Family Is The Traditional African Proverb Essay

The fact that African American students lag several years behind their White peers in math and reading continues to be a persistent problem in America’s public schools – a critical issue that should not be ignored in any meaningful discourse on community, literacy and public schools. The wide body of relevant research reveals many causal factors and correlates including race, socioeconomic standing, social class, teacher competence and perceptions, quality of schools, etc. It is also generally acknowledged that there is a direct, positive correlation between greater parental involvement and student academic achievement. The particular focus of this paper is on the question of to what extent parental involvement – or lack thereof- influences the academic performance of African American students. I will argue that African American student underachievement is, to a significant degree, likely to be attributable to lack of active parental guidance and involvement. The variety of factors that impact parental involvement, particularly that of parents of non-dominant backgrounds, will be examined in order to demonstrate the need for schools and teachers to diversify the approach generally taken to collaborating with parents, such that it becomes a more meaningful, inclusive and relevant process for these parents. In closing, I will draw on an interview conducted with the parents of an

It’s widely recognised that the more involved parents are in their child’s education, the better the pupil performs at school. Whether, it’s just being aware of their progress and understanding their achievements or parents taking a more active role and becoming involved with the school itself.

Family involvement plays a major role when helping students prosper in the school setting. In order for children to be successful, as a teacher, we have to provide support to the parent’s to make an effort in wanting to play apart in that success. Communication plays a major part in the effective relationship between families and school. Giving the parents a sense of idea as to how their child is doing in school is built through the student’s academic needs.

Parent and Community involvement does not occur overnight. I feel that schools must make parent and community involvement a priority, valuing and accepting each other’s differences. Schools, families and communities must work together to support all students in a learning environment to ensure every student is a successful learner. Positive family and school involvement fosters a partnership among my school encouraging students to reach their highest potential academically and in life. Parent and community involvement does not mean stay-at-home mothers coming to school to help as needed, or a businessman stopping by to see events occurring on campus. The role of school, family and community involvement is a partnership incorporating goal-oriented activities for all grade levels linked to academic success and student growth.

Family involvement in education can help get families involved in school and knowing what their child is learning

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

As educators, we spend a great amount of time looking for different ways to implementing curriculum, meeting school and district deadlines, assessing, planning, and grading. But do we ever take time to really get to know our students and their families in a personal level? Without event knowing, we hold different biases towards students and their parents; we expect them to have certain knowledge about their community and culture depending on their demographics and socioeconomic status. We completely ignore the fact that many parents can make positive contributions to our classrooms. In the book Funds of Knowledge edited by Norma Gonzalez, Luis C. Moll, and Cathy Amanti, we can see how many families have abundant knowledge that the schools/teachers do not know about and therefore do not use in order to teach academic skills.

The traditional African proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child,” is commonly used when looking at the necessary figures involved in the development of a child. The novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, showcases the importance of a communal effort in a child’s upbringing. Families are a portion of a larger whole, and Harper Lee argues that an exposure to others in the community can have both detrimental and beneficial implications on a child in all aspects. When an individual exposes a child to the the variety of perspectives in their community, the child is encouraged to develop accepting mindset. Ultimately, youth will develop into strong adults when their community engages in their upbringing, because a community has the

Understanding the importance of a family-school partnership is essential in order for school districts and families with children to grow and strive. If an imbalance occurs within any of the various parts that play a key role, difficulties will rise to the surface. Several of these roles include: communication, decision making, volunteering, and learning and parenting at home. All of these factors must work together in order to create a successful school environment in which children are able to learn and strive. When a school is successful in fulfilling each of these roles, there are several benefits. These benefits include: better positive attitudes toward school, higher achievements, better attendance, higher graduation rates, an increase in enrollment rates in post-secondary education, and overall better schools to attend (University of West Virginia).

This article explains that children who live in poverty are automatically viewed as unable to succeed. It explains that teachers must keep this out of mind and have high expectations for all their students. It provides six effective practices that teachers can use to help children in poverty succeed in school. Connecting and validating are the first two practices. Connecting is creating connections with students and gaining their trust. On the other hand, validating is knowing where the student comes from but still helping them strive for the best. Educating and responding also make part of the six practices. Educating means keeping in mind students’ preferred learning styles and teaching new material various ways. The article also promotes responding, which is scheduling time in class to reteach information. Last but not least, the article talks about leading and succeeding. These two practices deal with having high expectations for these

Purpose of / Need for the Policy: Parental involvement is important for student success. High-quality education cannot be provided without involving parents in the learning process. When enrolling a student, parent sign a Contract of Excellence, committing to 40 parent hours each year, to help with their student’s achievement. The school will provide parent workshops, communication, clubs, and activities to coach, train, and empower parents so they can better assist their child’s quest of a first-rate education.

Although it is important for families to be involved with their child’s school, school personnel should also strive to create a positive interaction with families of students. Carl Dunst (2002) states that school and parent collaboration is necessary, and if schools take on a more family-centered approach, it will help create a supportive environment and help to strengthen a family’s capacity to enhance and promote a child’s development and learning.

More recently, the United States Department of Education, by submitting the 1996 proposal for National Education Goals, addressed the issue of parental involvement. The official U.S. government stood by the research of three decades that “parental participation in schooling improves student learning,” (U.S. Department of Education). Based on government research, family involvement programs don’t always need additional money to be successful, but leaders should stretch their own creativity to expand the programs that encourage community and family support. Parental involvement is found to be beneficial through high school, not stopping after elementary school, and parents that evolve as leaders should be encouraged to continue their role in their child’s education. The most successful parent leaders are found to play four roles in their child’s education: those roles are teacher, supporter, advocate and decision maker. The teacher-role supplements the child’s education at home, the supporter contributes his/her skills to the school, the advocate helps children receive fair treatment at home, and the decision maker participates in joint problem-solving with

William Cross is referring to the concept of “It takes a village to raise a child.” This traditional African proverb highlights the need to educate children as part of a community rather than in a vacuum at school. Mr. Cross believes that it is easier to engage children at school when they can connect the curriculum with what happens outside the classroom. He recognizes the fact that building that type of connection between teacher, students, and the community is a challenge, but the existing alternative is causing students to feel alienated. School systems are too focused on testing and tracking students often with poor results. Instead, school systems need to recognize the fact that all children can learn and create an environment where

Parental involvement in education is a vital essential for creating a cooperative environment for the student to thrive and succeed in. When a student knows that he or she is receiving support both inside and outside the school, the chances of that child becoming responsible for and active in their education are more likely. I know that there can be difficulties including parents for many reasons. Such parents may be too busy, uninterested or just feel helpless. However, as an educator, I will still have an obligation to reach out to these parents and assist them.