Parental Involvement

> 1. Do you feel that your students’ parents are as involved as
> they should be?

How involved should they be? Describe your standards—different people judge differently. Should this be based on their poverty? How many jobs they work? How battered is the mother…or father? Should it be based on whether or not the parent has a disability.

> 2. What do you, as a teacher do in your classroom to involve
> parents?

Build relationships with them.

> 3. Does your school district try to involve parents? In what
> ways?

Too many ways to name here. Question is too broad

> 4. How would you describe an involved parent? An uninvolved
> parent?

That depends on the parent. See #1 above. A stay-at-home mom, with no disability, in a nurturing family with a husband who makes great money can afford to be involved and at school often. There aren’t many June Cleaver’s out there today.

> 5. How often do you communicate with parents, and in what
> context? (Positive, Negative, Informative, etc.)

If one is building relationships, one is engaged in a dialogue. Communication is a two way street. That includes information, positive/negative comments, and sometimes persuasion. From both sides. Email is nice for day-to-day information. Conferences are nice, too, especially if they are student-led conferences.

You don’t need to keep it confidential since it is an on-line post.

Susan,

It’s not a secret that some parents don’t have the time or ability to be activly involved in the school, I am aware of that. Everyone’s family situation is different, and you’re right, there aren’t very many stay at home moms anymore. That’s exactly why I’m researching parent involvement. I am looking for ways that we, as educators and community members can involve all parents, regardless of their situation. As a Special Education Teacher, I am really interested in your views on parent involvement, because as a pre-service teacher, I am aware of the importance of the role of the parent, especially in Special Education. I am asking you to draw on your experience as a teacher, and tell me some how your parents are involved, if you would like them to be involved further, and especially, what techniques you use if they are not involved. As far as the question regarding how your school involves parents, I am referring to workshops, parent-teacher conferences, newsletters, PTA, or even Parent Centers.

Thank you for your reply. It sounds like you have a lot of information to offer, and I would appreciate it greatly if you would share with me any opinions that you have regarding parents, their involvement, and dealing with their individual situations. As a pre-service teacher, sadly, this is not something that we receive instruction on in my undergraduate curriculum. I am particularly interested in how you involve the “hard-to-reach” parent.

Thanks again,
Alexis

1. Do you feel that your students’ parents are as involved as they should be?

It varies from family to family. Most want to be involved but other demands upon their lives such as work and younger children can limit their involvement with any one of their children.

2. What do you, as a teacher do in your classroom to involve parents?
I approach parents with warmth as a peer and let them know it is not my intention to judge their children but to teach them.

3. Does your school district try to involve parents?
No. My school works to keep parents at arm’s length.

4. How would you describe an involved parent?
One who maintains frequent communication with their child.
An uninvolved parent?
I’ve not seen too many of these.

5. How often do you communicate with parents, and in what context? (Positive, Negative, Informative, etc.)
I send home newsletters and call three times a year. I offer my home phone and my school voice mail and e-mail to parents and answer phone calls or e-mails the same day.

Additional comments are welcome, and will be appreciated. I am looking forward to your replies. Thank you in advance.

Most schools don’t really want parental involvement. They want parental compliance and there’s a significant difference between involvement and compliance. They want to see the homework gets done and to bake cupcakes for the school fundraisers. They do not want parents’ to comment on curriculum or teaching practices. Sensing that, many parents stay away from the school. Rarely have I seen a school reach out to parents in a sincere way.

One of the teachers at my school decided to do action research on parental involvement. Her research said that investing time talking to them on the phone instead of writing to them helped them be more involved. I didn’t look at the numbers because the research design didn’t really interest me that much.

As a parent of a child w/LD, I was very involved. Probably too involved.

As a teacher, I have good parent involvement. Here are the values that I bring to the table:

1) I believe and model the belief that parents know their children very well. I ask them to share their knowledge.

2) I give parents as much control over the situation as possible. Lots of choices. That way, when I do have to say that we need to do something a certain way, they know I’m not just being a control-freak. Many parents begin handing me back control because they know they can reassume their role anytime they wish.

3) I believe and model the belief that children are my customers along with their families. I tell them they are my customers and thank them for doing business with me. I find something to like and enjoy about their children and I tell them about it. (That one is really critical.)

4) I believe that families are doing the best they know how to do and I tell them so. I try to set up an emotionally safe climate for my students and their families.

When people feel safe, competent, and in control, they want to come over & play in your sandbox. It’s a cozy place to be.

it cost for you to relocate to Florida?

Believe it or not, I’d be more inclined to go the other way: Massachusetts or Maine or Vermont. I loved Minnesota, too. Sorry (to Ken, too); it’s just too hot down there. Muggy. Sticky. Swampy. Gators. Ugh, y’all!

You could come up here to Quebec — nice people, great culture, bracing climate (brutally hot in summer and equally cold in winter; spring lasts two weeks).

Thanks, anyway, but I’ve invested all this time in knowing sped laws…I’d have to learn a whole different system there. Great place, though.