Enma Ai unavailable for comment.

/probably busy taking the monster parent to hell

I wish we had those courses in the US.

No, madame, actually your daughter is not particularly "special," and she may not have full points for a poorly written, disjointed, too short paper.

Yes, sir, your son did actually submit a paper in which he plagiarized something that I, myself, had recently published.

No, madam, your daughter's poor grades are not caused by any institutional bias against your religious or political beliefs, but rather, by her apparent inability or unwillingness to submit her assignments.

(true stories all.)

These people have NOTHING on asshole Scottsdale, AZ parents.

If you want to see the bottom of human depravity, move here to the suburbs of Phoenix. They still think that they deserve compensation for the VERY little they've paid in taxes.

Approves.

/link is hot for teacher

FloydA: I wish we had those courses in the US.

No, madame, actually your daughter is not particularly "special," and she may not have full points for a poorly written, disjointed, too short paper.

Yes, sir, your son did actually submit a paper in which he plagiarized something that I, myself, had recently published.

No, madam, your daughter's poor grades are not caused by any institutional bias against your religious or political beliefs, but rather, by her apparent inability or unwillingness to submit her assignments.

(true stories all.)

So question we dont ask enough is, is our teachers publishing?

Wow. We must be really good at exporting our very worst qualities. I thought I remembered hearing that the Japanese are generally very polite and not apt to put anyone out, let alone go all Yuppi McSoccermom on some poor teacher who had the nerve to give their kid a B-.

Are these the parents and teachers from Monster Island?

dionada: I thought I remembered hearing that the Japanese are generally very polite and not apt to put anyone out, let alone go all Yuppi McSoccermom on some poor teacher who had the nerve to give their kid a B-.

You heard wrong... monster parents are serious monster parents. The people who do helicopter over there can take it to some crazy extremes. They'll go in all yelling about the school is putting THEM out, to try and take advantage of the "you shouldn't put anyone out" thing.

/love "Yuppi"
//must remember it

Thank God I didn't have to deal with that too much while teaching. The parents were either supportive or more often completely absent/apprently uncaring.

Still have plenty of hellish children to deal with... Rudeness, defiance, plagarism (despite explicit warnings to the contrary) a host of other anti-social behaviors.

Catholic schools just aren't the bastions of discipline they used to be.

/LOL WUT

Many of my students' parents are quite supportive, but the ones who aren't really make me wonder....

I had a situation with one parent whose snowflake I caught cheating on a geometry exam. The snowflake had snuck into my classroom, broken into my desk, and stolen the answer key.

The mother did not deny her snowflake's cheating, but went to the administration, demanding that her snowflake's grade be restored, because I had made it 'too easy' for her snowflake to cheat. By leaving the answer key in my locked desk, I created too much of a temptation, or something to that effect. Sigh.

Apple, falling, not far, etc.

I suppose classes for monster parents is too much to hope for?

You need to deal with Japanese Monster Parents? You nuke 'em from orbit. Only way to be sure.

/ Window seat, please.

Here's my take on the situation.

You know when you go see a movie that most people wouldn't pay to see, but isn't exceptionally bad? Not bad enough to laugh at or publicly berate, but not good enough to not be wishing you hadn't ventured into the theater?

Happens to everyone at least once.

MOST people will tell their friends and family that the movie was OK. To defend their investment. What about that shiatty car of yours, that you buy and then the bad reviews start flooding in? People like to defend their investments.

Same with children.

People like to defend their investments. Even if the only investment was having sex, and popping out the kid. As the kid develops, they're more and more of an investment.

Monster parents? In Japan? More likely than you think.

Hrist: Here's my take on the situation.

You know when you go see a movie that most people wouldn't pay to see, but isn't exceptionally bad? Not bad enough to laugh at or publicly berate, but not good enough to not be wishing you hadn't ventured into the theater?

Happens to everyone at least once.

MOST people will tell their friends and family that the movie was OK. To defend their investment. What about that shiatty car of yours, that you buy and then the bad reviews start flooding in? People like to defend their investments.

Same with children.

People like to defend their investments. Even if the only investment was having sex, and popping out the kid. As the kid develops, they're more and more of an investment.

The ONLY investment. A kid is like a gaping wound in your paycheck. More-so than even debt or simple overcharging child support. Add in things like the cost of college and random things like dry cleaning or snacks that you pay on top of the other bills and it's obvious having a kid is more like buying an overpriced car.

Monster parents with tentacles?

Monster Marents, and Monster Trucks. What the Fark? Is it Caturday or Monster day?



