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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]
OP here:

Everything worked out. I emailed the teacher and he sent a document with calendars for the year showing the units they will work on in each subject (which he said all the teachers at the grade level uses). He responded very politely, sent it the that night and didn't seem to take anything personally. Which is great, because now I see that there are several units/standards they are covering pretty thoroughly that I don't have to plan to teach and can take off our plate, and a couple of things I would love to double down on at the same time (they are going to be doing some engineering design projects (yay!) which will be great for me to supplement during that same month and prior to that).

I am not sure why some people in this thread would have felt that much apprehension and anxiety from a parent asking for a look at the curriculum they plan to teach. I only had to ask because the district does not have this listed anywhere on their website and it is not publicly available. The teacher probably knows this, so its no big deal to send it. And its obvious he already had it in document form and that it was planned out by the teachers together already. Why would they have needed to hide it?

A parent asking for a curriculum calendar does not mean a slippery slope into them harassing you all year over details and explanations and forcing you to teach them to read or something. This isn't a give a mouse a cookie situation, and just as teachers are constantly asking parents to cooperate with them by supporting the classroom with school supplies, volunteering, chaperoning, reading to the child every night, and so on, teachers need to cooperate with parents on supporting their child's learning at home as well. We are ALL in this together to ensure our kids do well. Responding to a parent with secrecy or telling the parent they need to sit back and let them handle it is defensiveness, IMO, and there is probably a negative reason for that.

If a parent harasses you, THEN you express your concern and set your boundary by saying "No." Don't respond to every parent that approaches you as if they are out to abuse you. Just like I don't let a teacher giving me an attitude or being dismissive of me or my child affect how I speak to all teachers.

I know I may be feeding the trolls, but just wanted to add my response for any real parents or teachers reading that may encounter a similar situation.

PS. We are also at a Title 1 school where teachers and admin have tried hard to get parents to do activities with their children at home because so many of them are failing to pass the standardized tests. They send all types of materials home with activities to do with the child, like counting snacks, and they even send flashcards home. It would not make sense for them to balk at a parent that willingly asks to see what they are teaching so that she can do all those things most efficiently. That's one less child for them to have to worry about pouring even more resources to. [/quote]

How can you tell from a calendar if a topic is covered thoroughly or not? Did you simply count the number of days? Unless you actually see all the materials, how would you know the actual depth of instruction.

If your child is on or above grade level (which you imply), it doesn’t benefit a teacher for you to supplement st home. The kids that it matters for are those who are struggling.[/quote]

I'm not sure what you mean. He didn't send a calendar, he sent each topic. There is no way of knowing how thoroughly something is being taught, but I don't need to know that. I only need to know when and how long. I will know how thoroughly as I teach my child and see where she is in a particular topic during a given week. I don't need to see all the materials or lesson plans, only the ordering and timing of the topics, and which topics are being covered and which aren't.

My child is above grade level, but unfortunately that doesn't mean anything for this particular school, where teachers are generally not able to teach to the standards (no matter how much they plan to) because there are too many students that are struggling and/or with behavioral problems for the teacher to deal with. I'm not going to let her coast at an "A' level at the school when an "A" really just translates to just a little better than everyone else, when the standards have been lowered for the average child there.

Anyway, why would I be trying to benefit the teacher? I am trying to benefit my daughter and my daughter only. [/quote]

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