My DD12 was offended when the teacher asked that I sign her work this year. She told the teacher that her homework was her responsibility and not her mother's. She worked out a deal with the teacher that as long as DD remained responsible -- no signing.
When DD was in kindergarten, I still remember a student being held in at recess because the parents hadn't signed her communication folder. As the year went on, it became apparent to everyone, including the other parents, that the mom in question had some sort of substance abuse issue. I finally said something to the teacher about how it didn't seem like it was fair to keep this child in at recess continually because her mom was incapable of handling the admin stuff. The teacher snapped at me and proceeded to tell me that the mom also failed to respond to phone calls and repeatedly missed meetings. The teacher felt that she couldn't back down or she would be rewarding the mom's bad behavior (!?) Talk about a kid being punished for the failings of a parent. It made me cry.
