I don't want to say what district, but you are right, we already do
meet the teacher night. However, we don't get everyone to come to the
night things because many of our parents work or feel uncomfortable
coming to school because of their own experiences with school. So, we
try to reach out by going to their homes (which they welcome for the
most part) to tell them about what their children are learning and
what kind of services they might want to take advantage of (such as
parenting classes). It's also very humbling for the teachers to see
where their students live and what kind of obstacles they face.

On 11/03/09, confused then wrote:
> You stated down at the bottom of your post the reason your
> district (can you say who it is?) wants you to do this, but what
> is the difference between that reason and open house?
>
> Their reasoning sounds illogical if there is already open house
> and even meet the teacher night in place every school year.
>
> On 11/02/09, My district does this already wrote:
>> 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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