including parents

You know, I'm also a Generation X person myself. In fact, I was born almost dead center of the Generation X years, so I know what it was like to be a latchkey kid. My grandparents had to do the shopping for the family (my brother and I were raised by our grandparents, so they weren't even baby boomers, but the generation before that), and sometimes would not be home when we got off the school bus. However, we didn't see this as a detriment to our upbringing; in fact, they trusted us to get our own lunch and go off to our friends' houses if that's what we chose to do, as long as we left a note stating as much. I never felt neglected or anything like that, so communicating with parents who may have had these feelings may have their hands full dealing with me.
In the "Solve for X" section, I have some agreements and disagreements. Planning for extracurricular activities requires parental involvement and I will strongly encourage and even actively search out that involvement. Parents completing homework assignments with their students? I thought that's what you were supposed to do anyway. Again, this is strongly encouraged, but the free-choice assignment may be restricted to every two weeks so I can be assured that the required in-class content is covered appropriately. My one disagreement is having a parent come in to teach for an afternoon. That is the equivalent of me as a teacher going in to a parent's place of employment and giving my input as to how their business should be run. I'm sorry, but this particular idea isn't good. My job as a teacher depends on the information that the students accumulate from my efforts; the parent's place to teach is at home, with the exception of the chaperoning on field trips. I fully expect them to be teachers as well as chaperones in this arena.....just not in the classroom. This is my office and has to be my rules. I do expect input from the parents and I expect help from them. This is part of what makes my job a little easier and I always weigh the input of others equally, but must work for the good of the whole as well as the good of the individual.