Well Mark, I was right there with you and agreeing with your post, until I got to the end, of course. You should have just quit while you were ahead. My intention in my post was not meant to specifically blame the parents, just to note that it is not only the teacher's responsibility to stay on top of that child. However, since you brought up laziness, and being sick of lazy people who don't do their jobs, I thought I might clear some things up. I never said that just because a parent doesn't care means that we, including myself in the teacher category, give up on that child. Those were your words, not mine. Maybe there are teachers out there who do not communicate with parents, I however, am not one of them. I send progress reports home every other Friday, along with completed work, and a complied list of missing assignments, completed assignments, and current scores for each assignment for all 130 of my 8th graders. Those reports are to be signed and brought back to me by the following Friday. My homework hotline is updated every Monday afternoon, so that parents my access the week's assignments. All of my students parents not only have my extension, but also my email, my home number, and my cell number. I'm okay with this, because if a parent has a question or concern, I would like them to be able to reach me. I run two after school study halls, am the girls basketball coach, and the school's home school teacher. Please do not assume that I am lazy. I am 27 years-old, and I do not have any children, which is why I dedicate so much of my time to my students. I pride myself on my ability to build relationships with my students, and have been recognized by my administration for doing so. My students know and understand that I am willing to do anything for them, whether it helps them academically, mentally, or emotionally and for those students who have parents who don't care much about their child's success, at least the child knows that I do. So please, do not misconstue what was said. I know that many schools in Butler County also use the homework hotline, and if a certain school does not, than the parents should demand this feature. By the way, about "No Child Left Behind" I'd love to know if you can identify any educator that actually supports this law. Yeah, in a fairy-tale dream world, I would love it if every child came to school with a thirst for knowledge, and zero baggage. I want all my students to be contributing members of society, and I strive for that. However, forgive me for saying, it's very difficult to obtain this goal not matter how "lazy" we are or are not being!