/ Can't stop talking in Monster truck announcer guy voice
// turns on TV waits for commercials

bighairyguy: Are these the parents and teachers from Monster Island?

Well, that's a misnomer, it's more of a penninsula.

MooseUpNorth: You need to deal with Japanese Monster Parents? You nuke 'em from orbit. Only way to be sure.

/ Window seat, please.

I lol'd

/Aisle seat, please

/Teacher here

I really only see two types of parents:

1. "You gave my child a B? How dare you. Don't you know he's an Honors student?"

2. "I'm sorry, I really can't come to the conference to discuss why my child is failing all their classes."

FloydA: I wish we had those courses in the US.

No, madame, actually your daughter is not particularly "special," and she may not have full points for a poorly written, disjointed, too short paper.

Yes, sir, your son did actually submit a paper in which he plagiarized something that I, myself, had recently published.

No, madam, your daughter's poor grades are not caused by any institutional bias against your religious or political beliefs, but rather, by her apparent inability or unwillingness to submit her assignments.

(true stories all.)

I hear ya. I have dealt with some crazy/weird parents in my years of teaching. I had one parent tell me that her child could not read about or participate with any lessons that dealt with dragons or leprechauns because they aren't in the bible. Huh?

We had one parent tell another teacher (after the kid got busted) that her child simply could not accept authority from someone who looked like a cheerleader. (the teacher was petite with blonde hair)

We had a parent complain this year that the library was too small and she wanted that taken care of. So the kid complained the whole year too. What are we going to do? Build another building?

The sad thing is that some of the kids are not that bad. I feel sorry for the decent kid when the mother or father is a lunatic.

Been lucky the past three years- great kids, no crazy parents.

larrycot: /Teacher here

I really only see two types of parents:

1. "You gave my child a B? How dare you. Don't you know he's an Honors student?"

2. "I'm sorry, I really can't come to the conference to discuss why my child is failing all their classes."

Most of mine are the second type.

Why can't we go back to tying welfare benefits with parent participation in their child's schooling?

That's really said. I gotta tell you, my first one just started school this year, and if she starts failing or plagiarizes, my foot is going to break off on her butt. Crazy monster parents... bleh.

My kids are in special ed, except the school can't call it special ed. The reason: too many parents are in denial about the true 'specialness' of their kid. So the admins decided to bunch all the wild, crazy, out of control, brat monsters into one area and put three teachers with extra training in charge. I keep hearing how me and my husband are about the only parents to ever show up. So, my little cabbages learn how to act out for attention, but very little else. If our home ever sells, we are moving near a great private school and living in our cars, if needed, to afford the tuition.

I would like to see some info on the absent parent/monster parent phenomenon broken down geographically and socioeconomically, if such information exists.

cherryl taggart: My kids are in special ed, except the school can't call it special ed. The reason: too many parents are in denial about the true 'specialness' of their kid. So the admins decided to bunch all the wild, crazy, out of control, brat monsters into one area and put three teachers with extra training in charge. I keep hearing how me and my husband are about the only parents to ever show up. So, my little cabbages learn how to act out for attention, but very little else. If our home ever sells, we are moving near a great private school and living in our cars, if needed, to afford the tuition.

[Donning fire resistant suit] Are you up for a battle? If you can prove that the district is not meeting the needs of your kids, and can yell louder than the other needy parents, (squeaky wheel, grease, you know the drill) your district must pay to sent your kids somewhere that can.

grapefruitgal: larrycot: /Teacher here

I really only see two types of parents:

1. "You gave my child a B? How dare you. Don't you know he's an Honors student?"

2. "I'm sorry, I really can't come to the conference to discuss why my child is failing all their classes."

Most of mine are the second type.

Why can't we go back to tying welfare benefits with parent participation in their child's schooling?

I would vote for your suggestion, only worrying that it would lead to beatings.

A question I always ask my teacher patients: When the parents of a kid come in, do you immediately understand where the problem is? And all of them laugh and say yes, without fail. Imagine if these dumbasses were FORCED to care, how ugly it could get. "What you mean I don't get mah check? Mah kid is good student, the teacher just doan like 'em!"

namegoeshere: I would like to see some info on the absent parent/monster parent phenomenon broken down geographically and socioeconomically, if such information exists.

