Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Middle Level Article: Family Involvement
This article really hits home on the topic of Family Involvement from This We Believe. The authors make a point that I have not considered in the past. It is the desire of students at this age to feel independent. So often we put all the blame on the parents for not being involved in their children’s education after elementary school, however, we may need to focus a little attention on the lack of desire from the students for their parents to be involved. With the onset of adolescence, these students are craving space from their parents and can see their involvement as an infringement of the independence they are striving for. I think it is our job as educators to show the importance of parental involvement not only to the parents, but to the students as well.
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This is a good article on parental involvement. Being part of the ML situation, I understand the students' attitude of independence, and parents' willingness to give them space. Some of our parents volunteer to help the faculty with secretarial needs- making copies, stapling, etc. The parents might be at the school 2 hours one day a week. They never see their child, but they are available to help. I think it helps other students seeing parents aroud- even if it's someone else's mom. Other parents participate in special occasions such as field day, field trips, providing snacks, cleanup.
ReplyDeleteI agree that parental involvement is vital for students' success in school. I do agree that students are wanting to be more independent and "grown up." True that the blame for kid's involvement in school or lack there of falls upon the parents and they do need to be cut some slack. But too many parents out there expect the school to parent their child after elementary school so parents need to still be involved in school functions. Even like Charlene said they do in her school. The smallest thing makes a big difference. Again I believe that if there is good communication between the school and the parents, students will succeed
ReplyDeleteDuring the middle grade years students are more focused on what their peers think rather than parents and teachers. It is a great idea to show students the importance of parental involvement but parents need to understand the importance. Too often parents fuss at children for bad grades but do not try to help with schoolwork, homework, etc.
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