Parent involvement is to the single most influential role in a child’s life, let alone in their education. As a child grows they obtain a sense of tradition and then express them in their own ways. Children often mimic their parents growing up because most of the time the child wants to be just like mommy and daddy. But when it comes to education, parents play an even larger role. It is very important for the parents or parents to be supportive of the child’s education and to take an active role in what goes on in the classroom. Studies have shown that there is a positive correlation between the involvement of parents in the child’s education and how well the child does. Even though now it is hard for parents to be fully active because in this economy both parents are often working parents, just going to a PTA meeting or checking their child’s homework and making sure it is completely and handed in on time helps. Now children are often left with the responsibility of organizing their work on their own, and more often then not they do fall behind because they do not have the proper time management skills. Children are not ready to do this on their own and need the guidance of a parental figure to guide them in the right direction. If not they procrastinate and watch tv and play on the computer and do not do what they have to do.
The idea of parental involvement is for the schools and parents to come together to make sure the child reaches their potential. Often times parents and teachers do not see eye to eye on the methods of teaching because they both see the child/student in different ways. Many times if the parents does not agree with the method the teacher is using the parent will either stay away from the work and now help the student, or try to teach their child in a different way. This just winds up hurting the child overall because they are not getting the consistency needed to absorb and grasp the information fully. Parents and teachers need to be able to communicate if there are any issues because they have to remember the child/students wellbeing is comes first, not their own.
I also found it very interesting that Caucasian students were often more well prepared then a student from any other ethnicity. Also students that did not come from a broken home and had both parents were also more well prepared. I can see that because the probability of a parent helping the child has doubled with having two parents. But the fact of the matter is, whether a child has one or two parents, and whether they are white or black or of any other ethnicity, parents need to become more involved in their child’s education.
