrote. It wasn't a private communication with the teacher.

It was kind of fun. I'm glad I set the 30-minute limit for myself. I think the teacher will get some insight into DD's life from it.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I am a teacher and I think this is a typing error too.

Well, I agree it's an error - but a grammatical one. Where the amount can be quantified, the proper word is fewer: "Write a million words or fewer about your child."

I'm sure the teacher (a) doesn't expect and (b) doesn't have time to read a million words about any single student, much less twenty or thirty students. She's probably looking for more than a sentence ("Johnny is perfect"), but two or three paragraphs - such as the information suggested by C.Ann - should be more than satisfactory.

 

[disykat]

No it says a million words or less!

That's funny! I agree with nskjerven that it was a way to put a humorous twist on the request. It's sort of another way of saying you are free to write as little or as much as you please, but not to go on indefinitely.

 

[bumbershoot]

It's sort of another way of saying you are free to write as little or as much as you please, but not to go on indefinitely.

Of course, but I think the OP's real question was about the content.

I am stumped I don't even know where to start! .... what is she really looking for?

As a parent I'd hate to have this assignment...but wow as a student, IF my teachers would have actually read it...this sort of thing would have been most excellent. I was extremely shy, knew the answer most of the time but never ever EVER raised my hand for anything, absolutely hated going to the blackboard (started obsessing about my weight in 3rd grade...I had a very normal kid body, but my three closest friends had absolutely rail thin bodies and, it turns out, we were all hating ourselves and wanting to be the other person...and I always felt that people were criticizing my rear while I was up there as I did to myself), sometimes I learned things very differently from others and it would appear that I didn't understand it, but I just needed someone to tweak how they taught me. (for example, stick shift...dad and stepdad both tried to teach me, both failed...then my younger brother took me out and in half an hour I was an expert...he knew how I thought and could teach me when the dads couldn't)

If my teachers could have known those things about me AND perhaps taken those things into account (I think ONE teacher in my whole school career took my shyness into account when dealing with me), I could have had a very different experience in school.


But I'd hate to have to write it for DS! Thankfully his homeschool teacher already knows him pretty darned well.

 

[MoniqueU]

We got basically the exact same project. I already went to school so I had my dd write on on the computer and take iit in. If the teacher calls me about it I wil inform her my days of homework are over but she is free to give some to my DD.

 

[shortbun]

She/he obviously wanted to allow you lots of space to write whatever you wanted. I could easily write a small book about my child as it pertains to him in school. Gotta love the teacher who invites lots of parental input!!!

 

[shortbun]

We got basically the exact same project. I already went to school so I had my dd write on on the computer and take iit in. If the teacher calls me about it I wil inform her my days of homework are over but she is free to give some to my DD.

So you passed on the chance to give the teacher your take on your child? Why would any parent resent having 'homework' when it gave them the chance to immediately get the teacher familiar with their child and how they best learn? I do not understand the negative responses to this issue. Parenting is a full time job and often not convenient. When I signed on to parent, I took it pretty seriously. Anytime anyone asks for my input about my child and it could benefit my child, I'm going to participate.

 

[MoniqueU]

So you passed on the chance to give the teacher your take on your child? Why would any parent resent having 'homework' when it gave them the chance to immediately get the teacher familiar with their child and how they best learn? I do not understand the negative responses to this issue. Parenting is a full time job and often not convenient. When I signed on to parent, I took it pretty seriously. Anytime anyone asks for my input about my child and it could benefit my child, I'm going to participate.

My child. my choice. The teacher will get to know her in a couple of weeks or otherwise look at the kids files I don't need to wriite a bragging leter to a teacher for the teacher to fiind out how great my ki is.I was also out of printer ink and am visually impaired so writing inm Word with a bigger font is best for me. This ha nothing to o with me not recognizng my daughters strengths or weaknesses I just didn't agree with the assignmetmt being sent to the parents/

 

[Pastamom]

When I taught middle school 10+ years ago we had the same assignment. We loved reading the letters and getting a better picture of the students we were about to have. It's a great ways for a parent to share insights, quirks, strengths, weaknesses, personal issues with the teacher. We also used the letters to see if the class as a whole had similiar interests that we could tailor assignments/projects to.

As a parent I would welcome any teacher asking about my child. It shows that they want learn about my DS's and can do a better job teaching them. It also allows me to tell me about what works best with my child and what doesn't...

I teach college now - and I still do a form of this - except of course the students do this not the parents. It really helps me to get to know my students.

 

[LuvOrlando]

My DS 10 is in 5th grade and the first day of school his teacher sent home "homework" for the parents, it says I need to write a million words or less about my son!! I am stumped I don't even know where to start! I mean I could go on and on about my little "snowflake", but what is she really looking for?

I suspect the teacher is looking to get a glimpse into what she is dealing with. I suspect how the parents respond to this assignment tells the teacher all he/she needs to know about the families.

Personally, if invited I would absolutely have no qualms about filling up pages saying how great my kids are in my eyes. It's been my experience that the world is full of people just waiting to tell us all, including my kids, just how great they aren't so the one person they won't hear negative from is me. I love being their cheerleader