Another Open House came and went last week, without much of the student body knowing what exactly goes down when their parents get into the car around 6:00 p.m. and disappear for a few hours.

The only thing that comes to my mind when I hear about an Open House coming up is “early dismissal”, followed quickly by “how early?” and then some quick calculations to see how many episodes of How I Met Your Mother I can squeeze in. A week after the Open House I met with Mr. Martocci, a Civics and World History teacher, to figure out exactly what an Open House was all about.

Mr. Martocci told me that big components of what he tried to do during an Open House involved deciding what the parents who came wanted to see about their child’s education, and what would give them an accurate depiction of our average school day. When I really thought about it, our parents probably know a lot less than we may have assumed they did about what goes into our average day of school, so there’s more value to an Open House than meets the eye.

I was surprised when Mr. Martocci told me that about 75% of parents attend. I always thought that my parents were really over obsessive when it came to school, but now I think they may not be as crazy as I thought. He also suggested that this percentage was more than most of our rival school districts have achieved during their own Open Houses, which is always refreshing to hear. So while your parents may seem a little too engaged, at least know that you’re not alone.

He also added that “I try to portray to them a condensed version of our first day.” He told me that this was to give the parents a sense of where we had been over the past years, where we stand as of right now, and where the new school year will take us. He tried to portray that we are in good hands at school, and that the high school deserves to be entrusted with our education.

This still left me with one burning question that I needed to get out. What exactly went on in the school from the time that the students leave and the time that the parents arrive? He said that the teachers “need time to prepare” for the arrival of the parents, so that they could portray everything they wanted to effectively. The teachers have a limited opportunity to get across the necessary points, given that the Open House is much sh
orter than our school day, so it’s important that they have a set game plan.

What really struck me was that much more importance was put into Open House than I had originally suspected, from the preparation that was put in to the number of parents who attended. While this might mean my parents know more than I’d like them too, it does more something far, far more relevant: it ensures that the early dismissal is here to stay.

Do your parents enjoy Open House?

• Yes (100%, 1 Votes)
• No (0%, 0 Votes)

Total Voters: 1

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