Earlier this week I had an awkward moment with a parent. A mom who has been trying to help her child be more successful openly admitted that she was struggling with the worksheet. She had called to pick up a copy of the book, but I don't use a textbook. I hopped online and printed off some information I thought would be helpful. The assignment was to calculate the area of a circle.
The encounter got me thinking. Teachers often send home work expecting the student can get help from a parent; how often are parents unable to help because of their own educational background? Let's face it, teachers complain about a lack of parent involvement- parents complain that teachers don't teach their child. Miami-Dade County Public Schools is doing something to improve the teacher-parent relationship and by extension help students. Miami's Parent Academy has been holding free classes for parents such as "Help Your Child Succeed in Math" and "Teaching Behavior Skills" for the last few years. Philadelphia School District operates the Parent University, blending parenting skills and adult education courses. In Arlington, Virginia, Latino moms attend a class that guides them through school procedures and provides techniques for helping students with homework.
We all know the benefits of involved parents. It appears we have been remiss in teaching some parents how to be involved. I think if more school districts took the extra time and money to set up programs such as these mentioned drop out rates would decline and behavioral problems decrease. We would finally stand a chance at changing the attitude that education is optional.
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Allyson,
ReplyDeleteGood points this week. It is important for parents to be ABLE to help their children with homework. What good does it do if the parents don't know what to do? I think it is the responsibility of the parents to seek the help they need if they want to help, and not make it the fault of the school that they don't know about the assignment. Obviously from your links, there are places that are in tune with this and helping to make a difference. If only there were more opportunities like this. I can speak from experience that I have seen the worse side of parents helping with homework. Or should I say doing the homework. Kids have actually turned in assignments in their mom's handwriting. These are extreme cases and I'm sure not the norm. But I have always wondered about what happens when the homework goes home. Parents are so vehement about their kids getting good grades that sometimes it doesn't matter how they get the grade. Good topic!
Elizabeth Haraseth
I have a similiar problem to yours because I teach technology. Drafting is a part of my class and measurement plays a large role. I cannot send work home because many of my parents do not know how to measure or were taught incorrectly. Having technology available at home is also a problem for many of my students. The internet is not readily available to many of my students. Sending anything home is always a chance for me. Many times I recieve angry nots from parents or a note simply stating I cannot help my child. I think more parenting programs should be around because anything to help our students succeed is welcomed.
ReplyDeleteBlaire
Wow what a great idea. I was just talking about teaching my students what I expect them to accomplish and not assuming they know things, why do this with parents? I think this should be something all school districts look into. I believe if parents are trained it will make better students or at least allow parents to help their children. I also think teaching parents about behavior is a good idea because there seems to be a lack of good behavior and parenting in the upcoming generation.
ReplyDeleteI agree that parental involvement is important to the student's success in a classroom. However, often it is detrimental. I have often had a parent tell me they can help their child if they bring the work home. Accounting is one subject that comes to mind. I have had several instances where a parent will tell me they have taken accounting, so they can provide help. They then ask what we are studying, and I cringe when they describe how they can help. Most of the time, they can't even use the proper terminology. It is no wonder that their child is struggling if they are helping when they don't understand as well as they think they do. Occasionally I have had suspicions that a parent was doing more than helping out...I have wondered on occasion how much the parent did for them, rather than help. This is especially true in some of the computer classes.
ReplyDeleteAll are great points and you've included some great recommendations! When we assign homework and our students are to a point in which they need help, if they are unable to get that from home, we are putting them, inadvertently, in a position to copy ten minutes before class or run the risk of not passing the class (due to poor grades).
ReplyDeleteWhat makes this especially pertinent is when these kiddos reach junior high and especially high school. Often times parents, and some regardless of educational background, simply don't know or can't remember whatever the task requires of them. This is doubly troublesome when as teachers, we are trying to instill in our students that the information we are teaching them is important and that they will use it again. How often does a child blow off that class/topic because mom/dad has a good education, good job, etc and they don't even know how to do it?? You are exactly right..we are leading children to give up on education.
I don't think it is realistic to expect parents to remember how to do a lot of the stuff kids are teaching. However, it is realistic for parents to know how to access this information, learn it, and then teach their kid how to do it. For instance, I am subbing in a 4th grade class and they have Mastery Club. It is comprised of 100 random questions from nameing 10 dinosaurs to listing the states and capitols. I have forgotten some of the capitals, but I know how to access the information. I think by letting parent know how critical it is to help teach their students at home, they will start to realize the importance. They need to model, teach, and continue their education when faced with a problem they do not know.
ReplyDeletePhilip