I found this while reading the online version of time. It looked interesting and I believe that the majority of the teacher's pests hold true in today's world. See what you think.

http://i.timeinc.net/time/covers/110105 ... phic_c.jpg

http://i.timeinc.net/time/covers/110105 ... phic_b.jpg

http://i.timeinc.net/time/covers/110105 ... phic_a.jpg

There were also some quotes from different teachers and parents online. Here are a couple of them:

"They'll misbehave in front of you. You see very little of that 'I don't want to get in trouble' attitude because they know mom or dad will come to their defense." —MARCIA JONES--Second-grade teacher in Murfreesboro, Tenn.

"You get so angry that you don't care what the school"s perspective is. This is my child. And you did something that negatively impacted my child. I don't want to hear that you have 300 kids." —JOSEPH ZILLO--Father of two children, ages 15 and 12, in Silver Spring, Md.

I really enjoyed looking at the photojournalism links you had. I think parents can be both a curse and a blessing. On one hand, I think that I want parents to be involved, and challenge me on things they don't understand. However, I know that some parents seem to feel that they can run the class better than anyone. A friend of mine recently left the teaching field, and one of the major reasons was she found it extremely exhausting to deal with some of the parents. At the same time, at least these parents are involved in their child's life, but when is it too much. From what we hear as education majors there is not a happy medium between the overprotective meddling parents and the nonexistent impossible to get in touch with parents. I know that there are some positive parental experiences, and there are probably ways to establish a stronger relationship with many parents. I wonder if anyone has insight as far as that is concerned.

I have a friend who teaches 4th grade and last year she had a super class. She loved all the kids and about 7 of them had straight A's. The problem was the parents. They were so competitive with each other that they kept calling my friend to see who was ranked 1st in the class. It did not matter to these parents that their child had straight A's they wanted them to be number one. So yes I believe teachers are a big problem.

As I sit here waiting on a parent, who emailed me this morning with a question about her child's grade, to show up during my precious and valuable planning period, I can honestly say that parents are not my biggest problem. They can be a royal pain sometimes, but I think the schools and each teacher face far more serious issues than parents.

As a parent, I understand the emotions that go into some of the meetings. Most parents are biased in favor of their children. If you know that at the onset of a meeting, and are prepared with documentation that supports the grade or whatever is in question, then most parents will become an assett. A great tip is to start the conference with something positive about the student, even if it is a stretch, like, "Johnny seems to have a good relationship with his peers," or "Johnny sure is a sharp dresser." Most parents love to hear nice things about their children and balancing the good with the bad is reassuring and calming. Also, it is important to remember that parents are human and flawed and diverse.

OK. So my parent came and went. Everything went well. This particular parent recognizes her child's own flaws; most do. We agreed on her assessment that her daughter was lazy, but extremely capable and she has plans to implement at home to encourage her daughter to stay on top of things. She is concerned because her daughter is failing, but I have people doing worse. (Of course those parents won't come in or call....)

I have learned how to deal with parents of all sorts, but my biggest problem is lack of time. I don't have enough time to grade, to plan or even breathe. I have three preps and I feel like I shortchange my kids because I am strapped for planning time. I grade during my planning periods, after school, on weekends, and I am never caught up because I always assign more. It's like laundry.... That is the biggest challenge I face on a daily basis.

I think that parents can definetly be a problem for teachers. I think that it is wonderful when a parent is interested in the success of their child so they make the extra effort to come in or call the teacher to assure their success. But I think too often parents are ready to blame the teacher for the mistakes that their children are making. And there is no doubt that trouble will arise.

i hope that parents are not my biggest problem once i get into the school system. i think my time and efforts will be focused more on my students needs and their well-being. i hope to find a teaching style that the students like as much as I do.

I think that the whole parent think can be avoided by massive amounts of preparation. We should be prepared for anything. So in other words, you better be a good debater. If you can't come up with the answer at that very moment for the parents, then you'd better have something in the back of your mind for most scenarios. *Granted there are those instances that hit you like a brick....* Student records, former teachers, pre-first day meetings with parents... this should help.

I have mixed feelings about this. I really enjoyed looking at these online pictures, they were great! I do agree with them, and parents can sometimes be the root of the problem and can create more problems than are necessary sometimes. On the otherhand, I think parents can be your biggest assest in the classroom. If you have good parents who want to be involved in the class and stand behind their children they are great. Even parents who work and cant be there can still be of help to us as teachers. I think it is important to stress how important parents are in your class very early on. We all know circumstances in which parents can be a pain and sometimes it does make teaching even that much more difficult when you have to deal with angry parents who are very quick to blame the teacher for things gone wrong. But I think it is important to realize that parents are not going away so we must learn efficient ways to deal with them so that our lives are easier and not so stressful.