We are a private school and they DO NOT WANT US THERE which kind of bums me out. Of course, they want room mothers there helping with parties and driving field trips and doing stuff in the cafeteria but not at all in the classroom. I have a friend whose children are in a local Montessori and she has been trained by the teacher and works at her child's preschool two mornings a week. I guess each school is different. We are known for being very academic (a bit anal and uptight too I might add) and the teachers seem to find parents in the classroom a distraction. I should say our class size is VERY small (11-16 kids per class) so it's not like a class of 25 or 30 who truly could use the help.
Now that you're done asking yourself if I'm kidding--and I'm not, this is actually becoming an issue.
If you follow my posts you know what a charm our principal and faculty can be. And it seems as though parents are in a VERY subtle manner being discouraged from being in the school--by the teachers, but naturally supported by the principal. A lot of lip service is paid to parent involvement, but in the end it's not involvement they're looking for, but "support" by not questioning "authority."
Example: my 3rd grade son comes home with a craft he tells me a lunch lady assisted with in the classroom that morning. This is after REPEATED offerings of help from myself and several other parents who would love to be involved. We're willing to do anything--cut, trace, you name it. And not even just for our kids' classes, but any that need the help.
I asked several parents (even some I can't stand--to get a fair sampling) their opinion on such a thing, and all agreed that it was inappropriate (even the ones who don't like me)especially since parents have been offering.
So I asked the teacher, in a very light way, putting it in terms of "please don't be afraid to ask." She was very upbeat, but in no uncertain terms told me she felt it was inappropriate and distracting to have parents in the room. A couple of parents were with me, both new to the school, and I could tell they didn't like hearing that. As one put it later, well of course it would be distracting if it was always made into a special event--if you're there a lot they get used to you. Which I can attest to--when my son was in kindergarten I was there almost every day helping, and as a result most of the kids from that class know me and are comfortable with me.
If I were a pain in the ass, or crazy (and we all know who those parents are in our schools), I could see the problem. I could even see it if it was an issue of letting a couple in but not others. But it's not like that. Obviously help is needed. Why shouldn't parents be there taking turns if necessary? In our school class parents are basically instructed to handle the dues and be the servers at parties. Naturally those who get chosen for it hang on to it like a fiefdom and hate to share--it's one of the few ways your allowed in the classroom.
That's my $0.02 stretched to the max--RESPONSES PLEASE!
