I have two elem. school boys and one is a-c average and so is the other but the youngest (1st grade) is so fed up w/ his teacher that he is acting out and going down hill. he was a A+ student at the first of the year and now a night mare to get thru homework. I am so confused as to how i even go about this w/ him b/c i feel as if the teacher is just a very bad picky polly w/a few kids she picks at.I really feel for him. any advice? i have talked to the teacher already and write notes daily but, my son keeps getting all the blame and nothing gets done at all.He brings a bad letter for the day home everyday w/ things like jacob spoke too soon or jacob was louder than we allow at play time so he sat out. i am so fed up and on top of this he is starting to go backward in his reading and reconizing words easy word. they,the,are,is,will etc... please help! Thanks to all who posted comments i am going to apply them all.

This article is another indication of how out-of-touch PTA, the national organization, is with the lives of families (not just parents since school aged children are being raised with grandparents and other family members in increasing numbers.) PTA provides parents these "helpful tips" about being involved in school when the reality of some families is that the school their child(ren) attend want parents to help in only the ways that the school deems appropriate. For example, when a local school's PTA--run by two teachers as co-presidents and the spouse of the school secretary as treasurer--did not want to purchase and offer pre-bagged school supplies from the school's teachers lists (five parents came forward to organize, physically put together and then staff the sales area so that the PTA involvement would be purchasing items from the local partner in Education Wal-Mart) the principal decided and then instructed the teacher run PTA not to fund this activity. One of the parent volunteers then spent their own money to offer packages for their child's grade level and the parent was chastized for being too agressive and not working with the established parent group. The idea this PTA spread was that unless it's PTA approved, then it does not get done no matter how many families want it or are willing to be involved. National PTA needs to be more relevant to today's families and not the families that existed 50 years ago when PTA began. If you have an article with these heavily repeated, overly general and painfully simplistic "tips" for parent involvement boldly headlined as the top ten things teachers wish parents would do, then give equal tip time with something headlined the top ten things that parents wish teachers would do.

You maybe close in age or even like to help children. Remember not to jole around with the kids like they are your friends. Some teachers forget they are at work.