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This sounds really bad -- but I hate volunteering at my child's private school
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Anonymous
I never said that they change a grade or rec because of parental influence. I suggested that volunteerism by a parent might naturally make a teacher or staff member FEEL more disposed towards a parent and that's parent's child or family. That positive feeling could subconsciously result in better grades and recs. Knowing that teachers are human, I do wonder about the effects of a parent's good deeds to help the teacher and the school. |
Anonymous
| Okay. I still think the reality of school life (grades are based on performances on tests and papers etc) and college admissions would make any effect negligible, but I understand your point. |
Anonymous
I really do hope YOU are right. I'd rather that the world worked as justly as you suggest. |
Anonymous
Tell it to all these DCUM women ... http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&as_q=%22man+up%22&as_epq=&as_oq=&as_eq=&num=100&lr=&as_filetype=&ft=i&as_sitesearch=www.dcurbanmom.com&as_qdr=all&as_rights=&as_occt=any&cr=&as_nlo=&as_nhi=&safe=images |
Anonymous
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Depends on the school. Large state schools (including great ones) may have undergraduate admissions that are essentially grade- and score-driven, but elite privates can't or don't make admissions decision exclusively on that basis. When you have more than enough kids with great grades and scores to fill your class, you use things like teacher recs to figure out which are the really exceptional kids.
That said, I agree that it's ludicrous to think that parent volunteering affects teacher recs. Not only would that be a serious integrity issue, but there's no self-interest on the other side. Teacher just aren't the primary/immediate beneficiaries of parents' volunteer work for the school and they don't even see most of it; the administration may be grateful, but you'd have to believe that (a) administrators pressure teachers to juice up the recs of kids whose parents volunteer (b) teachers comply and don't make sure that their better students get better recs regardless and (c) teachers' superlatives, unmoored by compelling content/anecdotes, persuade admissions officers to take the not-so-special student with the gung-ho mommy volunteer. That said I'm certainly willing to believe that private elementary and secondary day schools may factor parent participation (as reported by previous school administrators whom they know/trust) into admissions decisions. But it's a silly claim at the college level. |
Anonymous
I think she just did. |
Anonymous
| Regarding teacher recs...I agree with an earlier poster who said that parental involvement might help w/ respect to middle school/high school admissions to the privates...but colleges don't really care about parental involvement unless that involvement has to do with the ability to write huge checks! |
Anonymous
| Not crazy about it but I try to volunteer for the events that I enjoy doing. This will sound crazy but I feel obligated to volunteer because we really do not have the extra money to give to Annual Giving. |
Anonymous
No one has suggested that colleges care about parental involvement per se! That would be ludicrous. The thought was that maybe the big volunteers' kids might get better recs from the college counselor. Might. That's the issue. |
Anonymous
Volunteering def. impacts teacher recs from preschool to elementary. |
Anonymous
| Anonymously on DCUM, I am willing to admit that I rather dislike volunteering. I do my best to volunteer for low key things, like working in the library or helping with a small portion of a larger event. It is really helpful to be on campus to learn who your kids friends are (as well as who you would like them NOT to be!) and I think you get more help and interaction from the teachers when you are willing to commit time to make their lives easier ... it is only fair. Nonetheless, as a shy person, I wish I could just drop my child off and pick her up and that's it!! Life just doesn't work that way, so I try to do my part. |
Anonymous
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I used to enjoy volunteering in elementary school for classroom assistance and special projects. I didn't do much parental social stuff/fundraising. High school volunteering can be an exercise in diplomacy. So are social events for parents . Varsity sports games are also in that category.
These things are far more treacherous than elementary and middle school. It's more draining than work since it's your child. |
Anonymous
| Agree that varsity sports are in that category pp |
Anonymous
As a mom who works on the school auction, I just want to say please don't avoid working on them! Ours, like most I think, is 100% for financial aid and the main people who work on ours are people who receive some of this aid! And this is at a DC private if you are wondering. We need people in low-key roles or the money will not get raised. It is the people who spend at the auction that you might be confusing us with. We are the worker bees putting on the event in the hopes that other parents who can afford to will buy the stuff auction night and make the whole thing a success for the aid pool. |
Anonymous
| Our school wouldn't let any old mom work on the auction pp. It had to be the ones with the deepest pockets. |