Posted on Sun, Aug. 03, 2008

I need to have a serious conversation with parents of school-aged children. Houston, Twiggs and Baldwin county schools start Monday, Bleckley County on Tuesday, Jones County on Wednesday, Bibb and Peach counties on Thursday and Monroe County next Friday.

Now is not the time to kiss your little bundles of joy goodbye, pack them off to the nearest bus stop and disappear. Don't think you're off the hook for fall, winter and spring. It's just the opposite. Now's the time, if you haven't already, to put the pedal to the educational metal.

If you're easily offended, please stop reading. If what I'm about to say doesn't apply to you, don't take offense, because if you decide to call me and defend your parental honor, I'll mark you as one of the parents I'm about to talk about. Hit dogs holler.

Too many parents disappear. They don't know their child's teachers and could not care less about academic excellence. Their shadows never darken school house doors unless it's to complain about how they think their child is being mistreated when the child is acting just like them. Schools take it on the chin every day because of parental failures.

Let me really step in it. Too many parents are in a perpetual state of adolescence. They are too busy being their child's friend, listening to the same rap crap and looking like thugs and hoochie mamas to be good examples for their children. Parenting is hard work, and too many people who have decided, on purpose or by accident, to bring children into the world don't want to work hard. The buck stops at the parents' bedroom, not the principal's door.

Being a parent should be all-consuming, and for parents who have children entering the ninth-grade, this is no time to wipe your hands thinking your job is done. Now's the time to buckle down. High school is serious business.

While elementary and middle grades are important because those schools provide the foundation for high school, the score for your child's future starts being kept in the 9th grade.

I know about all the CRCTs and other tests taken before high school, but colleges look at high school grades and SAT scores. Screw up in the 9th grade and it will follow your child all the way to the mail box as they wait for either a college acceptance or rejection letter.

Success or failure in the 9th grade can mean the difference between Georgia Tech and Macon State. Please, no offense to Macon State. If you didn't go to an elite school, understand that most colleges from Ivy League to community college deliver a great educational product, but I can't snow you. Those who get a degree from an elite school stand a better chance of landing a high-paying job than those who finish elsewhere. It's not so much about the quality of education, but of networking, and who went where when you sit down for an employment interview.

What I tell students whenever I get the chance (which is often) is that they want to have the grades and test scores to be accepted at any school, including the elite ones, and then decide which school is best for what they want to do.

People talk about choice all the time, but believe me, if your grades and test scores aren't excellent, your choices narrow.

So what should a parent do? It's really simple. Stay involved in your child and your child's school. If you have a problem with a teacher, take it to him or her; you'll be surprised by their joy at seeing you. Parental appearances are rare. If you get no satisfaction, off to the principal you go.

Parents, you have the power. Please don't go up to the school just to raise hell. And remember, believe the adults. They don't have time to hold a grudge against your child; they're too busy trying to figure out how to reach your child and about two dozen others in the same classroom.

Charles E. Richardson's columns appear Sundays. He can be reached at crichardson@macon.com or (478) 744-4342.