The Mississippi state house passed a law requiring teachers to grade parents. The proposed law would also force parents to perform service hours for the school.
Really.
Under House Bill 4, also known as the Parent Involvement and Accountability Act, teachers would be required to grade parents’ involvement with their children’s education. The legislation, by state Rep. Gregory Holloway (D-Hazlehurst), would mandate a section be added to each child’s report card on which the parents are graded on their responsiveness to communication with teachers, the students’ completion of homework and readiness for tests, and the frequency of absences and tardiness.
…The bill also would require any school district graded by the Mississippi Department of Education on its annual evaluations as a C or below to:
Assign each child mandatory homework.
Require all children be taught proper manuscript and cursive handwriting.
Require all children to have a daily reading and a separate writing assignment.
Require all children to read at least one book per month and write a book report on it.
Mandate participation for parents in at least one supportive function for the school, such as assisting at the bus stop, working a concession stand at an athletic event or serving in the Parent Teacher Association.
Establish dress codes for teachers.
Mandate school uniforms.
Initiate two parent-teacher conferences per nine-week term for students not performing up to grade level requirements at mid-term.
Failed public school systems can’t seem to hold their own teachers and administrators accountable, but they are really quick to shift the blame onto parents.
A word of advice to the Mississippi education system: kids aren’t failing math and reading tests because mommy and daddy didn’t volunteer enough hours at the concession stand during football season.
If the schools and state government want to do something to actually improve educational performance, they should look at expanding school choice options in the state, and hiring qualified and driven teachers.
