From the May 15, 1996 Daily Report Card:
-> *2   PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT:  A PANACEA OR A PAIN?
->    The notion that parental involvement in a child's education
-> is critical is widely accepted.  However, differences arise over the
-> type of involvement expected of parents.  Some demand
-> parental control over what their children learn or how the school is
-> managed.  Critics of this approach complain that too much
-> parental involvement can become parent interference (Barlow, THE
-> DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 5/7).
->    A bill in Congress, the Parental Rights and Responsibilities
-> Act, is known to some as the "Parents Know Best" bill, according to
-> the paper.  The legislation states that "governments should
-> not interfere in the decisions and actions of parents without
-> compelling justification."  Supporters of the bill say it would
-> bolster the arguments of parents who "object to government
-> regulations in schools and social services," writes the paper.
-> But detractors charge that the bill would force educators to
-> attempt to please every parent all the time.
->    Michael Simpson, legal counsel for the National Education
-> Association, said the bill would cause schools to provide a
-> "designer curriculum" for each child.  Officials from the
-> National Parent-Teacher Association also have testified against the
-> bill.  "This will cause a litigious morass and it will take money
-> from school funding," said Arnold Fege, director of
-> government relations for the National PTA.
->    Dr. Ora Lee Watson, executive for magnet curriculum
-> development in the Dallas school district, said she agrees with
-> increased parental involvement, but within certain parameters.
-> "We have not established any parameters for involvement," she
-> said.  According to Watson, "giving parents responsibility for
-> schoolwide decisions without specifying who is accountable can be
-> dangerous," writes the paper.  Few think they can manage IBM, but
-> "Everyone thinks they can teach or run a public school," she
-> said.
->    Dr. Joyce Epstein, a researcher at Johns Hopkins U's Center
-> on Families, Communities, Schools and Children's Learning, favors
-> school-community partnerships that "channel involvement into
-> specific goals for the school," reports the paper.  She claims
-> schools have been burdened by parents with single-issue agendas who
-> influence key decisions.
->    However, Chris Clicka, legal counsel with the Home School
-> Legal Defense Association, said parents alone should determine
-> what influences their child is exposed to.  "Parents have been
-> second-class citizens," he said.  Clicka helped draft the parent
-> responsibility legislation now before Congress, reports the
-> paper.
--- PCBoard (R) v15.22/M 10
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