Social Question

Rangie's avatar

Why are teachers, teaching our kids to spy on their parents?

Asked by Rangie (3667points) April 15th, 2010

Elementary children are being taught to tell on their parents, if they do anything, the teacher thinks is against the law. Is that okay with you?

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43 Answers

CMaz's avatar

Sounds like a way for the teacher to get an ass kicking.

AstroChuck's avatar

Where is this? My wife is an elementary scho teacher and she has been told no such thing.

chels's avatar

Depends, really.
I was taught that and because of that I knew what kind of punishment was just not okay. Spanking is one thing. Choking/Punching/really hurting your child is something that isn’t okay. If it wasn’t for school systems showing me that that wasn’t something my parent should be doing, I wouldn’t be where I am now.

DominicX's avatar

You can’t just make all these claims without any supporting evidence.

Elaborate more. I don’t even know how to respond to this. Furthermore, you can’t “think” something is against the law. Something is either against the law or it’s not.

Trillian's avatar

Where did you hear such a thing?

Fly's avatar

As far as I’m aware, children are taught to notify a teacher if their parent is hurting them or touching them inappropriately, etc. It hasn’t been that long since I was in elementary school myself, and I was never asked to do any such thing unless I felt that my parents were harming me.
I’m not really sure where you’re getting the facts for this accusation- list your source or add your personal experience? Please specify.

rangerr's avatar

Proof. and more details.

AstroChuck's avatar

Are you talking about when there’s evidence of abuse?

Your_Majesty's avatar

For me it depends on how much the kids get manipulated by the teacher and their parents. If teacher can manipulate children why parent can’t? I used to ask my niece about all her teachers and how they teach in class so I can judge how professional they are. Don’t you think kids can also lie about their parents?

Likeradar's avatar

As some other people asked… what the heck are you talking about? Where is this taking place, what type of “spying”?

IBERnineD's avatar

I believe what they are trying to do is teach children right from wrong, not necessarily to “spy” on their parents. I think it’s important to teach children at a young age that they can trust their teachers and speak up if something is wrong at the household, especially if it effects their well-being.

I’m sure when you notified CPS about your nephew, you did that out of concern for his son. Wouldn’t you want him as he grows older to know that he has someone to go to, if he is ever hurt?

RealEyesRealizeRealLies's avatar

Don’t worry about it. Spying is only taught grades 1–6. The trouble doesn’t begin until Junior High with “Explosives 101”.

earthduzt's avatar

I’ve heard it before, it’s all part of the “conspiracy” that we are all going to be going to FEMA camps if we don’t behave and that the govt is watching us and indoctrinating our kids to “rat” on us if we go against our govt in any way. Although I wouldn’t doubt some of the stuff as completely false, just be careful where you get these pieces of information some of those conspiracy sites are a bit off their rocker.

Lightlyseared's avatar

Because parents are a danger to society and need to be monitored at all times.

wonderingwhy's avatar

If your talking about a situation where the child is in fear of their life or is being abused, ok I can at least see that.

If you’re talking about mommy boffing the neighbor, daddy embezzling funds from work, and grandpa growin’ his wacky tobacky in the basement… that sounds like a really good for the school system to get sued, especially when it turns out the kid was just pissed at being grounded for a month.

Rangie's avatar

Okay folks, I did not read this anywhere. I was talking to my 16 year old granddaughter the other day. There was a cartoon on the TV, I just happened to catch a remark by one of the characters. I said that is not right to put that on a cartoon. My granddaughter said, oh no grandma, they really do that. I ask her what she was talking about. She said teachers have been telling the kids to report if their parents are using marijuana or any other drugs that they know of. I ask her who they were suppose to report this to. She said the teachers. I questioned her a little more and she said ask her brother. So I did. He is a 6 grader. He said the same thing. My daughter is a teacher in elementary and said yes some teachers do that, however she thinks it is way out of line. Now I don’t know what the teachers are doing with this information, but that is the story. From the mouth of a 16 year old.

Rangie's avatar

@earthduzt I don’t know of any conspiracy sites. I don’t know exactly what you are talking about. sorry.

Fly's avatar

My teachers have never asked me to turn my parents in for drug use, nor have the teachers of anyone I’ve ever met, as far as I’m aware. I’ve never heard of this before. Teachers do encourage students to speak up if their parents are putting them in danger of any sort or neglecting them. I suppose drug use and other illegal activities could fall under this category in certain circumstances, but I’ve never heard of a teacher specifically asking students to do this. If you wouldn’t mind elaborating, what exactly did said character say?

Rangie's avatar

I thought I would put this out for a discussion, to see if anyone else knew about this type of activity. I am not accusing anyone in particular of anything. This is in general what I was told by a child and her brother. Just curious.

Rangie's avatar

@Fly I am sorry, I really can’t remember exactly what was said. Apparently, it is not only drug use, but my granddaughter said all kinds of things. I was most curious about the drug use issue, because I thought that was an invasion of privacy, and none of the teachers business. I can however, understand a child that is being mistreated or physically harmed.
To elaborate, while talking with my daughter, like I said, she said she had heard of this, and also wonders what the teacher is going to do with this information. The teachers have to be extremely careful even about making a report to the CPS. So, I don’t know.
I was hoping the phrasing of my Q, would catch your attention, so you would think about if you had ever heard of this going on.
The syping was used by my granddaughter, so I used it too.

Likeradar's avatar

Spying =/= reporting.

cheebdragon's avatar

Because government couldn’t convince us to let them monitor our activities from a triangle on top of the TV…...so they training our kids to be thought police…..?

