On Friday, March 12, 2010 Bill Maher did one of his signature New Rules bits in the Huffington Post as well as on his weekly show Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO. The title of the piece was New Rule: Let's Not Fire the Teachers When Students Don't Learn -- Let's Fire the Parents which in my mind really nails the essence of the Public School Debate. Mr. Maher said, “According to all the studies, it doesn't matter what teachers do. …. What matters is what parents do. The number one predictor of... coopmike48 Susie Shields comment-23321 2010-03-15T20:50:33Z 2010-03-15T20:50:33Z AYon- absolutely terrific comment. I agree with everything you said. Having spent a lot of time the past few years at a public elementary school, I have seen first-hand how many parents have become comepletely disengaged with the activities of daily living for their children. I see it as a co-dependent type of situation. The legislature has mandated that schools perform certain functions that used to be carried out by parents. This is how the responsibility that was once held by the parents has changed to the schools and now parents completely expect that it's the school's job to ensure their children are taught discipline, fed, receive homework help, etc. It's time for public schools to raise the bar for parents. With the severe cuts to education, many of the roles the school has taken on need to be diminished and the onus needs to be put back on the parents. The problem with this kind of thinking, however, is the "if we don't do it, who will?" question that many in the community ask. Right now, with that attitude, we're basically pulling the rug of responsibility out from under parents and are rescuing them before they need rescuing. I don't think that's the best solution. It's difficult to get some parents to put their children's needs before their own. Some won't do it, but many will. If you expect the parents to give their children breakfast instead of automatically doing it for them, perhaps many will step up to the plate. We've made it too easy for them to not have to worry about it. I believe most parents love their children and will take care of their basic needs if you call on them to do so. I have a sister in law who stays home. Her children go to a title 1 school where everyone at the school gets free and reduced price lunch irregardless if you qualify or not. They have after school homework sessions where the kids do their homework and the school keeps them after school for free. My sister in law, who could easily afford to pay for their meals and could easily prepare them and also could easily help her children do their homework after school - doesn't. Why? Because in her exact words, she says it's "because the school will do it for me and it's free!" I think there are a lot of parents like her out there that think, whew! I don't have to bother with the rigors of having a child in elementary school because that's the school's job to worry about that. Of course there are always the kids whose parents will never step up. I feel those are the students that the schools should focus their limited resources on. The schools can't afford to continue what they're doing. They need to nip this in the bud, because after all, it's the schools that created this whole co-dependency mindset in the first place. Susie Shields 2010-03-15T20:50:33Z waldorfandstatler comment-23297 2010-03-15T15:20:02Z 2010-03-15T15:20:02Z "Why do we only hear about the failing public schools?" because only in the public sector are employees GUARANTEED a job no matter their performance. and you are incorrect, parents are fired all the time, the agency doing the 'firing' is called CPS waldorfandstatler 2010-03-15T15:20:02Z A Yoni comment-23293 2010-03-15T05:08:04Z 2010-03-15T05:08:04Z It's amazing to me that parents have to be "asked" to be involved in the lives of their children and it's amazing to me that things like parent and family involvement have to be "pushed" for people to take action. These are our children! Come on, seriously? Why do they have to be asked or encouraged to be active in their lives? It's pure and simple common sense that says that everything begins at home. While schools, churches, athletics, etc all have influence and a place in a child's development and well being, the fact is that the home is the hub, not the other way around. It's all too often these days that more and more parents are pushing their parental responsibilities off on the schools or other community organizations and expecting them to assume the burden of teaching them everything about life but when the child fails, rather than looking at themselves as the missing link, teacher's get punished and people demand more action in the schools and other children and family service area when all the really need to do is make time at home and get more involved. We are becoming far too reliant on government and community services to do everything for us which only gives them more power over us. Then people want to sit back and complain when they lose rights or things don't go to suit them, like their children's educations. A Yoni 2010-03-15T05:08:04Z