Have you heard the old adage, “It takes a village to raise a child?” Even in today’s busy world where villages are almost nonexistent and neighborhoods aren’t as closely knit as they once were, this saying holds true. The same principle applies to your child’s education—it takes more than a good school to educate children, just as takes more than a good home to make children well adjusted. It takes community, teachers, and it takes YOU!
Did you know that children spend over 1,000 hours a year in school? So, if they go to school for 13 years, that adds up to 13,000 hours when someone else teaches, influences, molds and cares for your children. But, if parents and schools work together, children can grow up as educated, competent and productive members of our society. So how can you help your children in school? One of the main ways is to get take an active role at home and at school.
Research shows that children do better in school when parents talk often with teachers and become involved. Kids whose parents interact with teachers usually get higher grades and test scores, develop positive attitudes about school, and are better behaved. Parents and teachers need to communicate on a regular basis, not just at parent/teacher conferences. But sometimes, a parent doesn’t know just how to go about getting involved or how to make that positive connection with the teacher and/or school.
So, where do you start? It is best to try and meet teachers early in the school year. This will help the teacher better understand your values, your child, and also lets them know that you support your child’s education. Teachers like to have parents who are interested in a child’s progress.
If you are involved in school activities and events you will have added chances to talk with you children’s’ teachers. Becoming involved in PTO, PTA, and Booster Clubs also gives you a change to get to know the teachers better. On top of that, involvement in groups related to the school give you a chance to have some say in the decisions that may affect your children. You don’t have to be involved in everything. Choose something that is manageable and give it your all.
Another good investment in your child’s education is to volunteer. What you do will depend on the needs at your school and your abilities, but usually the possibilities are endless.
Reading, writing, math, science, and other skills learned in school are instrumental for a child to have in order to be successful both in higher education and in life. Many factors contribute to a student’s acquisition of these skills such as their learning environment, preschool education, mental and emotional development, parental involvement, and dedication to learning. The issue that many young children are facing, however, is that all of these factors can be greatly influenced by the Socioeconomic Status (SES) of their family. Unfortunately, up until recently it was virtually unknown how teachers could help these “at risk” children, which caused an increase in the likelihood of children dropping out of school or repeating a grade. However, it is now becoming clear that there are ways that educators can help ensure children have successful academic careers and lead better lives.
But, there is hope: a loving, supportive environment that encourages children to grow into themselves. Preschool. Government programs are in place to help low-income families offset the costs, and national agencies provide multidimensional support for preschoolers and their families. Seven hours in a classroom doesn’t fix the problems at home. Rather, these programs are designed to help low-income families through a multi-faceted approach, attacking several issues in one mighty blow (Olson, Ceballo, and Park 427). These programs offer a variety of resources, including parenting classes, stress management courses, family counseling, and nutrition education. Through these programs, the entire community is assuming responsibility for taking care of its children. After all, it takes a village to raise a child.
Decades of research proves partnerships between schools and families not only enhance children’s learning and achievement, it is also mutually beneficial to the families and educators. As an early childhood educator, my philosophy is rooted in establishing and maintaining a strong and effective partnership with families and communities that can help children and their families thrive. My approach focuses on effective communication between family and school, respect for diversity, and promoting learning at home.
There are many kids in this country that face a very difficult challenge each and every day. These are kids that live in dysfunctional families that sadly do not have the resources to manage a child. Instead they are more busy with getting food on the table and not losing all of what little they have already. Sadly for these kids school is their only thing they can count on to always be there. Sanctuary of School by Lynda Barry is a wonderful personal experience of what these kids go through on a daily basis. In this personal narrative she writes about the hard times she and her brother went through when they were children. She wrote of an experience where she snuck out of the house in the early morning with a feeling of panic that was relinquished
...or parents to become actively involved in their child’s academics. Research supports that as a child ages parental involvement decreases, this is a vast problem that through communication, school activities, sending parent notices, and etc. could be fixed.
Homeschooling offers students a more time efficient education that allows the student to focus on education in which is the sole purpose for school. Homeschooling also gives the teacher a thorough evaluation of a student’s strengths and weaknesses by visually seeing what subjects they excel in and what subjects they are weak in. At this point students can increase their individual progression in each subject. Homeschooling permits control of the environment a student learns in to retain the focus of the student. This will reduce the chances of drug usage, bullying, and violence. Samuel Blumenfeld said this on the importance of homeschooling “The home is a safe haven for the children in a world awash with drugs, sexually transmitted diseases, violence, and moral corruption” (Cindy Mur et al.76). When parents come to realize that the home is the safest place for their children, then will they act as Blumenfeld concludes “I look forward to the day when the public schools will be virtually empty not because we have abolished public education but because the parents will have abandoned it” (Cindy Mur et al.
