First Days of school

As you might know, I had moved from North Carolina, to the Los Angeles area. I had a very rough year in NC last year, and I really didn't know what to expect on my first days here.

I gave out the syllabus for the class and requested that my students turn it in with comments from their parents/guardians. Last year, when I did this, I got 2 - 5 from a class of 15 students. There might have been one comment of those 5 (max) syllabi that I recieved back. The comment would be vaguely related to the class and usually had no contact information on it. This year is a total 180. Of the 30+ students that I have per class, I have recieved at least 25 per class. I got a call from one parent that asked if she could keep it an extra day so that she could make a photocopy of it, to keep for herself. There were not only home phone numbers, but cell numbers AND email addresses. My parents have asked me questions about what we will be covering, what materials I might need that they could find funds for, and parents were telling me that their students needed help, or were thankful that I was up front about my behavior policy. I only knew 1 of my previous student's parent's email addres last year, and it was like pulling teeth to get them to ask questions about my class.

All I can say is WOW, so this is how it is supposed to be...