Education
Education

Teacher: Georgia’s opt-out parents contribute to loss of respect in classroom

Do parents erode their children’s respect for the authority of teachers and schools when they allow them to opt out of state tests? (AJC file photo)
Do parents erode their children’s respect for the authority of teachers and schools when they allow them to opt out of state tests? (AJC file photo)
By Maureen Downey
April 26, 2017

While still new to Georgia, the opt-out testing movement is generating a lot of discussion.

Among the questions: Does it communicate a lack of respect for teachers and schools when parents tell their children they can reject state tests?

That’s the conclusion of a teacher who tells the AJC Get Schooled blog that the parents opting their children out of tests contribute to a growing culture of disrespect.

“These people are creating a culture where it’s normal for students to walk into our classrooms and challenge our authority. I hear it every day. It gets louder and louder every year. ‘I don’t have to take that test. I don’t have to pass. I don’t have to do that work. My mom will just schedule a meeting at the end of the year and force the school to do what I want,’” writes the teacher.

To read more, to the AJC Get Schooled blog.

About the Author

Maureen Downey has written editorials and opinion pieces about local, state and federal education policy since the 1990s.

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