(Did I get that right? The last time I read 1984 was probably about 8–10 years ago…)

mrentropy's avatar

Nazi Germany did this, I think.

Rangie's avatar

I just had a conversation with my house keeper. She has a 5th grader. He goes to school in another county, far from my granddaughters. She said her son’s last year teacher use to ask them questions like that all the time. Upon communication with other parents, she found some teachers were doing this and some were not. Apparently, not this year’s teacher.

HungryGuy's avatar

That’s not okay with me. That was a common practice in communist countries like the former Soviet Union. I don’t think that’s done any more anywhere except some backwater dictatorships.

Rangie's avatar

@HungryGuy You don’t think that’s done. But you don’t know. Are these kids just saying these things? What is their point? I do know one thing, if it was my child, I would be at the school talking to somebody yesterday.

rangerr's avatar

Of course your granddaughter used the word “spying”.. she’s 16. Overdramatics are quite common with that age.

Either way, I’ve never heard this before.

evandad's avatar

If your intention was to fire folks up, I’d say you were successful.

Rangie's avatar

@rangerr ask your kids and check around. I had never heard of it either, until the other day. You are right 16 years old’s are over dramatic.

Rangie's avatar

@evandad, Not my intention at all. I thought this was a good place to check and see if this is a common practice elsewhere, or just a few California teachers indulging themselves.

rangerr's avatar

@Rangie I just asked all 9 of my kids, none of them have heard about anything like that, either. Sorry.

Rangie's avatar

@rangerr Thanks for the information. Did you say 9? I can’t imagine the energy you must have. I sure intend to check this out a little more. I thought somebody said earlier that they had heard of it, but it was more for a safety concern. When I see them again I will find out more and report back.

PandoraBoxx's avatar

I think your granddaughter is confusing the direction that is given to kids, that if there is anything going on at home that they are comfortable with, they should tell the teacher (so they have someone to talk to about it.) Add to that, schools teach that drugs are illegal. Parent doing something illegal to young kids equates to worrying that their parents are bad people because they’re breaking the law, and that they will go to jail.

Likeradar's avatar

My guy has told me that in the mid-80’s, the DARE people would encourage students to turn their parents in.

phillis's avatar

Rangie, I live in a very politically correct area with a lot of rich folks. They essentially run the schools in my part of the county, and spend oodles of time volunteering in the front office and in classrooms of certain age groups. But it isn’t just here in this county. It’s everywhere.

Last year, I was called to the office of a school in another county. My 5 year old had worn her new dress to school 3 days in a row. Being the child “experts” that they are, they were utterly alarmed that this child was wearing the same outfit. But you find all over the internet AND from professional child therapists everywhere that allowing a child a certain amount of control over what they wear (among other things) is imperitive to the developing self-image of a child.

They couldn’t simply call me. I had to come in for a meeting with her teacher and the school counselor. This shit is way out of hand. In the rabid society of the Politically Correct, being “correct” has replaced common sense. They didn’t even have the good sense to ask me if her dress had been washed (it had been). They ARE teaching children to “turn in their parents”, but that isn’t quite that intent they have in mind. What they want is to prevent child abuse.. They are required by law here in Georgia to turn in even a HINT of child abuse, even in the case of 5 mllion 5 year olds wanting to wear their favorite outfit.

YARNLADY's avatar

In these days of irresponsible neighbors running a meth lab, and growing pot in their basement, it wouldn’t surprise me that teachers are warning children to be aware of any dangerous activities in their home.

There have been several explosions in homes in our city where children were present in the home. With so many scofflaws and irresponsible parents around, the schools would be amiss if they didn’t teach the children to be aware of the dangers.

phillis's avatar

@YARNLADY I abhor the absence of common sense, but all things considered, I can go to a meeting over a silly dress. By contrast, child abuse s a hell of a lot less, doing it this way, than the way it used to be. So be it.

Silence04's avatar

I was told this back when I was in school, along with physical or verbal abuse… I don’t really see why you’d think there is anything wrong with this?
If parents are using illegal drugs to the point that the child knows they are “illegal drugs” then it’s obviously a problem.

Likeradar's avatar

@Silence04 I agree with you. The way the question was asked, it makes it seem like the teachers were telling the kids to dig through the parents’ stuff looking for a stash or eavesdrop on conversations in hopes of hearing about illegal activity. If there is such prevalent drug use in a home that a young child knows about it, that’s a big problem. That wouldn’t be about mom and dad smoking a doob on date night; the child’s knowledge of overt drug use might be an indicator of a more prevalent problem in the home.

phillis's avatar

Huh, interesting. I didn’t see that at all. In the thread, I saw the author clearly state three or four times that she asked the question for feedback because she was concerned that people within school systems were encouraging “tattling” on thier parents. CLearly, she didn’t want to believe this was actually happening. Hence, that makes the question an honest attempt at seeking answers, not propagandizing any heretofore cemented beliefs. Of course, you have to read the thread in order to see that.

Likeradar's avatar

@phillis Was that a reply to me? I did read the whole thread. I guess we understood the meaning differently.

phillis's avatar

@Likeradar Ack! sorry. I sometimes forget to put a name sometimes. Yep, it was in reply to your comment. She said several times that she was looking for feedback, which is why the question came to be. I’ve seen a lot of people mess up a question accidentally by failing to put in a detail that totally changed the intended nature of their question. But they all tried to correct it in the thread, which is what this person did as well.

CaptainHarley's avatar

Welcome to the future. This was originally the concept of Obama’s National Civilian Security Corps… trained rat-finks. Now he and his followers are simply training your own children to do the job.

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