Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day

[Kathryn, The Princess of Picture-Books]

Do you know any great books about children seeing what their parents do at work? Maybe work-at-home parents or through something like "Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day"???

Have you ever participated in "Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day" either as a parent or when you were a kid? What did you think of the experience?

Apparently there is some controversy around this as parents are urged to keep their children in school during this "critical time of year" in the educational year. What do you think? Is missing a day of school too detrimental for the benefit obtained by seeing Mom or Dad at work? Or do you think that there is more to be gained by spending time with Mom/Dad in the workplace?

Here's the article that appeared online today:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_kids_at...

[Carolyn]

I saw that article earlier today, and while I do see a tremendous value in kids seeing the workplace/work of their parents, I have to say that I think the educators are right on this one.
Not that TOKTW day should be closed down, but I do think that it should be shifted to a less-problematic time of the year. I'd think the end of Sept/beginning of Oct or the middle to end of June would work well. Of course, the need to choose a 'national' day precludes adapting to local school schedules/calendars, but there isn't a good reason to not do it over a holiday season like the summertime.

I'm speaking from the viewpoint of a parent with a 1st grader getting ready to take her very first set of standardized tests, and here in VA our district lost 10 full school da ys to the heavy snowstorms we had here this winter. Other schools (nationwide) that got closed due to H1N1 outbreaks have missed tremendous amounts of school time, and frankly I do think that it will have a huge impact on the SOLs testing this year. Many schools don't really have any margin of error with the SOLs, they will be in a bad position when the scores come back.

It's a balancing act, and I do think that while TOKTW Day is a great thing, the organization needs to 'give' a little to make sure that it isn't detrimental to the students in the long run - which is the point of the whole exercise, right? Improving the view and goals of the kids in the long run?

JMHO

[Kathryn, The Princess of Picture-Books]

I see both your points, Carolyn and Chandra. I think there is so much to be gained from an experience like taking kids to work--definitely worth a lost day of regular school, but then again if it falls during a very critical time (such as during test prep) then it could be detrimental. I agree that it seems a good idea to move the official day to a better time in the traditional school year. I think it's a nice idea to have a nationally recognized day to remind folks of the importance of this and so kids and parents can have a common experience on that day. That said, as has been noted, there are lots of great opportunities for individual families to do something like this during summer, school holidays when parents don't have work, and even sometimes on the weekend.

I LOVED seeing my parents at work--and even helping them in their own businesses. It was a wonderfully grown-up feeling and I loved that they shared this aspect of their lives (that could have otherwise been this big mystery!) with me and that I could even feel that I was helping them out.

[Kathryn, The Princess of Picture-Books]

And as for books, as a kid I absolutely LOVED Bea and Mr. Jones--where the daughter goes to her dad's work and the dad goes to her Kindergarten ;-p It was such a hoot!

[Wilhelmina]

One of the formative experiences of my life was going to work with my father. My father was a research scientist - a metallurgist - who always had experiments going that needed to be checked on the weekends. I would go in with him, peek through a little scope, and read the data he recorded in his lab book. He set aside a section of the blackboard especially for me with my name - Mina - at the top under the Periodic Chart of the Elements. He would bring me with him sometimes during the week as well and showed me other experiments that were being conducted. To jump a few years (decades?), I became a physicist and for a time I worked at the same government laboratory where my father spent his career. My father had died by then, but there were still people working there who had known him and me, at a much younger age. Apparently I hadn't changed much, however, because occasionally someone would stop, look at me hard, and say, "Aren't you little Mina?" Indeed I am.

Hooray for "Take Your Daughter To Work" Day!

[Kathryn, The Princess of Picture-Books]

What a wonderful story, "Mina" -- thanks so much for sharing ;-)

[Carolyn]

Abigail, I don't think anyone is advocating getting rid of TYKTW Day - just that the date should probably be moved to accomodate school issues & testing that didn't exist back when the Day first started as an event. I, myself, think it has tremendous value and want my girls to participate when they are old enough. I just think the current timing is awful.

[Suzanne]

That is a wonderful story Mina. I agree with the concept of keeping TYKTW Day but occurring in the summer. I don't think that the children would have a different experience being at their parent's work one date vs. the other. I work at schools and the April date does occur just before our state testing. I too have so many wonderful memories of going to work with my parents.