I think you hit the nail on the head about parents being responsible for their child's attitude about school. However, I also believe that parents who were brought up in an environment where school and higher education were devalued will often pass similar values to their children. The parents are themselves at a disadvantage.
Perhaps parents in poor communities should be flooded with user-friendly resources, classes and information that will enhance their ability to encourage and equip their children to make positive educational choices. I believe that elementary through high schools should strive to be a friend and mentor to both parents and students. An adversarial stance from schools simply confirms to these parents that their status in life is predetermined and that they are powerless in the educational system. By supporting and educating these parents, school administrators and teachers can help to break a destructive generational cycle and transform economically disadvantaged communities.
I couldn't agree with you more. My knee-jerk reaction was to say the biggest problem lies with the children and the motivation to be educated, but it's the home environment and parenting that provides that base of motivation.
With a two-year-old at home, I'm constantly looking for ideas on inspiring my son. I feel like I received a quality education, even from schools some consider average, because I wanted to learn. What I wouldn't give to bottle that and give it to my child.
Parents these days are excuse givers, over protectors and unwitting underminers of their children's potential. Here's hoping we buck the trend!
Another fantastic post.
Your basic point is right. But the harder question, is what do we do when...
1. There are parents who simply don't understand the value of education.
2. There are kids whose homes are so dysfunctional that the parents barely get food on the table.
3. There are parents who are so busy struggling for economic survival (working multiple jobs) that they barely have time to be parents.
Like it or no, the school is the place where those kids are exposed to the outside world and where we can try to change their fates. You're right that our schools have the necessary resources to educate kids - provided kids arrive there ready to be educated. Not all kids do, and do we simply consign them to failure, or try to do something about it?
I don't know we do that, but it seems to me it is worthwhile - and beneficial to us as a country - to try to figure that one out.
The idea that poor parents can't pass along the importance of education to their children is a relatively new one in this country.
If it weren't so, very few Americans save for the wealthy East Coast elite would have high school or college diplomas. But our history is filled with the stories of people who were the "first in their families" to go to college.
What we have now is institutionalized poverty and the complete failure of many parents to be responsible for themselves and their children. The media compounds the problem by constantly harping on funding as the main reason for our educational struggles.
Interestingly, after I made this original post the news came out that No Child Left Behind test scores were up dramatically across the country, especially in math. I hope this is the beginning of a long-term positive trend.
Education always is tricky to discuss...like religion and politics. People get real worked up discussing it.
If we raise the folks out of poverty, it stands to reason they want better opportunities for their kids/families. We all do.
If we make better schools, it stands to reason that people will be better suited to help themselves out of poverty.
The govt. (not placing blame on any party, or dept, or federal/state/local) tries to mandate, and everyone tries to mandate education in a way they think will help people out of poverty.
At the end of the day I agree, its up to us as parents to work within these paradigms and press upon our kids that hard work and effort in school gives them a better chance to get what they want in life...even if they don't know at the time what that will be.
This is getting too deep for me as I shovel a Subway sandwich down my piehole.....
My wife used to teach at a public school in Galveston. She took a pay cut to teach at a private school. The private school is not funded as well as the public schools, but the kids learn more. Throwing money at the schools will not guarantee success, you would think that after 40 years of doing that we would catch on.
The big difference in the kids at public and private schools is parental involvement. At the public schools, the parent would come to school with a chip on their shoulder, if they came at all. In the private school, parents come with the mindset of "what can I do to help". I have 8 teachers in my immediate family, and they all say the same thing. Kids that have involved parents, are the kids that do well.
I find it hard to believe that there are people that don't understand the importance of a good education. I just don't buy it. Everyone knows that you have to get an education to succeed. That cuts through all races and cultures. The problem is that some parents don't want to put in the time to make education important. It's easier to put your kids in front of the TV than it is to read to/with them.
Some say that money is the reason that kids can't make it. I know this is anecdotal and not hard facts, but I see a hell of a lot of $5000 rims and $5000 custom paint jobs on a lot of cars picking up kids from public school here in Galveston. With these people, it is financial priorities that are hurting their kids. These people are selfish. Nothing you can do will change them. But still, that is a problem that comes back to the parents.
One of the previous posters had mentioned a plan to help educate the parents. This is very noble and may even work for a small percentage of the parents. But do you really think a woman that sends her kids to school with no supplies, dirty clothes, and no social skills, is going to show up on a Saturday morning to listen someone tell her how important school is? She doesn't care or she would have prepared her child in the first place.
Have you noticed I have not mentioned "dad"? My wife taught at one of the poorest schools in Galveston. Want to guess how many kids in her class lived with mom and dad? Out of 18 kids, 2 lived with both of their parents. Of the remaining 16 kids, only 4 knew their dad! Do you think a person that does not even care about the survival of their kids is going to give a rat's a$$ about their school?
If you try to close bad schools and send the kids to better schools, you are putting an undue burden on minority kids. (According to a lawsuit by LULAC) If you don't close bad schools, then you are segregating the kids. (According to a lawsuit by LULAC) Do you see why I am not a teacher?! You can't win. It's too depressing and the pay stinks.
Maybe a way to get poor kids parents involved would be to tie government assistance to the childs progress. You take that free money away and see how quick pa
you take that free money away and see how quick parents get involved
Very well said sir. I can only speak out based on my observation from where I am working. Some parents complain a lot, put most of the blame on the teachers and administration, etc. They make simple issues turn into petty matters, worst passing on bits and pieces in a gossip session.
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