When parents and families get personally involved in education, their children
do better in school and grow up to be more successful in life. Sounds like
common sense, doesn't it? Yet parental involvement is one of the most overlooked
aspects of American education today. The fact is, many parents don't realize how
important it is to get involved in their children's learning. Other parents
would like to be involved, but have trouble finding the time.
All parents and family members should try to find the time and make the effort
because research shows that when families get involved, their children:
- Get better grades and test scores.
- Graduate from high school at higher rates.
- Are more likely to go on to higher education.
- Are better behaved and have more positive attitudes.
Family involvement is also one of the best investments a family
can make.
- Students who graduate from high school earn, on average, $200,000 more in their
lifetimes than students who drop out.
- College graduate makes almost $1 million more!
ALL parents and families can enjoy these benefits. It doesn't matter how much
money you have. It doesn't matter how much formal education you've had yourself
or how well you did in school. And family involvement works for children at all
grade levels.
What is " Family Involvement in Education "?
It's a lot of different types of activities- the keyword here being 'ACT'.
Whatever actions you undertake will have benefits for your child. We can offer
these suggestions;
- Keep in touch with the school. Families who stay informed about their children's
progress at school have higher-achieving children. (For a listing of faculty and
how to contact visit this link: High School Faculty Email Addresses & Teachers'
Web Pages)
- At the beginning of the year find out if your child's teachers distribute course
outlines or course descriptors or syllabus. These types of communication often
contain helpful information about individual teachers' expectations for
homework, class assignments, and project work.
- If your child has always been a "wait until the last minute and then work like
crazy to meet that deadline" student with respect to the completion of homework
and project work, BEWARE! Bright students can 'get by' on this work pattern
through elementary school- but in middle school the work load is simply too
large. Your child's grades will be lower- perhaps much lower than what they are
accustomed to receiving. Moreover they will feel stressed and discouraged.
- Another variation on this 'let's wait' pattern, is the student who believes that
they can 'take it easy' for the first five weeks of the marking period, and then
start earnestly completing assignments after Progress Reports. Again, this
strategy- while perhaps passable in elementary school- usually results in
academic failure in middle school.
You can help coach your child to change these ill-fated homework strategies.
How?
- Establish a daily family routine with scheduled homework time.
- Set a regular time for homework each afternoon or evening, set aside a quiet,
well lit place, and encourage and expect children to study.
- A popular 'quality assurance' measure used in the business world states; "You
get what you inspect, not what you expect." Ask to see your child's completed
assignments, as well as 'works in progress'.
- For larger project work and reports students often need guidance in how to
organize materials or outline writing and research tasks. Breaking a project
down into a series of smaller 'chunks' allows students to complete tasks on an
established time-line. Your child's teachers, as well as the school media
specialist, can provide additional resources on the 'how to' aspect of managing
project and research paper completion.
- If you are at all uncertain about your child's academic standing, Do NOT wait
for the five week Progress Report or ten week Report card grade to confirm your
suspicions! Instead ACT today and contact your child's teachers and request this
information.
- Use TV wisely! Academic achievement drops sharply for children who watch more
than 10 hours of television a week, or an average of more than two hours a day.
- Express high expectations for children by enrolling them in challenging courses.
You can communicate to your children the importance of setting and meeting
challenges in school. Tell your children that working hard and stretching their
minds in the only way for them to realize their full potential. Expect and
encourage your children to take tough academic courses like geometry, chemistry,
computer technology, a second language, art, and advanced occupational courses.
Make sure they never settle for doing less than their best.
Effective parental involvement can be as simple as asking your children, "How
was school today?" But ask every day. That will send your children the clear
message that their schoolwork is important to you and you expect them to learn.
Some parents and families may have the time to get involved in many ways. Others
may only have the time for one or two activities. But whatever your level of
involvement, remember: If you get involved and stay involved, you can make a
world of difference.