Quote:
Originally Posted by Dynamic
Sometimes parents don't have time to be fully involved as they would like. I'm a single dad and with a full time job/house to maintain, I just don't have the bandwidth to do what I am being asked to do. Field trip supervision, school council, volunteering at events......I get requests to help out all the time. I just can't. 20-30 years ago most of my friends in school had one parent at home that was able to do all the things requested. Today, when I go pick up my kids from school about half the people there for pick-up are grandparents because the parents are at work. Teachers and administrators need to understand and understand quick that it is not because parents don't care, its because we are being stretched thin in almost every other way.
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I'm willing to bet most teachers understand, or at least the ones with kids do. They do the parent/teacher interviews where the parents fly in like bats out of hell from their second job, or try to mediate a fight because the couple is mid-divorce. They're aware that for most kids, one-on-one attention isn't reasonable.
You're totally right that in days past, a stay-at-home parent was more common than it is today, and the world hasn't really adjusted to a reality where divorce is more common or both spouses work beyond full time. I don't know what the answer is, but it certainly seems like things aren't exactly getting better.