OK, well, I've read through most of these points, and being
that my district in Phoenix already does this (and has for many
years), I thought I would shed my thoughts on this.

My district is in inner-city Phoenix, and while home to many
gangs, etc. I for the most part am not afraid of going
somewhere. If for some reason I (and the 2-3 other teachers who
go with me) do feel uncomfortable (drugs, evil dogs, etc.), we
can leave at any time or not even go in. For the most part,
parents and children look forward to us visiting. Sometimes we
don't even go inside, but stand outside to talk to the parents
for a brief time. For new teachers, it's extremely eye-opening
to see how their students are living.

My students come from poverty and their living conditions are
usually pretty bad. I don't recall ever having to report anyone
to CPS based on a 5-minute visit. We only do this for one
morning before school starts (and it's so hot, my only
complaint), and we don't visit every house but try to do a lot.

Being a parent myself, I am not sure whether I would like a
home visit from my child's teacher. I guess I would, like most
of you, want to know what the point would be. Our focus at my
district is to just introduce ourselves, ask about their
children, tell them about the services the school offers, and
if they have any questions. The parentslike it, so I guess
that's why the district has decided to continue it.

By the way, I also believe that the Tempe School District does
something similar.

> I just heard a rumor from a teacher down in Tucson. She
> told me that the school district wants to start a process
> by which the teacher visits the home of her each of her
> students to get to know the parents better. I have very
> uncomfortable feelings about this. Number one is "Big
> Brother" intrusion into the very private homes of my
> parents--Number two is that I would have to report
> unsuitable surroundings in the home to a very understaffed
> Child Protective Agency -- Number three is the tons of
> extra paperwork and time that this process would eat up --
> Number 4 is the fact that I would be venturing into some
> very unsavory neighborhoods where I am an unwelcome
> presence. Please tell me that this rumor is only rumor. I
> thought that Arizona could not come up with any more wacky
> solutions to the poor educational standing but this so
> called solution might take the cake.

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