Thanks for all of the input in this thread. I took over the Volunteer Coordinator position for a Florida elementary school last week. The opinions expressed here have been extremely helpful to me.
In our district in Illinois, they have changed the grading system to reflect the standardized testing (ISAT) E-Exceeds M-Meets B-Below Requirements. It's horrible. The students are tested on where they are supposed to be at that time of the year and the grade is determined from there. They are never given the chance to Exceed because that is not important in the grand scheme of things. They want all kids to Meet. Once they Meet, the kids are grouped and they do all kinds of projects to keep busy while the students Below are worked with.
I would gladly cut snowflakes so that my child had the opportunity to Exceed to her potential. Some teachers use parents to do the testing - count to 20, know your ABC's, but for the most part they don't include parents in the educational process, just the extras that they don't always have time for. Grading papers is out, due to privacy issues. It's all looked at very strangely. I have offered to do so many things, only to get handed booklets to get stapled or letters to be cut out. I feel pushy at times, but I keep asking.
I don't know alot about Florida, heck nothing at all. Here in New York the standards that our students are being asked to reach is being measured by those lovely standarized tests, bad test grades result in less funding, the state coming in after afew years, yada yada. You talk to any teacher and they will tell you that those tests are the main concern, getting the kids to be able to perform well and be life long learners. The sad part is if you ask the old timer teachers they will tell you that they have had to take alot of the fun out fo their lesson plans to adapt to these standards.
It may mean less art projects, less guest speakers things like that. I bet in some schools the teachers depend on those volunteers to cut things out, prep things so that it still does fit in their teaching lesson. Maybe it saves some time...if that is what I was asked to do I would do it because truthfully they dont have to allow you in there. different perspective to think about...
"When you stop learning you stop growing."
The reason this issue touches me is that I was the quiet, daydreaming kid in the back of the class who couldn't follow the lesson plan. But with paper, scissors and glue - I could focus and figure out anything by looking at the end product. The classroom then and now is built around the linear, sequential thinker. This was not me, and not a lot of other kids I sat next to. In my case, the disparity between my IQ and classroom performance focused an uncomfortable amount attention on me. I could not live up to my academic promise - same with my siblings.
The emhasis on sheet work is understandable in third grade - since 3rd is the first FCAT year.
The use of volunteers to do children's projects is widespread enough to indicate that it is tolerated. As far as I know, there is nothing written about what kinds of work volunteers may or may not do. I think teachers and volunteers alike would be protected by such a policy. And it would give integrity to the whole process. I have done a lot of volunteer work - hospitals, Catholic Charities, Meals-On-Wheels, etc. A volunteer code has been a piece of paper that required my signature. Expecially when working with vulnerable populations, as in the case of Catholic Charities. I will look into this with our Volunteer Coordinator, a PTO chair.
Thanks for all your input. Expecially the teacher perspective.
