How Much Parent Involvement Do Educators Really Want?
Editor's note: This is the first in a series of four guest blogs on how teachers view parent engagement and involvement in public schools. Stay tuned for a contribution from teacher-blogger Larry Ferlazzo.
I grew up in a big city and graduated from a magnet high school that had 5,000 students. My teachers barely knew who I was, much less who my parents were. How different from the Mississippi school districts where I’ve taught for nearly two decades. The total population of one town was just under 2,000, and half of them were students in our schools.
Parent involvement takes on a very different meaning when I see the parents of my students every week ringing me up in the grocery store, rinsing me out at the beauty shop, tuning up my car at the local garage, or delivering my mail. I worship with them, bowl with them, sit in the waiting rooms with them. I know them, and they trust me.
Trust is the issue with most parents. Here in the Delta, over 40% of the adults are illiterate; others have had very little formal education. Even those who finished school often had to do it over significant obstacles. Some parents had horrible educational experiences as children, particularly in the period of transition from the segregated schools. Like our urban colleagues, we have increasing numbers of parents who speak little or no English. Many of our parents simply trust us to do what is best for their children because we are the professionals.
Principal Shannon Flounnory of Stonewall Tell Elementary School in College Park, Georgia puts it this way: “High levels of parental involvement would be an outstanding asset, but if we don’t get it, then we still have a responsibility to the students we serve.”
As part of a classroom research project several years ago, I interviewed many parents and set up a response group. They repeatedly expressed dismay over the increasing number of adults working in the schools who did not take the time to know their children as individuals or to care about them as persons. My husband and I have raised 11 children, all of whom attended public school. Every one of them had different abilities, talents, personalities, and habits. We tried to help their teachers understand how best to work with each of them, but we also expected their teachers to learn about our children for themselves and work with each one appropriately. The good teachers did; the lazy ones wouldn’t.
Despite years of studies and initiatives, educators and administrators across the country are still wringing their hands and shaking their heads over the need for “more parental involvement in our public schools.” But what exactly do we educators mean by “parental involvement”? Two common scenarios seem to prevail:
#1. Send us your child: Clean, well-dressed, fed, disciplined, obedient, eager-to-learn, cooperative, and (preferably) already reading, counting, and computer literate. In 12 years (give or take a few months), we’ll send the little darling back to you ready to use that college trust fund.
#2. Come to school when we call you and deal with your child (this usually means there is a disciplinary problem); send money, supplies, science fair project boards, and your signature when required. You may come on parent night or to special events.
That’s not always what we get, of course. What about…
The parent who believes public education means the public gets to run it. The parent who wants to approve lesson plans, classroom rules, and the reading list. The parent who questions the necessity and logic of homework or class assignments. The parent who demands to see staff credentials, has a copy of the curriculum guide, and highlights the school’s published report card, noting deficiencies. The parent who has the principal’s cell phone number and that of the school board president on speed dial. The parent who visits the classroom frequently--and stays. The parent who never misses PTA meeting and always has questions, suggestions, or criticisms for the staff.
When I hear fellow educators lamenting the lack of parental involvement and blaming parents for not supporting their children’s education, I wonder which of these scenarios they’d rather see? There are some places where meaningful parental involvement is routine. In those places where it is not, there are reasons--and some of those reasons are us, the educators. If we had genuine parental involvement from the majority of our parents, how many of us could really take the pressure?
Some of the best and brightest students I have ever taught had parents who were not just dysfunctional; they were dangerous. Conversely, some of the lowest performing students I know of had parents who were passionately interested in their education. Many things can hinder effective parental involvement; not the least of which is the unwelcoming attitudes of educators or the limits we put on when and how we want parental input. How many educators are using lack of parental involvement (or, lack of the kind of involvement we would like) as an excuse for low expectations and minimal instruction, particularly for the children of the poor or children of color?
After a 12-year career as a freelance journalist, Detroit native Renee Moore moved to rural Mississippi with her minister husband, earned teaching credentials, and taught high school English for 16 years. She now teaches college and high school students at Mississippi Delta Community College and supports a youth ministry. A former Mississippi state Teacher of the Year and winner of the Milken Educator Award, Moore serves on the board of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Her blog TeachMoore can be found at the Teacher Leaders Network website.
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Wonderful piece, Renee. Give
Wonderful piece, Renee.
Give me the overbearing, critical parent any day--because at base, those parents do not yet trust, and may have had experiences that make them wary (and thus demanding). A super-involved parent can become, with time and frequent contact, a trusted partner. And I agree that sometimes the apple falls a long, long way from the tree.
And lounge talk about irresponsible parents says more about the person speaking than the parents they're castigating.
You take the bad with the
You take the bad with the good - like Nancy, I'd rather have parental over-involvement or difficult involvement rather than none. Well... to be honest, it might be toss up for me personally, but what's most important is the students. And yes, over time, teachers, students and parents can navigate a course of appropriate and helpful involvement usually. It's harder to generate involvement where there might otherwise be none - especially when students hit the later years of high school.
Sometimes I think there are
Sometimes I think there are more similarities than we realize between over involved and underinvolved parents. If a parent has trust issues with the school, she may show up to watch everything that is done or he may do nothing. If I am a parent who isn't sure what the school expects of me, I may react in one of two ways -- do everything in hopes I get something right or do nothing so I can't be wrong.
