Parent night with a twist

Tonight, I just completed an academic family night that myself and three others have been working on for several weeks.  Last night, I didn't sleep as I thought about how I was going to cook the 300 hot dogs that Wal-Mart donated to our cause.  We did get it done with Crock Pots and Sterno heaters.  About 68 parents plus around 75 kids showed up.  They went through a series of stations where parent and child worked together to complete activities in each of the core subject areas: Science, Language Arts, Math, and History.  What excited me most was seeing parents finally getting a glimpse at what their children are expected to know and be able to do to be successful in school today.  One told me, "I'm really dumb," after failing to grasp a concept in Language Arts.  We talked and came to the conclusion that what kids today are learning in middle school was, in my day, not taught until high school or college, if it was taught at all.  Honestly, what our kids today are expected to be able to grasp and the level of thinking they are required to demonstrate is far beyond what was expected of me back in the 1970's (I'm dating myself here).  At the same time, they are the generation that has the greatest amount of information, both good and bad, at their fingertips.  But, back to the event.  This was the first time we had done an event like this for some time and I was satisfied at the turnout and the fact that every student participated and seemed to enjoy showing what they knew.  Some even got impromptu tutoring from their teachers.  As a teacher, when I get to see parents involved with their children's education, it makes me excited and happy because I know that the child whose parent is involved will perform well beyond the ones who aren't.  So, parents, while you may never read this, thanks for coming out and making all of our hard work worth it.