NJ wants parents involved in schools? Careful what you wish for (Opinion)

New Jersey lawmakers heard over two hours of testimony from people who would like to possibly mandate that parents get involved with their children's education.  I say be careful what you wish for. Imagine a football coach involving the parents of the players in the team strategy.

This can't be good. Not all New Jersey parents have the time to get involved in their child's school because they are working multiple jobs to keep the kids in those schools. They trust that the school knows what they're doing as far as educating their children.

If this happened, I think teachers who are already overworked and overcrowded with kids who don't want to be there will now be dealing with parents who don't want to be there or can't be there. That will only make a bad situation worse.

“Giving voice to parents is very, very important, and I think that it’s always important for us to hear from parents and to understand what’s happening in the classroom from their point of view,” Assemblywoman Mila Jasey, D-Essex, the committee’s co-chairwoman said to the Joint Committee on the Public Schools. I say too many parents, like cooks, could spoil the broth. If a parent has a problem with something that's going on, let them voice their opinion one on one, but to try to get all parents to agree on how things are done will never happen.

Also, when will this parental involvement take place? Will the teachers be paid for their extra time dealing with the parents? I'd give them overtime. How much of a say will the parents have in their involvement?

The state requires children to go to school until they're 16. Parents expect and trust the state to teach them appropriately. While I would encourage parents to get involved with their children's education I don't think it's the state's place to make it a law.

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