Is your dad taking you to work? Schools hope not.
Is your dad taking you to work? Schools hope not
Many U.S. school districts are urging parents to keep their kids in class and not take them to work Thursday for an annual event they say disrupts learning at an increasingly critical time of year.
"This year, of all years, to have a student miss a day for something like this that could be done anytime — it just seems the focus should be on students and their learning here," said Guy Schumacher, the superintendent of Libertyville Elementary School District 70 in suburban Chicago.
Some administrators said they recognized that spending time with their parents at work could be a valuable educational experience for children, but it does not justify pulling them out of the classroom — even for one day.
Administrators have been complaining about the event's date for well over a decade. Some have said they've contacted the Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Foundation to ask that it be held on a school holiday or during the summer, but the organization won't budge.
"It's always there on the calendar, the fourth Thursday in April.
Darrell Propst, principal of Taylor Elementary School in Reynoldsburg, Ohio, said it's the same day his third- and fourth-graders are taking the Ohio Achievement Assessment test. Like others administrators who sent letters or posted e-mail messages on school Web sites, he asked parents to find another day to bring their children to work.
"Because of the high-stakes testing we're involved in during the spring, the kids need to be in school as much as they can," said Ron Simpson, a spokesman for a regional education service center in Richardson, Texas.
Some parents, however, say their children learn enough about their parents and the world that day to make up for whatever they miss in class.
"I think it's a great opportunity for my daughter to see her mother in action, so to speak," said Alicia Agugliaro, who planned to take her 7-year-old daughter to the drug development company in Princeton, N.J., where she works in marketing communications. "Our company emphasized leadership and partnership, and I think that's a good message for kids."
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- Posted on April 22, 2010
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I think that the main issure with children missing school isn't the damage to their education but a loss in pay for that absent child. School administrators need to learn that there's more to being in school than sitting in a boring classroom being lectured at. When parents bring their children to work, children are learning outside of a school environment which can be pretty exciting, especially at a young age. At the same time, parents get to spend quality time with their children without leaving the workplace. As for testing, I believe that a testing day should never be missed by any student, however, I also think that the administration has never considered moving the testing period around this widely participated in event. How hard is it to schedule a test around a day that doesn't change?
Some teachers are overreacting about this. It doesnt matter if a kid misses one day of school. He or she is missing it to learn about a job that they might want to look into doing. They tell us all the time how we should be getting jobs so why not start looking into one now and miss just one day of school for it?
I do agree with the teachers that students should not miss a day if they are taking a major test, but if it is just a regular school day, I'm sure one day won't ruin their school year. Students could always make up their school work the next day, and being able to learn about what your parents do for a living is very beneficial.
I think those teachers are overreacting. It's okay to miss one day of school to go with your parents to work so they can learn about what goes on in the real world and when they have jobs. At their parents work site they are still learning, so it's a win win. It's only one day, I mean come on.
I believe that Kids should be able to go to their parents work, it is a good experience and they should be able to go. I think this is crazy that the people are complaining sooo much, they need to realize its only ONE day.
I agree that if Bring Your Child to Work Day lands on a day for testing, the child should stay in school. However, on any other less important day, this annual event is really beneficial. My brother goes to work with my mom every year and he thinks it's really cool to see what she does on a day to day basis. A lot of times I find that when asked, kids don't really know exactly what their parent does for a living, and that's ridiculous!
Stay in School
*Ring! Ring!*
"Hello?"
"I'm the administrator for your daughter’s school."
"Okay, what do you need?"
"Your daughter is not in school, are you aware?"
"Yes, she's with me at work."
"Okay," the administrator says with a disappointed voice.
I went with my mom, a teacher, to her work for the past two years. This year, however, I’m not going. This year the date for “Bring Your Child to Work” day is on one of the days of testing for my school. In order to find out who would be missing my school sent out forms asking who would be attending “Bring Your Child to Work” day. The article states, “Administrators have been complaining about the event's date for well over a decade.” This year I absolutely agree, there is no need to miss testing for “Bring Your Child to Work” day.
I find “Bring Your Child to Work” day is as silly as a polar bear dressed as a clown. I get the point if the student wants to do the same job as their parents when they grow up, and have firmly decided that. However, bring a seven-year-old, as Alicia Agugliaro, wants to just pointless. The child doesn’t even understand what the day is about; you’re just wasting a day they could be learning. I completely agree with this article, don’t take your kids out of school for “Bring Your Child to Work” day!
Comment: i disagree because i think the parents can take there kids out of school and the school cant say anything about it. I think it is good for the kids to get a feel of what the working world is like.
Summary: Many U.S. school districts are urging parents to keep their kids in class and not take them to work Thursday for an annual event they say disrupts learning at an increasingly critical time of year. Some administrators said they recognized that spending time with their parents at work could be a valuable educational experience for children, but it does not justify pulling them out of the classroom even for one day.
I think that it is stupid for the administrators in this school to want to cancel take your child to work day . We go to school 180 days a year if we miss one it won't matter , especially because students miss school all the time fro other reasons. As long as it is not a frequent thing then it is fine to miss school once in a while. As far as the administrators being worried about the achievement tests , why don't they just reschedule the tests? They know that a ton of kids are going to miss school on that day regardless , why would they make something important fall on that day? That's just so ridiculous. If my school were to do this then i would purposely miss school even if i didn't go to work with one of my parents . If these tests are THAT important to the school (if these are like the ask tests , i think they are just a load of crap , but anyway that's MY opinion.) then they would have the brains to reschedule them.