Welcome Walk!

[marylee54]

Aren't teachers supposed to be teachers--not social engineers?

I suppose we parents should drop in for a visit with teachers and school officials, at their home, because how they live does affect their job!

Besides, these teachers didn't act like they "cared" with their attitude, pounding on the door, acting p'od because I didn't answer the door promptly--hey, I forgot they were coming today, had not confirmed any such visit, the visit was scheduled loosely for sometime this afternoon, about 12-6, you can't be expected to be at the ready to jerk open the door at the first knock, also, what about parent who work? why don't they schedule a visit during non-working hours, to show how much they care?

Its just a feel-good thing the school does, it serves no real purpose, just drop off some papers, meet the teacher, we have a "meet the teacher" night for that, I just think it puts some people at a disadvantage, like parents who work and can't be there, parents who don't live in a picture-perfect home,I know the purpose isn't to judge the kids, but that's an unfortunate outcome.

[jwb123]

They don't do this in my RRISD school - but I wouldn't be put off by it. My kids would be bouncing off the walls excited about it, I bet... and if they don't come inside, who cares what your house looks like? Plus, I am sure teachers see it ALL ... all walks of life and types...

Given your negative opinion about it, OP, I can't tell if the teachers that came to the door were REALLY put off because you didn't answer right away, or were REALLY pounding on the door - or if that was your interpretation of something you didn't appreiciate and/or maybe they were feeling your negativity?

Anyway, I think it's neat/different/weird - I could take or leave it.... I highly doubt that the teachers were "sizing you up" ... teachers don't make a ton of money, we all know that... I doubt they live in grand estates with marble walls...

[pbnj07]

Originally Posted by marylee54

Sorry, but you are seeing it from a teacher's point of view. Parents are usually threatened by it

Just your opinion, so please don't make generalizations. We're parents and we loved/appreciated the visit. For crying out load, it took 5 minutes!

What's wrong with a 5-minute visit where you have a couple of teachers' undivided attention so you can ask specific questions?

Threatened? You sound a little paranoid.

[romesq]

Old dinosaur reporting in here. Our elem teachers did home visits in the 1950s when I was growing up in Shreveport, LA. I loved being able to show my teachers my room and my dog and my piano. My mother got out the "good" stuff (Depression Glass -- before it became $$$ collectibles-- was just our best then) and served cake and coffee. FWIW, we lived in a blue collar working neighborhood and had very little money. I wore hand-me-downs from the cousins and the cake served was always just a plain 1-2-3-4 cake, sans icing (reserved for birthdays only) My second grade teacher even had her class to HER house! We were so excited! She served lemonade and tiny sandwiches. How proud we were to dress up and see where she lived! Of course, we were curious! But we loved our teachers back then in the Stone Age. The villages did indeed raise the children. ...

[TexasHorseLady]

Another old dinosaur says: I remember my first grade teacher (Miss Maybelle Morehead) taking our class to her house for lemonade and cookies. She lived right across the street from the school in a lovely old white house with wonderful gardens (I remember she had wax leaf ligustrum and crabapple bushes, among other things). This clearly made a positive impression on me, because I remember it in some detail some 51 years later.

Decades later, when my eldest was in school at a private school, his 5th grade teacher had the class to her house for a formal dinner. She had to do it twice, because she divided the class of 12 into 2 groups, different nights. They loved it, and remember it fondly.

Having a teacher drop by on a specific evening to meet the parents one on one for five minutes and drop off some papers that it would be convenient to have before the first day of class doesn't sound threatening at all. I think it's a good idea. And as someone said, if you don't want to be bothered to meet your child's teacher for five minutes at your front door, don't answer it.

[love roses]

Yeah, eventually they'll go away. I think I remember that our school did that one year when I was a kid (mid 70's). I thought it was cool. It wouldn't bother me at all if they did that here. In fact, it may be something to suggest for this district as an improvement. I guess it could stress someone out who is always prepared for everything to be caught unprepared, but I bet the visitors really thought nothing of it. How many families actually thought to provide them a snack and bottled water or came to the door dressed to the nines and had a spotless house? Probably not too many. I have 4 teachers that live on my street. None of them live in marble castles. None of them are ever dressed up and I always see them in shorts, sweat pants, t shirts, ponytails...Only 1 of them is a neat freak and organizer maniac (she's my friend, so I can say that). The 2 next door to her aren't. She is always pulling weeds out of their yards and trimming their hedges when they aren't home (luckily, they appreciate it). So, I wouldn't worry about teachers judging anyone.