U.S. Parents Participate in the Education of their Kids

U.S. Parents Participate in the Education of their Kids American education does a lot to make every teacher and every parent understand the need for parental involvement in their educational process. Historically the role of parents in American school has been changing. And up until 1960 the prevalent opinion was that parents should not interfere in the work of the school. Some of the reasons for this situation was: the low level of education of many parents, their fulltime work, etc. In the seventies and especially in the eighties a movement for engaging parents in school affairs rose up. Modern parents are interested not only in family financial support, but also in the rise of academic achievement of their children and the development of positive self-esteem. Statistical studies conducted in the early 90s, proved that the development of school reform in the U.S. is slowing down due to low parental involvement in childrens education (89% of people involved in school reform, called it the main reason). Not only were teachers dissatisfied with such state of affairs, but also parents (40% of them said that they pay poor attention to the education of their kids, and 80% expressed their desire to participate actively in the work of the school) and children (72% of children aged 10-13 years and 48% aged 14-17 years indicated that they would like to talk more with parents about school, 82% of high school students believed that parents should be actively involved). Parent Enabling Policies for States, 1991, was trying to convince teachers that: · Parents have the right to take part in the selection of programs, methods and forms of education for their children, · Parents know their children better than anyone else, and this position can help professionals (teachers and psychologists) in their work, · Good parents and good teachers are equally important for the development of children, · Sometimes parents need help, additional knowledge on how to deal with children, and the teacher can help parents in that task. Here are some of the principles of working with parents, that have been formulated by the Department of Education of the State of New York (Parent Partnership, 1991): 1. Each family is unique in its way to support a child and collaborate with the school and the community. The uniqueness of the family should be respected. 2. Family, community, school they all play an important role in supporting and developing child’s mind. The basis of their partnership is trust, confidentiality and mutual respect. Participation of parents in their childrens education is to be welcomed. 3. The main task of any teacher is to provide social and emotional support to parents, a mutual exchange of information, strengthening and rainforcing parent-child dialogue, the involvement of parents in the education of the child in school and at home and support for children in further education and professional growth. 4. Establishing equal relations among school and community are not possible without the establishment of personal relationships between parents and teachers as well as between teachers and students. Some booklets describe the simplest steps to help reach out to parents. An example is the questionnaire for school personnel (adapted version) (The Parent Institute: Whats working in parent involvement, 1993): Are we friendly with parents? Is it easy to get to school? Is it easy for parents to find a teacher, head teacher and the office of the principal? Is the school open for meetings, supplementary education courses for parents and students, etc.? Do we know how to talk to the parents on the phone? Is the entire school friendly with the parents? Are we educating parents? Are we making open consultations or workshops for parents on children’s homework, discipline, motivation, etc.? A. Henderson in one of the teachers guide (North Central Regional Educational Laboratory, 1990) underlines that in order for the child to be successful in school, and then later in life, the most important thing is not his IQ, income, or social status of the family, but how his parents are involved in his (or her) education. In order to support parents in this difficult and long process, there are some of the rules for the school staff: School staff should be familiar with each child. Class instructor(leader) must regularly interact with students in the class, The teacher must personally contact each family in her class at least once a month (by phone, in person or at school events) Parents should at least once a month be able to come to school. In addition to meetings, it may be holidays, open day, volunteer work, picnics, etc. For parents who want to participate in the life of the school, the school doors should be opened at any time. They can attend classes, talk with teachers and the administration and use the library and the cafeteria, etc. Also there are some guidelines and recommendations for teachers to develop contacts with the family and real life in the school. For example family photos that children bring to school, interview family members, works on the participation of family members in various events, etc. Teachers can assign homework that is not possible without the participation of the parents in order to develop the role of parents in their childrens education and to strengthen the school community. Of course, the problem of getting parents to actively participate in the learning and growth of children in the U.S. has not been solved completely. But the principles underlying it, the presence of the legal framework, the theoretical and statistical studies of various kinds of training programs and manuals, a variety of recommended methods and ways of working, as well as its intensity indicates a greater probability of success in the actual practice of the school.