This is when we need to step up and help the parent and the child so they don’t fall through the cracks of the education system. We need to increase parent involvement in each child education. Increasing parent involvement, begins with education the parents. Parents don’t realize or know how to get involved with their child’s education. There are many ways families can be involved in the education process. The parent is the child’s most valuable teacher for their whole life. The most benefit this will bring to the families is confidence. Teachers need to help the parents know that they can assist in their child’s education and can help them at home. There are workshops and training to help families get involved. The key is to offer incentives to the training to help increase the parent’s attendance, Communication is the one key with the parents. In today’s socially they are many ways to stay in contact with parents because of technology by email, text, or social media. Invite parent to come to the classroom and volunteer and see firsthand what a day look like for their child in the classroom. Have different events that will increase parents interest and eventually great participation. Another idea could be to send home activities that encourages family involvement. This can be activity that have the parents engage with each other and can be short and dynamic. The
Berns, Roberta. Child, family, school, community: socialization and support. 9th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning, 2013. Print.
A child’s first teacher is his or her mother and father. As a parent, involvement in the education process in the early years includes engaging the child through age appropriate games, regular reading, and simply interacting on a daily basis. A child that is engaged in this way are set up to develop into students who succeed academically. Once that child attends school, parental involvement shows that the parent places value on education. Furthermore, “staying connected to the classroom gives you ideas of how to expand what she learns at school,” (Driscoll & Nagel, 2010) thus providing parents with additional tools to implement in the home to continue the teaching process even after the school day has ended.
Parent involvement affects all aspects of a child’s education. Parents must be involved as teachers, learners, supporters, and advocates of their child’s learning (Hopkings). Studies show that kids who know that their parents are involved and interested tend to take more responsibility for their own learning and behavior. Schoolwork and grades improve. Work habits improve. Less work is handed in late. Fewer referrals for behavior problems are made. Attendance increases, and fewer kids show up late for class (Hopkings). With all this information documented it shows the true importance of parent involvement in education. The more involved the parents are, the better off each child will be. So when you become a parent, get involved in your child’s education!
Parental involvement promotes the social growth of a child. Children whose parents are involved in their education have many advantages. They have better grades, test scores, long-term academic achievement, attitudes and behavior than those with disinterested mothers and fathers (Gestwicki, 2001). Parents becoming involved in their child's schooling creates extra sources of social constraint to influence the child's behavior (McNeal, 2001). For example, parents talking to their children and becoming involved in the school conveys a message to the child of education being important. Parents should be talking with your children's teacher and letting her know about your family. The more she knows about your child, the better she will be able to connect with your child.
Living in poverty exposes children to disadvantages that influence many aspects in their life that are linked to their ability to do well in school. In the United States of America there are an estimated 16.4 million children under the age of 18 living in poverty (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010). “The longer a child lives in poverty, the lower the educational attainment” (Kerbo, 2012). Children who are raised in low-income households are at risk of failing out before graduating high school (Black & Engle, 2008). U.S. children living in poverty face obstacles that interfere with their educational achievement. Recognizing the problems of living in poverty can help people reduce the consequences that prevent children from reaching their educational potential.
A lot of children have two main educators in their life; their parents and their teachers. Parents are their first educators, the majority of what a child learns in the first few years of their life is taught by their parents. It is only when the child starts to attend an early years setting that they start to learn from another educator. Both parents and teachers continue being a major influence on their children's learning all throughout school and for the rest of their lives. The parents and the child's school both have important roles to play in the child's education and should therefore work together as a team. Parents can get involved in many different ways such as; getting involved with the school itself by helping in the classroom or supervising lunch and break times, or for those parents who work in the day and cannot find the time to help at the school they can get involved by; reading to their child at home, assisting with homework and other learning activities, teaching them songs or nursery rhymes and letting them help with everyday tasks like cooking, baking and chores. This can be categorised as: Involvement of parents in the school life or involvement of parents in supporting the individual child at home.
Parent involvement is one of the most influential aspects of student motivation. The parents are the initial teachers of the child before the child goes to school and encounters education through a teacher. If a parent is completely engaged in the learning process with a child, there can be growth between the child and the parent simultaneously. The parents set an example for the child, so that the child understands that help is in the classroom and at home. Alma Wright, a first and second grade teacher, believes that parents in the classroom are a good way to stimulate children. She says, “Their active participation is a positive influence. The school is open for parents to share their talents and motivate their children” (Drew, Olds, and Olds, 1974, p. 71).
When it comes to parental involvement, most people agree with the “why”; it’s the “how” that poses the challenge. The vast majority of parents want to be involved, but face significant barriers in doing so. The vast majority of schools welcome parent involvement, but with short parent meetings (for which both sides struggle to find time), it’s hard to know exactly what to do.