My child has been getting assignments since kindergarten (he's now in third grade) that very obviously require parental involvement. There is no way a kindergartener can make an "All About Me" poster when he/she can't even read or write. My child just got an assignment for a biographical book report (due next Wednesday) that requires an additional "character frame". He has to draw a picture of his subject, as well as create a frame for his book report that contains additional information about his subject. I suppose he could do this completely on his own, but I shudder to think of the results. I think the picture of his subject is somehow supposed to be connected to the frame..... I have to think about that.... He gets bonus points for how elaborate and creative his frame is. We haven't had a science fair yet, but we do get lovely assignments like this quite freqently.

Thankfully, I am now a SAHM, but these kinds of things were much more of a struggle when I was working full-time. In my own situation, it's actually not been too bad because we've been able to juggle schedules and help my son, but I feel bad for kids in other situations. As an example, I pick up my nieces in the afternoon. My sister is not as committed to their education as I would be. They might be the kind of kids whose projects would be no-shows (thereby gaining them a zero) or would be very poorly done. Just because the schools want the parents to be involved, doesn't necessarily mean that will happen. It's a shame that the kids have to suffer.