Interesting, if not altogether shocking. The big surprise for me was that a majority of parents thought less than highly of standardized test scores. I was also surprised at first that so many parents thought student misbehavior was not a big problem. Then I thought about the "my little angel couldn't have done/said THAT" syndrome and it became less surprising.
Considering how many parents I know are completely oblivious to their kids behavior--and how low the standard seems to be, for that matter--it isn't surprising at all. Well, that might seem to indicate a good meeting of the minds--until you read a quote like this: “I don’t see where the testing is going to come in handy for 90 percent of students down the line,” said Hungerford, a truck loader from Syracuse, N.Y. “For science-minded kids taking English tests, I don’t think they care where the period goes when you are up in space.” Yeah, that's someone who's on the same page as educators. Parents these days really do seem to make excuses for their kids a lot more than they used to. I know some kids who, in my opinion, are barely socialized; yet the families see nothing wrong with them.
"In the poll, for example, less than half of parents say student discipline is a serious concern at school." That makes more than half of parents morons. Part of it is parents not wanting to see fault in their children. Part of it is people in general more and more not wanting to label anything aberrant in someone as a potential issue.
where everybody is poor, teachers and parents are all family but in many developd countries they only talk about money and success of their stupid kids.
Uh, find the connection, dude. And you don't do the motivating, you find the students' motivation and tap into it. As a side note, I'm always skeptical about AOL polls. How are they performed? How are the lists recieved? I'm bothered by the possibility that many of those polled were either current or former subscribers to AOL, which suggests they have internet connection which suggests a fairly reasonable income. I think, in these polls, it is important to get the income level and zip code of the responders.
Perhaps that might work in some situations. However, kids need to be taught about the world around them. It is not about trying to make the world fit the kids. That is wrong-headed thinking...but it is exactly where most parents, and many teachers, go wrong. Instead of setting standards and insisting the kids measure up, they are more concerned about "curbing creativity" than showing the kids the world into which they must learn to function. Parents who "want to be their kids' best friend" are deluded.
