Parent Community Myth #2
Myth: It’s impossible for us to involve parents of ELL students more as most of our teachers are monolingual English speakers. It is not impossible for schools to involve the parents of their ELL students, they must demonstrate to the parents and students that they are valued members of the school community. There has been considerable amounts of research on the importance and benefits of working closely with the parents of ELL students and how income and social class are strong predictors of how families relate to schools. For example, low income or non-English speaking parents may leave big decisions regarding school up to the teachers because of their expertise and the parents potential lack of. In a study
…show more content…
She says this because parents don’t need to have a fancy education or provide their child with endless enrichment activities, all they need to do is talk. Where ELL parents might struggle with this is in a language gap. They will be able to converse with their child in their native language but might struggle with speaking to them in English. If the parents struggle with their English, they won’t be able to help with homework or reading assignments and might begin to feel they can’t help their child in this setting. By schools providing things like parent classes to help with English proficiency or continued education, schools can help bridge the gap between the student’s home and school lives and allow parents to be more involved. All parents are helpful and important in the child’s education. As Murphy Paul brought up, parents play a much bigger role in their child’s education than they think. By empowering the parents of ELL students, they are going to be much more likely to help their child succeed. Colorín Colorado brings up many ideas on how parents can contribute to their child education both in the home and at school. They start by explaining how parents can be involved in homework and school activities even if they don’t speak English. Things like reading wordless picture books and telling stories about their culture can
3). Some ELL students may start school without any English language skills, while others may have “limited language proficiency or dual language deficiency in both their native language and English” (p. 3). Just as native English speakers, ELL students also have different levels of intellectual abilities; however, their struggle with school in English may be related to background knowledge and not solely on intellectual abilities (Short & Echevarria, 2004). Samson and Collins (2012), purposes if school districts, administrations, and teachers want to see improvements in achievement for ELLs, “greater continuity in how general education teachers are prepared by teacher-education programs, certified by states and evaluated by local education agencies, or LEAs, is essential. By making sure that the special needs of ELLs are addressed at multiple stages of the teacher preparation process, schools may gain higher quality
It is critical for a parent to be involved in their children’s education because it is important for a child to have knowledge. Parents often help toddlers develop early academic skills by reading books to them or helping them learn their ABCs and numbers. When a child starts school, parents should communicate with their child’s teachers and keep track of their academic progress. Parents of older children should focus on teaching their children independent study
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.
Family involvement in education can help get families involved in school and knowing what their child is learning
“Good” parenting is in the eyes of the beholder, parenting varies from family to family. It is important not to judge parents based solely on how they are involved in their child’s education. Not every parents has the opportunity to be as involved as they would like to be. Deficit thinking is another way parents and children are blamed for low academics instead of teachers and institutions. Janet made me aware of how Mason’s teachers have some fault in the kind of education he is receiving. In a more positive note, Janet is helping Mason build CCW. She has created aspirations for him and is helping him develop language capita. After analyzing the data I realized that parenting is a difficult job, and society expects highly involved parents. If you are not involved you will fall into the “bad” parent category. As a future teacher this information will help me understand parental life. I will be more patient, understanding that parents cannot always be there for their child educationally. It would be my duty to be there for those students that need support and don’t have that parental
For teachers, I believe they are lacking in having efficient data, practices, and resources. These three categories play an essential role in educating, evaluating, and caring for ELL students. Communication is a huge factor when it comes to instruction in the classroom. In the past research has shown poor communication between teachers, students and families. Schools often lack in providing differentiated methods and tools to teach ELL students. Schools in the past have failed to offer the correct assessments that were needed in order to diagnose each student's needs and measure their individualized learning standards. Educators can easily become frustrated because there is such a wide range of English learners. This means academic levels are different and the educators have not received the proper training or instructions on how to correctly educate ELL students.
Sociocultural influences on ELL students are very strong; some families feel that their social life is a major part of their culture. The use of bilingualism is someone that is fluent in two different languages. An ELL students home language can be quite different than English. The students’ family may have no desire to speak English. This cause many learning delays because of the lack of practice. The parental and community resources for English acquisition in my area are scarce, but they did locate an amazing website for ELL families. The school district around me can improve their home and school relationship by getting the families more involved in their child’s education.
Furthermore, Vonderlack-Navarro suggest another beneficial way to support English language learners is to involve parents in the students’ education. Because of the language barriers, education levels, and culture, this goal will not be a stress-free assignment; however, once the parents have “buy-in” and trust the school systems, the goal would be accomplished (Stover,
The most direct and meaningful impact on children’s education and advancement of social competence comes from parents and families. Students work harder, excel more, show attitudes and behavior that is positive, and feel at ease in new settings. Educators must connect to families so that they may develop relationships that employ them as active partners in their children’s learning
An obstacle I have witnessed in my school is the lack of parental involvement. Throughout this year, I believe the parents' investment in their children education has been disheartening. I can say in my own classroom, nearly one-third of student’s parents have no idea how they are doing in school academically. About one-sixth of student’s parents don’t sign daily agendas or notes that are sent home. Only about one-fifth of parents consistently attend school programs. My biggest concern is that too many parents are disengaged. Parent involvement can indeed make a difference in a child’s education. Students would perform better academically and behaviorally if their
It is not often that parents who are from a different cultural environment know the language of that culture. But, the parents can be encouraging to their child to learn and gain
The following five ways are, “1.Connect with ELL students’ families, 2. Ensure the effective communication of important school information, 3.Tailor your approach to the family’s cultural traditions, 4. Get parents involved in school activities, and 5. Formulate a plan to encourage parental engagement” ("Five Ways to Engage Parents of ELL Students", 2013) Now let’s break down each step so we can fully understand if these steps are efficient. Number 1: Connect with ELL students’ families- Build a partnership by learning about parent’s cultural traditions and mutual respect. Number 2-Ensure the effective communication of important school information- Make sure to present all school’s schedules and important school information in their native language. By doing this you are making sure the correct information is being passed along. Number 3: Tailor your approach to the family’s cultural traditions- Make sure the cultural norms are embraced. That way both viewpoints are valid and will contribute to the success in their child’s education. Number 4: Get parents involved in school activities- By getting the parents involved you are relaying a message of the importance their personal role in the child’s education. Number 5: Formulate a plan to encourage parental engagement- “Education is everyone’s business, not just that of educators. Encouraging the contributions of ELL families is one more way to help schools work for the betterment of the entire community” ("Five Ways to Engage Parents of ELL Students",
Chavkin emphasized the importance of parent’s school involvement among Hispanic and African American families. Documenting her research process Chavkin reported important opinions made by African American and Hispanic parents. In her research, the majority of parents who participated in the study truly believe that the most important key towards student academic success is parent support and involvement. Ultimately, this informative and interesting study represents an important contribution to my research topic by pointing out parent opinions about the idea of parent school involvement, which essentially is the key answer that I want to research and discover.
In order to encourage parents to be involved in their child’s school and education schools could offer orientations that focus on multicultural education and how it is incorporated. Library books, articles, and videos about multicultural education should be made available to all parents and family members of the ELL students. There should also be some type of bulletin board made available to families that has notes about upcoming events, workshops, English language classes for adults,
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.