Parentconnect.com Allows Tracking Kids' Grades online

Should we as parents be able to have access to every score our kids get at school? This is an ABC story we ran today on WHOI today. How Parentconnect.com allows parents to track child grades online before the grade card comes.

"Thanks to the Internet, more and more schools are giving parents online access to their children's grades. Now moms and dads can go online and see everything from homework assignments to class participation every single day.

The online grade system also allows parents to track class rank and watch grades rise and fall.
Parents can even opt to get updates on their cell phones. While some parents feel it's a great resource to help keep track of their child's progress, experts caution that it should not be a substitute for understanding how hard a child is working.

One parent said, "I can go on on a daily basis, which I do, and see in a real time fashion what is going on were they in class number one, did the homework go from backpack to teacher's hand? it's about accountability for me."

Professor Elisabeth Guthrie said, "Using email to track your child's daily progress in school undermines the kind of trust a parent really needs to have with their child."

Thousands of students agree with Professor Guthrie and have started using outlets like Facebook to voice their frustrations."

Your child's school has to participate with the the online program Parent Connect in order for you to see the grades. I am sure other similar programs either exist now or will soon.

I didn't realize parents could do this. For young kids, I think it would be great, but I don't know about everyday. I would think the teachers wouldn't have time to do that and shouldn't take time away from teaching to write something about every student everyday. However, the Internet is making things easier. I would be a little irritated as a teenager if my parents jumped down my throat every time I did something that was unsatisfactory. At that age, I think kids need to learn how to handle their own problems.

What do you think?

-NewsAnchorMom Jen, Posted by newsanchormom.com

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