I have no hard data, but my experience has been that absent parents cross all lines, economic and ethnic.

namegoeshere: cherryl taggart: My kids are in special ed, except the school can't call it special ed. The reason: too many parents are in denial about the true 'specialness' of their kid. So the admins decided to bunch all the wild, crazy, out of control, brat monsters into one area and put three teachers with extra training in charge. I keep hearing how me and my husband are about the only parents to ever show up. So, my little cabbages learn how to act out for attention, but very little else. If our home ever sells, we are moving near a great private school and living in our cars, if needed, to afford the tuition.

[Donning fire resistant suit] Are you up for a battle? If you can prove that the district is not meeting the needs of your kids, and can yell louder than the other needy parents, (squeaky wheel, grease, you know the drill) your district must pay to sent your kids somewhere that can.

Have fun with this: Link (new window)

Ducks.

/seriously, this teacher cares, the system sucks

iolanthe: namegoeshere: I would like to see some info on the absent parent/monster parent phenomenon broken down geographically and socioeconomically, if such information exists.

I have no hard data, but my experience has been that absent parents cross all lines, economic and ethnic.

I would agree. The helicopter parents tend to be yuppie though. Although there is a helicopter variant that is super-religious.

Ghastly: Monster

I came in here to make a tentacle monster reference, but i see you have already done so. Good Job, glad to see someone else is on the ball. There's a lot of preverted things to say and think today, and I can't be everywhere at once.

Phrozen
/the cuter you are, the more likely tentacles are in your future... love teh hentai...

FloydA: I wish we had those courses in the US.

We do actually, I see them all the time. There are two types, for parents who won't leave you alone, and parents who won't do anything at all. i can't see them being effective.

dionada: Wow. We must be really good at exporting our very worst qualities. I thought I remembered hearing that the Japanese are generally very polite and not apt to put anyone out, let alone go all Yuppi McSoccermom on some poor teacher who had the nerve to give their kid a B-.

Heh heh heh...no.

There are exceptions, obviously...many, many, many exceptions. But I'm talking about the generic, intellectually stunted, boring ass default personality types that every culture has. These types are polite to people they percieve to be either of equal or better status. If you fall below that status (by being a worker, teacher, or...gulp...foreigner,) you're an inferior, and are to be treated as such.

It's not politeness that stems from a desire to be a generally good person...it's politeness that stems from not wishing to embarass yourself. If there's no material advantage to being polite, forget it.

Every culture has their own brand of generic asshole, and the Japanese version is very much amenable to the nastiness mentioned in the article.

We, in America, need to be able to fail kids again.

grapefruitgal: larrycot: /Teacher here

I really only see two types of parents:

1. "You gave my child a B? How dare you. Don't you know he's an Honors student?"

2. "I'm sorry, I really can't come to the conference to discuss why my child is failing all their classes."

Most of mine are the second type.

Why can't we go back to tying welfare benefits with parent participation in their child's schooling?

Youd lose the Democrat vote

larrycot: /Teacher here

I really only see two types of parents:

1. "You gave my child a B? How dare you. Don't you know he's an Honors student?"

2. "I'm sorry, I really can't come to the conference to discuss why my child is failing all their classes."


Parent here. I volunteer at the school every day. I show up for conferences. Further because I have a special needs child (younger) I have opened up a seperate account the school accesses funded from donations (I solicit) for anything over and above his regular needs.

Yet, I still cannot get my older son's teacher to give him extra help in math. But, she is available if I want to hire her as a tutor. She would in her words "much prefer if I put my son on some sort of medication".

I'm sorry, the good parents out there get the shaft because of the bad parents out there. You lump us all into the same batch. We get biatched at if we do show an interest and care and we get biatched at if we don't.

larrycot: /Teacher here

I really only see two types of parents:

1. "You gave my child a B? How dare you. Don't you know he's an Honors student?"

2. "I'm sorry, I really can't come to the conference to discuss why my child is failing all their classes."

Same here. 15+ years teacher. My mother--35 years. Same. Everyone we know in the profession--same.

One year, I had one child (7th grader) who handed in no work. Nothing. Not even a scrap of paper with his name on it. I did everything short of driving out to his house to corner his parents when it became apparent the child was going to be retained...we could not get the parents to come in for an entire academic year. Could not. Would schedule conference, "yeah yeah we'll come," then no show. When the retention papers were delivered in the late spring, they were at the board office screaming that they "had no idea" the situation was so dire. All of a sudden we had an emergency meeting and had to produce our grade books, curriculum materials, etc. to prove to these brain trusts that yes, we were assigning work and no, Darling Boy wasn't doing it. The child had earned 0 points in every class for every grading period. I have never in my life seen anything like it.

