It's OK to Go Up the Slide by Heather Shumaker

Author:Heather Shumaker
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2016-02-02T15:56:15+00:00

Whose Signature?

If a signature is important, choose the right person. In terms of schoolwork, the right person is the child. “You can write your own initials if you like. You’re the one who did it.”

I’ll admit it’s tempting to say to your child: “Just sign my name.” But that leads to other mixed messages. A child who is given permission to sign her parent’s signature at a young age may see no difference in writing her parent’s signature on later documents that matter.

Sarah’s mother used this approach for her daughter’s reading contract. It stated: “I do solemnly agree to read a minimum of 3 books every quarter.” The contract included a reading log for every day of the week with lines for three signatures: child, parent, and teacher. Sarah’s mother wrote in the margins: “I trust Sarah to handle this. No need for my signature.”

What happened? It worked out for everyone. Teachers are usually open to different family styles as long as the child is learning. The year before, Sarah’s mother tried out the “no signing for me” philosophy for the first time on her daughter’s fifth-grade teacher. “After the initial shock wore off, he said, ‘All right, then, I guess we’ll give it a try.’”

Sarah signed her own name all year. One time she didn’t, though. When her teacher asked her why, she replied, “Well, I forgot to do my reading last night.”

This is student honesty, student self-reliance, student integrity, and student ownership of learning.

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