I don't WANT a parent helper to write comments about dd1's reading in her reading book!

[pilote]

Is she a teacher? NO! Am I being totally unreasonable to ask her teacher who this person is and what her qualifications are? The TA already does most of the reading and handwriting practice with dd1, what is her bloody teacher doing all day fgs.

but those of us who are PERFECT parnets knwo all the levels on reading obviosuly

The comment I liked from ther TA who listens to my dd read is

"E rushes through the words to get to hte bits she can do voices to"

My dd's school have parent helpers in school each day and each child reads with a ph once a week and with the teacher once a week or so too. On the day when they read to a PH, there is only a note in the reading record saying "Read with PH today." No comment. Having volunteered last year I know that the PH don't give any comments to the teacher and they are never asked. The teacher has the rest of the week to assess the child and the 10 mins they read with a parent are pure practice. If it's the comment that angers you, perhaps you could nicely suggest to the school that there is no need for comments in the book.

haven't read all of this but I'm amazed. Actually some parents are qualified teachers who are keeping their hand in/ making contacts for when they are ready to go back to teaching. Others are parents who like children and kindly give up their time to help. At any school I've been involved with the policy is to get CRB checks on everyone in case one day there is a crisis and a mum got left alone for a minute.

Why do you care about the parents name? Clearly she's said something you don't like. So you need to talk to the teacher and find out if the teacher agrees. If she does are you then going to take your child elsewhere or will you listen to it? If she doesn't then she can have a word with the parent helper.

What do you care about here - improving your child's reading or the fact that another parent knows your child has a problem? It doesn't seem like you care about improving your child's reading.

Also given the required spirit of "openness" since the Data Protection Act and all that , would you rather the helper was making her remarks on some sheet which only she and the teacher sees, so you then get hit with less than flattering comments for the first time at your Parent/Teacher discussion, or that you already knew what sort of issues may come up ?

Not read the whole thread.
I work on four days a week and on my day off give up 20 mins to listen to children read in a class other than my DSs - and, yes, write down comments as feed back for the teacher (things theyve found difficult etc).The teacher is grateful, children benefit from being heard reading.
If you dont like it just say you dont want this for your child!

this thread is hilarious!!

Where oh where oh where is PILOTE???

Did you speak with the 'bloody' teacher today and express your concerns??

oh chippie....don't you geddit? pilote is a troll!

trip trap right down to that classroom why doncha pilote?

As some others have said, I don't agree with pilote's views about her teacher or how she expressed herself in her posts.
BUT juule and enid and blu have commented on something that does concern me - volunteer helpers shouldn't IMO be placed in a teacher-type role in terms of the type of feedback they give. I wonder what it was that the volunteer wrote? Might it have been inappropriate?
And while there are lots of great Mners on here talking about the voluntary work they do at their dc's schools, I have seen posts on Mn in the past where people have commented about children they are helping, and have felt really unhappy at the thought of that happening to my child, or my parenting skills being judged and written about by someone who has no business to do this . So I do think that parent volunteer work needs to be carefully managed, and perhaps that's not happening at Pilote's school. But blaming the teachers and the TA = not on.

Then I'm going to upset you now: sixth formers listen to our youngest pupils read and - shock/horror - write in their planners!!!!

I agree with you Marina. I thought it earlier when i read this thread.
It sounds like maybe there was an inappropriate comment written as pilote also said it may upset her daughter.

I hear you Marina.

Actually in the past I have commented (whether on here or in RL not sure) about the general skills of some of the FS2 pupils I help - eg that some of them struggle with a climbing frame or maybe the variation in ability wrt writing.

Hope I have not said anything that the parents themselves could not well hear. And in fact when I see th eparents I always make sure to say sthg nice about their children.

If/when I hear readers (not until later in FS2 really) I do write in their books - but for eg "XXX read well today but struggled with sounding out words" or whatever. As seeker said, I think that is a comment not on the child's reading skills in general but on how they read today, which I am well qualified to offer!

I am sure she is doing what teachers do, you know, sitting in the staff room, having endless cups of coffee, coming in at 9 and leaving at 3:30, and generally sitting in class and letting the children just get on with it.

BTW, to all dedicated parent volunteers out there, thank you!

any comment that implies criticism of parenting skills needs to be handled carefully, wherever it comes from. I was pretty annoyed when one of my children's teachers suggested we should have another pet. (My children had been told that when they could care for our pet themselves for a month they would be responsible enough to have a second pet. I didn't appreciate another adult undermining that or trying to sugest an expense I couldn't afford).

We don't know what the helper said - it may have been inappropriate, it may just be an overly sensitive parent taking exception to something harmless.

Heated my Year 10 DD hears some less able Year 7s read two mornings a week .

I thought of this thread this morning as I spoke to a mum who listens to kids read (at a different school to my dds) - she was saying how you'd be amazing how some kids just don't get it and how frustrating it is. 'especially as some of their parents look very middle class so you would think they would help them'

sorry but this does confirm some fears of mine re mum helpers...

Which fears, Enid? That mothers will talk about how well or badly children are reading, or that they will make assumptions about how much or how little parents are helping them? I can see that both could be disturbing.

In our school we always help in our own children's class, but I think the policy of helping in other classes is a good one.

im a parent helper as well as a cm and help out in nursey and reception when i can..
i think the issue seems to be here, that the OP thinks her child isnt particulary good at reading and this parent helper hasnt signed in blood that she shalt not discuss her childs reading in the playground at home time!, shes concerned there will be tittle tattle (which ofcourse the parent wont as she has some tact)instead of looking at the real issue of spending more time helping her own child read and being grateful that if she does need the extra practice, that the school has seen fit to get her it, thus them trying to get over the problem while the OP clings onto such unreasonably, irrelevent details with the skin of her teeth!

Wow MissInvisible - you've worked all that out from the op posts!!! Including knowing whether the parent helper will tittle tattle or not. Hey I'm impressed

no, i suggest the problem is the op is worried the ph will tittle tattle about her child and that is most likely not the case.
shes worried her childs development will be cause for discussion with others as she already said comments were not good.
A teacher wouldnt stand gossiping with parents about certain children, she doesnt want her child to feel /hear she isnt doing as well as others?

Actually sometimes parent helpers do tittle tattle - I've experienced it myself when a parent helper was talking in detail about a child's behaviour when out for a meal with mums from ds's school. (I happened to know that the child was AS and was but kept my mouth shut) the other mum discussed how shocking the behaviour was that she had witnessed whilst working as a parent helper and exactly what teacher and head had done etc. That mum was also a teacher at a different school by the way. I'm sure this is rare 'cos the mum was a bit of a silly cow in general.

most parent helpers I know absolutely love to gossip about the children. I've seen them do it and heard them talking about the children in the classes they help in.

In fact, when my first child started reception, I was in floods of tears because a parent helper in her class came and told me that dd sat on her own every break time and 'looked sad' when I had been under the impression that she was happy. I went into the school, had meeting with the teachers and they all assured me that she was fine and was just finding her way (which it turned out she was) but I really REALLY suffered because of that and doubted my ability to read dd FOR AGES because of it. Stupid woman.

And there are a lot of them about...

having said that, I take my hat off to those who help and don't rock the boat. State schools these days could not run without parent helpers.