Tables Are Turned as Parents Go to School : Oak Park: They become freshmen for a day to experience firsthand what it’s like--including being told off for being late.

Oak Park High School’s dean of students, Cliff Moore, delivered a stern lecture Tuesday to a student tardy on her first day.

He doesn’t usually punish first offenders, but Moore made an exception for school board member Jeri Fox.

Fox and 20 other Oak Park parents became freshmen for the day to see firsthand what high school is like. And Fox got more than she bargained for when Moore summoned her to his office with a dreaded “blue slip.”

“At times, you are going to be late. But, remember, if it’s a pattern, there are consequences,” Moore said. “This is your first day here. Maybe you don’t understand what the rules are.”

Fox fidgeted in her seat and offered an excuse.

“I’m used to starting at 8,” Fox said. “Seven-fifteen is really hard.”

Moore laid down the law.

“You’re going to have to get with the program here,” he said.

Just like their sons and daughters, the parents who spent the day at school sat in on group discussions, heard lectures, watched videos and some even apparently sneaked off campus during lunch without a pass.

Wayne Sterling said he participated in the third annual event to sample the courses that his 10th-grade daughter will be taking next year. Sterling, 44, fit in with the class as he scribbled notes from a chemistry lecture.

“The stuff must have left an impression somewhere, because it’s coming back to me,” he said.

School seems different than when he was there 25 years ago, said Sterling, who also serves as chairman of the school’s site council.

“I think we’ve made a transition from being teacher-oriented to student-oriented,” he said. “I see now teachers are more facilitators. Students are more accountable.”

Debbie Bernard wanted to be able to understand and communicate better with her ninth-grade daughter by seeing what her school day is like.

“This way, when she comes home commenting about classes or teachers, I know firsthand what it’s all about,” Bernard said.

Sue Blasman, whose husband, Wayne, is president of the school board, even took a test on “Romeo and Juliet” that her eighth-grade son might face in English class next year. As in other classes, the students did not take multiple-choice tests but had to explain their answers.

“I don’t know if I’d pass high school now,” she said.

The day was not all that challenging for Eileen Nilsen and several other mothers who took a break in the sun at the end of classes before lunch. Like teen-agers gathered for gossip, they huddled together to talk schools.

“I’m trying to relax on a few things. The classes are a lot bigger than I’m used to, but I understand they’re small for around here,” said Nilsen, 40, who recently moved from New Jersey.

“The best teachers are the ones who kind of roll up their sleeves and work with students rather than just lecturing to them,” Bernard said. “They know how to maintain control, command respect and do what needs to be done.”

With the lunch bell, sidewalks filled with students, and the parents set off for food. Bernard was headed off campus. Reminded by Nilsen that Principal Jeff Chancer had issued no off-campus passes for parents, Bernard replied: “I didn’t hear that part.”

Like many other parents, Bernard disappeared during the 40-minute lunch break.

Moore, the school’s disciplinarian, responded: “We’ll have to take care of that.”