A Direct Correlation Between Family Involvement

One fifteen-year-old girl explains that “It’s more like being hidden” (Kozol 3). A young girl wrote to Kozol saying, “You have all the thing and we do not have all the thing. Can you help us?” (Kozol 3). A principal at an overly crowed school pointed at a trash bag covering part of the collapsing ceiling, telling Kozol, “This would not happen to white children” (Kozol 4). Many political leaders claim that the economy is to blame for failing schools, but the reality is that these schools are awful even during economic growth and success. In truth, parents of minority parents are thought of as people who can be discounted and their children are not considered valuable. Teachers at these schools are paid grossly less than teachers at other

While taking Introductory Sociology with Professor Cole Smith this semester, the course revealed concepts covering various topics about society and the world around us. During the course, the ideas and concepts covered were impressionable because of the nature of the content. Each chapter discussed controversial topics challenging the way the students previously perceived information. However, there are chapters in this course that have been the most influential. For example, chapter one covered the theoretical perspectives, chapter four examined the concept of the social construction of reality, and chapter twelve exploring the family dynamic. Although each chapter provided insight on various subjects, the information allows for the reader

In the collateral-collectivist cultures (African-American, Hispanic and Asian), emphasis is placed on the family, above all else. This means that in these cultures, even education is second to the needs of a family. When teaching children from these cultures, it is important not be ethnocentric, but rather understand the structure of their cultures. As teachers, we cannot be colorblind; for it is a disservice to those we teach.

Do parents want to be involvement in their children’s school process? “Some teachers enrich their cultural knowledge through their interaction with parents” (Lily, 2015, p.494)

“The socioeconomic achievement gap in education refers to the inequality in academic achievement between groups of students. The achievement gap shows up in grades, standardized test scores, course selection, dropout rates, and college-completion rates, among other success measures” (Ansell, 2017). Typically, when discussing the achievement gap, educators are comparing the academic progress of African-American students or Hispanic students to the progress of white students. More-often-than-not the white students will have more educational achievements than their non-white colleagues (Ansell, 2017). The most widely accepted theory as to why students with higher socioeconomic status (SES) do better academically is high parental involvement, access to economic resources and access to highly qualified teachers (Huang, 2015. Pg.6). Students of low socioeconomic status often live in poverty. This means that the student may not have sufficient school supplies or even someone at home to help him with his homework. There are numerous children in the United States’ school systems that are failing due to the achievement gap. These students are at a disadvantage because the school systems and teachers do not notice or even care about their home life and how it comes into play in their education. It is important for our nation to not only understand the achievement gap but take steps toward correcting it.

It has been proven by psychologists that education and learning first begins at home through the family. The author’s of this text, Hawley and Nieto, touched ground on this fact while they discussed the racial differences on education for families. They went on to express that like any other family for instance, culturally diverse families value education as well. All families share a similar positive outlook for their children, especially to break the poverty cycle. This idea brought about appeals for value that everyone is equal and deserves fair education so that professional educators may notice that all students want to prosper. However, most ethnic families feel ultimately unwelcome and out of place when it comes to their child’s education, which led to less involvement in the classroom. It is seen here that the school is supposed to be a place

In a study conducted Rosenthal and Jacobson they examined the exceptions of teachers from their students and self-fulling prophecy. They believe the central problem of so many kids failing school is because of kids with disadvantages. They are lower class children who live in poverty and being taught by middle class teachers. They are the Mexican American, Puerto Ricans and African Americans. These teachers are white females who are middle class and teaching the “disadvantage” which leads to the teacher expectations for them to fail. (Apa)

The author, Amanda Lewis, conducted a study in the 1990s to examine how race and racial inequality are reproduced on a day-to-day basis in schools. She argues that the curriculums, educators, and the children themselves create and reinforce racial lessons. She picked three elementary schools in Southern California: Foresthills, West City, and Metro2. The schools were selected based on their location and cultural composition. At each school she was paired with a teacher who would be the best help for the study. She observed the behaviors and interactions of students in fourth/fifth grade classes. Interviews were conducted with the students, teachers, members of the school community, and parents as well.

