Most parents are highly involved in their child's education in the elementary years. As time goes on and the child goes to middle school, parent involvement slowly starts to diminish. Finally when the child is in high school there are few parents that are actively involved with the school, school functions, grades (until progress reports go out), or school supplies. My question to my fellow educators is: (1) What are some ways that high schools can get parents more involved? and (2) Why is it, you think, that parents slowly start to get less involved as their child gets older?
Parental involvement is an increasing problem as students enter high school. I think one reason for this is that the parents believe that their students are old enough and do not need their help anymore. The truth is that parents of high school students can be very helpful to the education of their children. Many parents work full time jobs and are not available to volunteer at the school. Most parents think this is the only way to be involved. By having classroom blogs and wiki pages, parents can comment on teachers' posts, view homework assignments, and major class projects. This is an easy way for parents to be involved in their student's education.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all the above. Parents of high schoolers think that their students do not need help or they are trying to give their student a sense of responsibility. When I was a coach, these were the only parents that I could get to volunteer and it wasn't easy getting them to volunteer in the first place. I did parent nights and open house, but never got a good response from my parents. Hopefully, this is something that can change over the years.
DeleteThis is a very good topic, and I think, as a whole, people are less involved in their children's education (for a variety of reasons, which I will get into later). As for the first question, how to keep them involved, I think there a few ways. One way is to keep their children involved in school related sports and clubs, and then invite their parents to participate in various parents' night type events, booster clubs and things of that nature. Coaches and club sponsors should make every effort to call parents (not just contact, but call) and attempt to get to know them. Of course, not all students will want to be part of a club or play sports. I think technology, like blogs and personal web pages are a great way to help parents keep up with what their children are doing in class and how well they are doing it. Allowing a parent to see comments you've made about a child's work, behavior and attitude, as well as what projects, tests and homework assignments they are (or are not) doing will help parents, especially those who work long or odd hours, keep up with their child's progress. Perhaps these web pages should explain the benefits children of involved parents reap. Of course, there will always be those absentee parents who are too involved in their own lives to put much effort into the lives of their children. As for an answer to such parents as those, I have none, but would be very interested in hearing ideas about it.
ReplyDeleteAs for why parents stop being involved, I think there are numerous reasons. Some parents probably fear becoming over involved in the lives their teenagers, who are themselves trying to establish their own place in the world. New expectations and demands for privacy by the children might make some parents fear hovering over them too much. Other parents may simply be trying to teach responsibility by putting the onus of making good grades on the kids. Some parents might be intimidated by the assignments their children are given- if they do not understand the work (say on an upper level math class) they may feel reluctant to ask their children if they are struggling, out of fear they could not help even if they wanted to. some parents may have younger children, and fell their time is better spent on being involved in their schooling- perhaps feeling that their high school student is perfectly equipped to handle school on their own. Some parents may have gone through a divorce, and now find their time much more limited than when they were married. Then, there are the parents I spoke about earlier- the neglectful, the self-absorbed, the addicted and the just plain uninterested. I have no idea what to do with these types.
The more our students are involved, research says, the less likely they are to drop out of school. Parent involvement in school activities is usually low, however parent involvement in extra curricular activities is usually high. I think that you are right when you say that parents are probably afraid to help their students because they do not know the content. This is probably a good indication of why extra curricular activities have a higher parent involvement rate.
DeleteEntering the high school world naïve to parent involvement I have learned that parents do not always exist. Teens are usually placed with a guardian if not a parent. As teachers we want the students to have a strong support system at home, but that will not always be the case. I find it important to reach out to the guardian or parent in the first weeks of school. Communication allows you to get an idea of the steps you should take in your relationship with the student and their home life. The parents and guardian need to know what is going on with the students at all times. I think one reason parents shy away is that they think all news from the school is bad news. More teachers should contact parents and guardians for the positives in the classroom not just the negatives.
ReplyDeleteAlthough lots of students now do not have the traditional support system at home, most students have some type of support system somewhere. The challenge is finding it. It maybe a coach that they have a good relationship with or a counselor. It maybe the boys and girls club or it may just be a big brother or sister. You are absolutely correct when you say that parents and guardians need to know what is going on with the students at all times, but also the support system needs to know too. I try to make at least one positive phone call per student per semester. With 160 students it is hard to do, but it is possible. It also makes a world of difference in the attitude of the parent and how much they are willing to help at home and a world of difference in how much effort the student puts forth in class.
DeleteParents that have never been involved throughout their child's education present a problem that is difficult to solve. So I am going to exclude those parents from my answers.
ReplyDeleteFor the first question, I agree with Ryan and H. Huff about the use blogs or wiki pages to involve the parents. Most parents are busy at work and in their spare time they could stay updated on their child's progress in school by checking the teachers posts online. Many high schools have a system where grades can be checked online and this is how parents can stay informed on their child's production in class.
For the second question, I believe that parents slowly become less involved in their child's education as they get older because they want allow that child to mature and become independent. Most high schools do not have rewards days or field trips that allow the parents to come and be with their child and his or her classmates. I think parents are just letting them grow up and take responsibility for their own situations. If parents do not do this I do not think teenagers will be as prepared to leave for college or leave the house and start a career. Responsibility and being able to survive without the help of your parents has to somewhat be simulated in high school to prepare the students for the real world. This does not mean that parents should not be concerned with their child's progress and be unwilling to help, it just means that they should not hold their hand their whole life.