Is your dad taking you to work? Schools hope not.
Is your dad taking you to work? Schools hope not
Many U.S. school districts are urging parents to keep their kids in class and not take them to work Thursday for an annual event they say disrupts learning at an increasingly critical time of year.
"This year, of all years, to have a student miss a day for something like this that could be done anytime — it just seems the focus should be on students and their learning here," said Guy Schumacher, the superintendent of Libertyville Elementary School District 70 in suburban Chicago.
Some administrators said they recognized that spending time with their parents at work could be a valuable educational experience for children, but it does not justify pulling them out of the classroom — even for one day.
Administrators have been complaining about the event's date for well over a decade. Some have said they've contacted the Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Foundation to ask that it be held on a school holiday or during the summer, but the organization won't budge.
"It's always there on the calendar, the fourth Thursday in April.
Darrell Propst, principal of Taylor Elementary School in Reynoldsburg, Ohio, said it's the same day his third- and fourth-graders are taking the Ohio Achievement Assessment test. Like others administrators who sent letters or posted e-mail messages on school Web sites, he asked parents to find another day to bring their children to work.
"Because of the high-stakes testing we're involved in during the spring, the kids need to be in school as much as they can," said Ron Simpson, a spokesman for a regional education service center in Richardson, Texas.
Some parents, however, say their children learn enough about their parents and the world that day to make up for whatever they miss in class.
"I think it's a great opportunity for my daughter to see her mother in action, so to speak," said Alicia Agugliaro, who planned to take her 7-year-old daughter to the drug development company in Princeton, N.J., where she works in marketing communications. "Our company emphasized leadership and partnership, and I think that's a good message for kids."
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- Posted on April 22, 2010
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I believe that it is a very educational experience for children to be with an adult in their workplace for a day to see how a real job works and what their mom/dad gets to do all day. However it is harmful to the education of the student during the critical days before a big test. If the student misses even one day of review, it could possibly jeopardize their scores. I believe that both parties would benefit from the holiday if the schedule was different. Perhaps before Christmas break or spring break when there are not as many new skills being taught at the school.
These two statements, " it just seems the focus should be on students and their learning here" And, "I think that's a good message for kids" Are Opinions.
In this article, the opionionated statement (made by Alicia Agugliaro) is,"I think it's a great opportunity for my daughter to see her mother in action, so to speak,".
I dissagre I think kids should be incuraged to go to there parents work,it could introduce them to there future. Kids have diffrent intrests and they might find there parents work fasanating.
I disagree VERY STRONGLY!! I love going to work with my dad it's fun to take a break off of learning once in a while, and you can always do makeup work so I don't think people should not go to work with their dad.
Take your kid to work day is like parent teacher conferences. our parents are learning about what we are doing in school and we are learning what they do at their jobs. its not like we are getting dumber each day we don't come to school. its like them saying they don't want us to have our weekends off.
what do you mean high stakes test? you already are lowering that grades! soon all you will need to get into collage is a pencil. One day really doesn't matter! what are we going to miss the celery in food coloring? wow that's amazing and if you care so much make that a day off.
Parents take your kid to work day is perfectly fine. Missing a day of school, won't make them not as smart. I believe taking your kid to work day will show them, you work for the money you want. Do people honestly think kids missing one day will throw them off? That is absolutely crazy.
I think missing one day of school is okay. Some kids just need a break! How can the school expect us to attend school for almost a year w/ out being late of absent. Most of us kids are not as perfect as the school wants us to be. Please, just give us some slack!
Taking your child to work is okay and one day away from school will not throw them back. Kids miss days from school because of sickness, too, and it doesn't throw them behind drastically. The article says, “Some parents, however, say their children learn enough about their parents and the world that day to make up for whatever they miss in class,” That's true, they're learning valuable life experience they can use when they grow older. One time I was pulled to work by my dad, though it was on a break, and he taught me all about his job at the Hartford. I learned how to successfully work with others from my dad while I was there, a skill that will most definitely help in the future. Kids should be allowed to go to work with their parents, one day away from school won't set them back.