Unclear on the concept
I think when you force someone to volunteer, it’s called something other than volunteering:
A proposal making its way through the General Assembly would require parents with children in kindergarten through grade 4 to ”volunteer” at least 12 hours a year. And they couldn’t just show up — they’d be expected to get involved in the teaching process by tutoring, chaperoning lesson-related field trips or helping students play educational games.
If the bill proposed by Sen. John Ford, D-Memphis, and Rep. Lois DeBerry, D-Memphis, is approved, though, it could become a rule without teeth. It’s unclear what, if anything, would happen to parents or schools who fail to comply.
One of the dumbest things I’ve heard in a while.
May 16th, 2005 at 9:28 am
Would the bill also require employers to grant employees time off so they could ‘volunteer’ at their kid’s school?
May 16th, 2005 at 10:41 am
Actually I kinda like it. Asking parents to come in and do the job of teachers should drum up support for vouchers and people pulling their kids out of public school.
May 16th, 2005 at 11:23 am
We had something like this at my high school. You had to do a 40 hour service project sometime after the end of your sophomore year and before you could register as a senior. However, it was called a “community service project” and not “volunteering.” Yeah, everyone moped about it, but it was probably a good thing, all in all. But, it was a private school. Oh, and it wasn’t the parents, it was the kids who had to do it… and it wasn’t at the school. [sarcasm] But other than that, it’s the same. [/sarcasm]
May 16th, 2005 at 11:30 am
I tend to agree with ravenwood, because the frist question I would have would be: Aren’t i paying these teachers to teach?
One thing everyone understands in american regardless of education or background, is that when you pay for something, you expect a service back.
If we can directly link schools to the payments we are making, i think that they might start to improve.
May 16th, 2005 at 12:10 pm
I wonder if they would have to do background checks on the parents before they can assist? What kind of liability would the schools be open to if a student gets hurt or killed because of some whacko that was required by law to be at the school?
May 16th, 2005 at 4:41 pm
One of the dumbest things I’ve heard in a while.
That’s because you don’t pay any attention to Memphis politics. This is mild by comparison to much of what we deal with on a pretty regular basis.