The challenge of educators, I believe, is to look for the motivation and beliefs that guides parental behavior then work to establish a relationship with parents that lets us guide them to a balance in their participation in the education of their child.
I agree with your assessment,
I agree with your assessment, Janet. Lack of trust can cause parents to move to one extreme or the other. I'm not sure, though, that we should think of the problem in terms of what we as educators should do to "guide" parent behaviors; they are adults; and technically, we work for them. But I think you're right; we need to offer parents more opportunites to have meaningful interactions with the school and with their children's education based on their own goals, resources, and needs.
Janet, you made me think of
Janet, you made me think of parent involvement in a totally different way. I have never thought of it as a trust issue. I teach in a rural area and the parents that I usually see are those that I really don't need to see. It's the students that have the most behavior problems at school that I see less of. How do I get those parents to direct their attention to their child's education? I at present communicate daily with behavior sheets, but still can't seem to get their attention.
Thank you for a
Thank you for a thought-provoking look at parent involvement. I agree with you that many times teachers say that they want involvement, but they really want "their version" of that involvement. In Kindergarten at my school we seem to have the greatest opportunity to communicate with parents as we see them most often at drop off and pick up times. I have learned and continue to learn each year, that the best response seems to be to take the involvement that a family/parent is able to participate in and try to facilitate a team approach. Many times reluctant parents have simply disengaged from school due to prior educator experiences and we must work hard to convey our interest in working as a team to support our students/their precious children. Thank you for reminding me of the importance of reaching out.
Visit Your School Our school
Visit Your School
Our school decided to put up a bill board with the simple message "Visit Your School" to encourage parent involvement.
http://www.hpisd.info/?p=43
At first, I taught it was too much, but now that i see that lack of parent involvement can be a real issue, It shows that schools must do anything in their reach to overcome this problem.
Highland Park School in Amarillo Texas has a nice billboard to aid in this issue.
HornetPride In Striking Distance
Every parent must read this
Every parent must read this article, this will be very useful for them to knowing the facts about the education...
Thanks for sharing ........... keep it up
I've been the first kind of
I've been the first kind of parent for 6 years now. This year I'm moving toward being the second type of parent. The description was extreme, of course, but I will be questioning more things and insisting that I see my child's work as he progress through an assignment.
Why the change from being the "obedient parent" that provides the money, supplies, treats, signs paperwork on time, and shows up to conferences? Because I feel my desires for my child's education are not being met, and the joy of seeing him grow academically has been taken away.
I feel I have the primary responsibility for educating my child. I think the public schools are a terrific vehicle for this, as I do not have the desire, personality or the skill set to be a teacher. However, I feel my ability to influence my child's education has been taken away from me since I'm not "the expert." I only get to see the final result which are meaningless grade reports or final papers that are peppered with easy-to-fix errors and incomplete thoughts. My child does very well in school according to his report cards, but I'm dissatisfied with the results. I've seen him do better, but the school doesn't ask it of him. Yet, I have no opportunity to influence how he does his work. I won't write that paper for him, but I can make sure his plan is thorough before he writes, and I can edit his paper and have him correct his mistakes. Why am I not allowed to do this?
I liken this to my child playing sports. His coach can teach him how to pitch a baseball and he gets some time to practice with his coach. For him to become a really good pitcher, however, involves practicing what he learned at home. I can put on the glove and catch those balls. I can also find other people who know how to pitch to help him. School should be the same way. Let the teachers teach, but don't take away the ability of the parents to help.
Similarly, only seeing the final result in a report card takes away the joy of seeing your child grow academically. Again, I can make a sports analogy. A report card is like never seeing his basketball games. Instead, he comes home and tells me who won or lost. Now, I get pretty excited at those basketball games and seeing those boys grow in their ability each year is a thrill. I'd love to have that same enthusiasm for his school work.
This is an excellent discussion and one I plan to have with the principal of our school. There is a gap here that needs to be filled. I understand there are some parents who are completely "checked-out," but let those of us who want to be involved do so in a meaningful way...not just bringing in cupcakes for the class party.
Interesting ......... though
Interesting ......... though parental involvement in school as a means of improving the education of our children is one of those topics that will never be seriously addressed on a national stage ..... it is a politically untenable position for politicians (particularly school administrators) to take, defend or implement
It is important to remember
It is important to remember that parents can be involved in their children's education without ever crossing the threshold of the classroom. Parents who read to their children, converse with them about school, show an interest in what was taught, and who provide educational opportunities outside of school such as getting a library card and using it are invaluable resources. Because parental involvement encompasses more than what we can see in a meeting, it is very hard to ascertain who is and who is not involved.
I am a parent and as much as
I am a parent and as much as possible, I want to be involved with everything my son is doing in the school. I want to be his partner in his education.
I have both types of parents
I have both types of parents in my classroom and find both frustrating. The over-involved parent expects perfection, has daily criticisms and is never appreciative...complains to the school board about my principal and me before giving us feedback... The under-involved parents do not show up to functions and voice very few expectations if any, even at meetings where parent participation is expected. I also have moderately involved parents who communicate enough to show us they care and want to give input without sounding like an enemy out to get me fired while also expressing appreciation for our work. I live to help the latter, hope to change the under-involved, and avoid the over-involved for the sake of my sanity.
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