Bill Would Require Teachers to Grade Parents on Whether They're Attentive Enough

Mississippi state legislature gets too involved in parenting decisions.

Because there just isn't enough meddling in parents' lives, a bill headed to the Mississippi state Senate would require teachers to grade parents on how involved they are with their kids' education.

The so-called Parent Involvement and Accountability Act already passed the Mississippi House. If it passes the Senate, not only would parents be required to helicopter their kids' homework and assignments, they would also be required to cripple their kids' sense of confidence and self-reliance. After all, what message does a nattering, nagging, homework-obsessed parent send? To the teacher—and statehouse—I guess it will send an A+ under this law. But to the student it sends the message: I don't trust you to be smart or proactive enough to do your schooling on your own, you lazy slug. You need me, an adult, to constantly oversee and prod you.

According to watchdog.org:

The legislation, by state Rep. Gregory Holloway (D-Hazlehurst), would mandate a section be added to each child's report card on which the parents are graded on their responsiveness to communication with teachers, the students' completion of homework and readiness for tests, and the frequency of absences and tardiness.

What's more, adds the Parent Herald, parents would also be required to volunteer—an oxymoron at best:

[P]arents will be required to participate in at least one supportive function for the school. This includes holding position in the Parent Teacher Association, working at concession stands during sports games or helping kids at bus stops.

While we're on the subject of the government telling people what to do with their ostensibly free time, the legislation would also mandate nightly writing assignments for students, and require them to read and write a book report on one book each month.

Look, I'd like kids to read more, too. But for the state house to mandate the way teachers teach and parents parent is a top-down idea that does nothing to foster a true love of learning. Instead, it turns reading into a chore, and parenting in policing.

As a government bonus: Parents get to ignore anything else they hoped to do with their family's free time and devote it to proving their worthiness to the state. Way to go, Mississippi.