Family Involvement In School

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A classroom should be filled with a wide variety of languages, experiences, and cultural diversity. An effective teacher understands the importance of culturally responsive teaching, and recognizes the significance of including students ' cultural references in all aspects of learning. Having an enriching classroom that engages all students does not mean making judgments about a student’s culture based on their skin color, gender, or socioeconomic status, rather it means knowing each student in a way that is individualized. According to the authors of The First Day of School: How to be an Effective Teacher Harry Wong, race, gender, religion, financial statue, and skin color is the least important factor determining a student’s achievement. Moreover, demographics and culture are not an excuse for students’ lack of achievement.

During the declining years of Booker T. Washington High School, parental involvement with the faculty and staff was at a record low. Parents in the community wrestled with poverty-related issues such as time, money, and energy. In addition, some single parent mothers with low levels of education may feel intimidated or alienated with structured communication regarding negative classroom or school behavior. Conversely, from the parent's perspective, it is inconceivable to choose between work and an educational conference.

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Although both cultures hold high aspirations for their children, they adopt very different approaches to parent involvement. “African-American parents believed strongly in home and school-based involvement and attempted to intervene inside their children 's schools. While social class within the African-American community seemed to influence this pattern, African Americans were far more likely to seek school-based involvement” (Diamond, Wang, & Gomez, 2006) Every culture develops set patterns of child rearing practices and that what is perceived to be good parenting in one culture may be regarded as maladaptive in another culture. In both the Haitian culture as well as the African American culture this was not the case.

In this practicum I will narrate an interview that was done with a Hispanic parent. I will describe her and her family structure. I will also elaborate on her involvements in her children academics, and teacher parent relationship. Also better ways to encourage parents to get involved in their children education will be added, and how teachers can assist with making the parents feel welcomed inside of the classroom.

As a child growing up in an Asian household, I quickly became aware of how different my parents’ style of teaching was when compared to my other friends in elementary school. I remember feeling very surprised to hear how lenient most of my friend’s families were. I could never dream of even asking my parents at that age if I was allowed to stay over at a friend’s house. Everything, for me, revolved around doing chores and getting good grades. It was also strange for me to see how close and warm my friends’ families were together; where there were dedicated nights for board games or nights where they would watch TV together.

We can notice students ' academic achievement are increasing when parents involve in the education of their children (Ramirez, 2003). On the other hand, some parents do not make any effort to help their children at home although "the family is the most influential context for learning" (Copple & Bredekamp, 2009). Maybe they think teachers have a better understanding of how to educate their children, therefore they avoid of becoming involved in the classroom or talking with teachers too much. As Latino parents mention that, we have to help our children in every way possible.

The term ‘family literacy’ has fluctuated throughout the years, meaning different things to different people in different contexts. The study states that family literacy programs is “a formal program of delivery which is delivered by at least one experienced facilitator while the learners attending generally have dependent children at preschool or primary school with the underlying ethos of the program to teach literacy and numeracy skills” (Atkin 776). While the ideal is to have both parental figures attend the program, it is more often than not just the mother and possibly the child. It is significant for fathers to have a greater involvement within their child’s education, it can lead to “better test results, better attendance and behavior, along with improved life chances” (Atkin 776). Even though traditionally it is the mother that tends to the child’s education, to have father involvement is still beneficial for the

Dietz(1997) argued that when a school limits parental involvement to a particular type of involvement (e.g. fundraising, committee membership) then only a small proportion of parents become involved. As a result the school neither really involves parents, nor reaps the potential benefits from involvement. Instead, a more comprehensive model of parental involvement which elicits a wide variety of parental involvement is advocated (Dauber & Epstein, 1993). Epstein and colleagues (Epstein, 1992) thus developed a typology which aimed to comprehensively categorise the variety of involvement activities in which could potentially engage. These are summarised in the table below.

They compared children who have supported parents and children that do not. I completely agree with their research that students that have parental support in school are more successful in school. The authors provide the information and research they need to supply a thorough reason behind what they are writing

Today’s in complex global scenario societal and school environment in which we are living where teachers are faces challenging classroom management troubles, it has become necessarily required to establish partnerships between parents and teachers as a strategy to support students’ learning and development. In the late 1800s, it was a common practice for a community to hire a teacher who lived in the community. Such a practice encouraged close and frequent contact and shared norms between home and school. Contrast this with the situation facing most school communities in the mid-20th century, when a physical and social distance between the school staff and community became the norm. Stimulated, in part, by the movement to professionalize the teaching profession, teachers increasingly chose to live outside of the school community in which they worked.

As a teacher, it is my responsibility to share information on the development of the child and have a clear and constant flow of dialogue with the family. This will enable both parties to deal with any issues that may arise within the family, school or community. It also my belief that parents should have an active part in their child’s learning and be able to lend a hand whenever necessary, and having open communication with them will allow this transparency and connection between home and school. The community is vital in ensuring that the facilities around the community and school is appropriate for the different children and families to live in and grow. A very good example of this successful collaboration is the Reggio Emilia approach in Italy.