9/10/09 Beyond the Jokes on 'Helicopter Parents'

Associate Dean Pamela R. Matthews called on her experience as a college administrator and a mother of a college student in this Op-ed piece for Inside Higher Education.

When I became an associate dean for undergraduate programs not quite four years ago, I did not know the term “helicopter parent,” even though I’d sent my only child off to college not long before. By the time I’d had the job for a year, the label was so ubiquitously present that I knew exactly why a PowerPoint conference presentation that began with a swooping helicopter, complete with soundtrack, brought down the house.

But there’s something disturbing about the easy laughter we all shared in that conference session.

Click here to read the full Op-ed.