HAS anyone noticed that a lot of parents are mixing up their pronouns lately? I am referring to statements like: ”We have so much homework.” ”We have three tests tomorrow.” ”We got into Dartmouth!”
I once thought this was a Freudian slip by parents who were simply over-identifying with their children’s performance. But it turned out that they meant ”our” literally. Few would argue that parental support is inappropriate. In fact, many districts, particularly where students are underachieving, encourage parents to be more attentive to their children’s schoolwork. The question is, when does that support — especially when given to already successful students in high-performing schools — cross the line and turn into that ugly little thing called cheating?
I can recall visiting my son’s fourth-grade classroom, where the teacher had displayed her students’ reports on famous people in history. My son is not much of an artist, but there next to his report on the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a game attempt at depicting the civil rights hero. It was accompanied by a straightforward, chronological roundup of Dr. King’s life. It wouldn’t knock your socks off, but for a 9-year-old, it was O.K.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/02/nyregion/county-lines-haunted-by-ghost-written-homework.html?smid=pl-share