Letter to the editor: Parental involvement in curriculum

"Voting for Thrive 4 CFSD will allow trained, skilled and knowledgeable teachers to teach, students to thrive, and parents to participate in meaningful and supportive ways," writes former middle school teacher Fonda Townsend in today's Arizona Daily Star. Read the full letter below.

Thrive 4 CFSD

As a former middle school teacher, I appreciated parental participation. I wonder, however, how the CFSD “Back to Basics” candidates would have lesson plans available for parental review. If 10 parents review a lesson plan with five in favor and five who object, what would they have the teacher do? Abandon the lesson? Wait until all 10 come to a consensus before presenting the lesson? While transparency is a must, this notion seems unrealistic.

Lesson planning does not occur in a vacuum. Each lesson requires a clearly stated objective, active participation in which students demonstrate their understanding of the objective, an assessment of lesson objective success, and closure in which students re-state the objective in a way that is meaningful to them. Developing these skills as a teacher requires continuing education, peer reviews, administrative evaluations, and constant revision to ensure students are learning.

Voting for Thrive 4 CFSD will allow trained, skilled and knowledgeable teachers to teach, students to thrive, and parents to participate in meaningful and supportive ways.

Fonda Townsend

Foothills