'Dear Parents Demanding Transparency' by Jeff Bigler

Dear parent,

As your child’s teacher, I have reason to be concerned about the appropriateness of what your child is learning outside of school. Because children spend only 33 hours out of 168 each week in school, your child’s life at home and outside of school has much more influence on the person that your child will grow up to be than anything that happens in school.

So that we teachers can be more responsive to your child’s needs, please provide us with the following information weekly:

• A detailed list of television shows that your child watches.

• A complete list of the video games that your child plays

• A complete list of the social media your child uses, including links to all of their TikTok videos and Instagram posts, and a list of their friends on SnapChat.

• A list of slang terms (including swear words and racial epithets) that are used at least once daily in your household.

• A thorough description of how the relationships among the adults in your child’s life are displayed in front of your child.

• Tallies of the number of times an adult in your household has said something uplifting and motivational to your child (e.g., “I’m so proud of you!”) and the number of times an adult in your household has said something judgmental or demotivational (e.g., “You’re a disappointment to the family!”)

• Pictures of the quiet space set aside for your child to do school work.

Thank you for your ongoing commitment to showing that you love your child by providing us with the information that we need in order to adequately provide for your child’s education. This information is vitally important, so we will be sure to follow up with a telephone call or set up a meeting with you at the school if we don’t receive it.

This may seem like a lot at first, but I’m sure it will become a routine after only a few weeks, and we really need this transparency to ensure that your child receives the education that they are entitled to.

Best wishes,

Your child’s teacher

About the Author: Jeff Bigler is a physics teacher at Lynn English High School in Lynn, Massachusetts