octagon said:
SoCal said:
I have often been on the other side of the coin and secretly thought to myself: "I wonder how the other parents would feel if they knew that I knew this stuff..."
This sounds like you enjoy knowing "stuff" about other kids and then wonder how their parents would feel if they knew you knew. I would hope good volunteers could just focus on the grading task without caring to monitor and track which specific kids are doing what. Maybe that is too much to expect.
Based on this comment and the one following it saying their purpose "isn't to know stuff about the kids", I think there is a false preconceived notion about what a classroom volunteer is.
When I said I have seen and heard it "all" what I meant by that is, it goes beyond just checking off math problems like a mindless robot. Being a classroom volunteer does not mean you are given a stack of papers and sequestered in a private a room with blacked out windows (although a teacher may send the volunteer home with a stack of papers to grade. That's happened to me, too.) A volunteer is submerged in the classroom environment throughout the course of an entire school year. Just like the teacher does, you get to know many aspects of the children (not just academic), especially in group and one-on-one situations. It is not all about academics... I think your insecurities are showing in how you respond to my post. You learn about how disciplined they are or aren't, how kind they are or aren't, their family environments (guess what y'all -- your kids are blabber mouths, if you didn't know that already. They tell us every single thing that goes on in your house), if they have special needs, behavioral issues, etc. How they perform isn't some secret you go digging for. It is in your face and made obvious by the teacher. For ex: not only have I been asked to grade papers but I've been asked to give timed reading tests, mark, and score them. (And no, the teacher does not repeat them to verify the results.) Another example, during rotations, the teacher will specifically say, "This is the group that is struggling the most. Keep an eye on Mary. Her parents refuse to put her in after school tutoring." Then when Mary reads aloud during Choral Reading Time / Circle Group, it is obvious to the entire group that she's struggling badly. I've also been asked to file papers that have what I consider to be confidential info on them -- that's not cool, imo.
I have often felt like some teachers abuse (eh, I don't know if that's the right word) the position of classroom volunteer by turning them into Instructional Assistants which is taking the place of a paid district position. For ex, I've been left alone with the whole class so the teacher could go take a break, put in charge of teaching kids with special needs which I do not feel qualified to do (their response was, "We're not especially qualified either". Got it, thanks.)
So, you see, it goes beyond checking to see if #2 is answer C.
The "good volunteers" are the ones who show up. And as with anything, if you feel you can do a better job - do it. I'm sure they would welcome the relief.
[Edited to add.]