Educators’ ability to show that they care is critical in making students feel they belong and are supported. This connection supports the academic aspirations of students. Parents have also utilized educators as a social support network in helping their sons achieve academic success. The educator-student relationship is an integral part of Black male success in K-12 as a sense of belonging leads to cognitive engagement and behaviors—defined by activities supportive of gaining an education—that demonstrate the ability to know how to do school (Martin, 2010). Furthermore, “the degree to which students know how to do school is predicted by their sense of fairness, safety and belonging in the school setting, their intellectual interest in school, and feeling they have supportive adult relationships in school (Martin, 2010, p. 11).”

For more than two decades, school psychology has known about the necessity for, and importance of, developing multicultural competence (Fouad & Arrendondo, 2007). From research, ethics, and practice standards, school psychologists and other school personnel have been aware that an effective school professional is multiculturally competent and able to make sense of students’ sociocultural, socioracial, and sociopolitical backgrounds that present themselves within a classroom setting. Multiculturally competent professionals are informed as to which environmental, academic, and community factors combine to support all students’ learning and development across ages and abilities. Twenty-first century American schools are changing in dramatic ways partly because of shifting demographics in rural and urban communities and in public and private educational institutions, as well as among students who are homeschooled. These changes have produced a new generation of multilingual, multiracial children with racial, ethnic, cultural, and linguistic differences; multiple learning styles; native language learning; and changing family constellations. Some of today’s learners also come from families with multiple and/or generational family traumas and dysfunctions. These challenges and the shifts in student enrollment demographics are creating new demands on schools’ teaching and learning services.

Schools can be the “door” to the American system for many families, as it is the bureaucratic institution that nearly everyone is familiar with. Providing assistance to immigrant children, and helping direct them to existing resources, will better ensure those resources are being used for their purpose. Assisting students with access is important - in other words, a school should facilitate a student’s college search process, making all of the options clear and helping them find scholarships and navigate financial aid. Apart from issues that seem unique to immigrant families, these students face many of the same problems so many other children in the US are facing. Poverty, home-life, and the family value of education all have a tremendous impact on a child’s learning. By fostering a welcoming environment for new families, a school is in a better position to make a positive change in an immigrant child’s

Forming connections with schools helps parents promote their students’ achievement since it allows them to access valuable resources. However, racially diverse parents from low socioeconomic backgrounds exhibit less involvement in their children’s schools because of things such as language and cultural barriers (Lee & Bowen, 2006). Since more than 80% of students attending urban public schools are Black or Hispanic, these schools tend to have less parental involvement (Lee & Bowen,

Kara Lysy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education spoke to a group of educators on behalf of the Harvard University Achievement Gap Initiative suggesting that in the past she has made visits to the home of her students twice a year (fall and spring). Lysy’s hope was to open up lines of communication between the parent and teacher, learn more about the family dynamics, and to offer suggestions to the family in helping their children achieve success. Lysy states that, “family ties are important to success and assist in literacy and writing” (AGI Conference, 2011, Lysy). As a parent this sounds fantastic, yet in the real world it is not possible. Jade Beltran, Special Education teacher at Kohlberg Elementary in El Paso, Texas states, “this sounds like an easy fix but in actuality it is not. Teachers in the El Paso Independent School District are prohibited from visiting children at their homes” (Beltran, 2015, Interview). Beltran illustrated the achievement gap in comparison to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs by saying, “there is a prevalence of Hispanic students whose parents are working multiple low paying jobs just to put food on the table, education is not a priority for them” (Beltran, 2015,

It currently commonly acknowledged that the issues involving racial disparities in education is a complex one and which is multifaceted and cannot be explained in terms of individual deficits of minority students. Researchers have illustrated various environmental variables that relate to parents response on the inadequate racial achievement, or the achievement gap, even though the literature is not often conclusive in terms of which variables are more firmly related to the racial environment gap. For instance, the extent literature base associated with whether teacher-student relations are related to the racial achievement is

In accordance with the article, children who attend to early childhood programs and parents who are involved in their children 's activities have more possibilities for success at school than others who do not attend to these programs. According to Taylor, Gibbs, and Slate “disadvantaged children who attended preschool experienced greater subsequent success in early elementary grades than students who did not attend preschool”. In addition, parents working together with teachers reinforce at home children’s education. Therefore, children who parents are interested in their academic results make children feel secure and happy to attend school. Parents intervening at their children’s education help teachers to create children more responsible and interesting to learn more.