I think I'd rather have the annoying parents, because at least they give a crap. I believe their hearts are in the right place. The others....I would just rather call them in to Child Protective Services and let them sort it out.

larrycot: /Teacher here

I really only see two types of parents:

1. "You gave my child a B? How dare you. Don't you know he's an Honors student?"

2. "I'm sorry, I really can't come to the conference to discuss why my child is failing all their classes."

I knew someone who became valedictorian because of 1 during Senior Year. When graduation came around, everyone applauded the salutatorian, only the parents and few others applauded the valedictorian.

/Vale. had a younger sister going to the same high school
//Following year: the valedictorian was chosen by popular vote process

Hrist: People like to defend their investments. Even if the only investment was having sex, and popping out the kid. As the kid develops, they're more and more of an investment.

It's called cognitive dissonance. And I feel sorry for the parents of the idiot people I have known.

Why should the teacher give your son extra help in class?
Why should your son get help that should be spent on other students in the class (All evenly, not extra to just a handful)

I think the teacher is very nice offering outside help, it's only fair that they're compensated for extra work.

Also, what 'Special needs' does your son have?

I do think there are good parents. I think the number of good parents is underrated .

/Not a teacher
/Mother and Sister are and talk about it (A LOT)

Fano: namegoeshere: cherryl taggart: My kids are in special ed, except the school can't call it special ed. The reason: too many parents are in denial about the true 'specialness' of their kid. So the admins decided to bunch all the wild, crazy, out of control, brat monsters into one area and put three teachers with extra training in charge. I keep hearing how me and my husband are about the only parents to ever show up. So, my little cabbages learn how to act out for attention, but very little else. If our home ever sells, we are moving near a great private school and living in our cars, if needed, to afford the tuition.

[Donning fire resistant suit] Are you up for a battle? If you can prove that the district is not meeting the needs of your kids, and can yell louder than the other needy parents, (squeaky wheel, grease, you know the drill) your district must pay to sent your kids somewhere that can.

Have fun with this: Link (new window)

Ducks.

/seriously, this teacher cares, the system sucks

LOL! Hey, thanks for that. I think it's hilarious, personally, although I know some farkers will be deeply offended.

Equivocator: I think the teacher is very nice offering outside help, it's only fair that they're compensated for extra work.

Teachers are required by contract to stay after school for a determined amount of time to be available for extra help (at least were I work). Every day we stay in our rooms/offices waiting for students to come, but they rarely do. I tell the students that I am available every day. I even call parents to tell them, write it on progress reports and tell siblings (that actually seems to work).

PhrozenStar: I came in here to make a tentacle monster reference, but i see you have already done so. Good Job, glad to see someone else is on the ball. There's a lot of preverted things to say and think today, and I can't be everywhere at once.

Ghastly is something of an expert on the subject. Google him.

Not to derail or anything, but does anyone remember that site - more of a blog, really, before they were called blogs - of that black American dude that went to Japan to teach English? I lost the website years ago when I reformatted and can't recall it for the life of me, but I wanted to forward the story of the sneaky fingers in the butt to a friend who started to watch Naruto.

Seriously, teachers should be trained to deal with spineless administrators who think that whatever keeps parents quiet is the right move.

FloydA: Yes, sir, your son did actually submit a paper in which he plagiarized something that I, myself, had recently published.

I hope you wrote FAIL! in big red letters across it.

The Japanese know a thing or two about monster parents.







/teacher
//Meguru is awesome

Falcon punch!

larrycot: /Teacher here

I really only see two types of parents:

1. "You gave my child a B? How dare you. Don't you know he's an Honors student?"

2. "I'm sorry, I really can't come to the conference to discuss why my child is failing all their classes."

So so true.

As an elementary teacher I was confronted by a parent halfway through the year who wanted to know why I HATED her boy. I must hate him, because I hadn't given him a "Citizen of the Month" award, and he got a B in math. Whatever.

Now that I'm teaching middle school I have parents who, having already received 3 progress reports this year that show their kid flunking every single subject (besides P.E.), still can't figure out that they need to show up and have a discussion about this.

After months of trying, I still have one parent dodging me, like that's going to keep her boy from being held back somehow if she just never admits there's a problem. We're sending her a letter by Certified Mail informing her of her son's impending retention.

Battlestar Maniaca: The Japanese know a thing or two about monster parents.

/teacher
//Meguru is awesome

Mirai Koshi Meguru?

Have to look that up. We're running out of good J-Comedies/Dramas to watch.