Yes, i do believe in what I've read in here. And teacher definitely can't do it alone, no matter how good he/she maybe if there's no support with the parent's. It will be hard for them Votes: +1

I agree that parents have a big share in their child's school performance especially in academics. It is a school-home partnership because part of why students are active in school and interested in learning is because they see through their parents' attitude and behavior that they care about their education and so they take their studies seriously while having fun, of course. Example of this is parents preparing their child's breakfast early in the morning. In this way, parents are silently giving their support to their child's learning. Hungry kids surely cannot concentrate while attending their class activities, but if their parents prepared them food before coming to class, they will have the energy to learn.

Another is parents being interested in their child's stories-for-the-day. We are familiar with this...stories about their teacher who scolded them or praised them; about how they bravely answered their teacher's questions; and other related stories.

Attending PTA meetings and going to their child's extracurricular activities are also parents' way in being actively-involved in their child's education. Through this, both the parent and teacher can understand about the student's behavior and performance in school. Votes: +0

Parents are a critical part of the learning process for students. They set the framework within a child is suppose to work. They provide the encouragement and discipline that is needed today for a child to be successful. It is true that the family structure is not the same as it once been and truth be told it is going to get even crazier, but it does not excuse the parent from being a parent. And I don't believe that lack of parental involvement is relegated to the inner city. What do we do as teachers, ensure that we doing everything possible to ensure that parents have and opportunity to participate, we must magnify the benefits to parents of their involvement and minimize the need to hilite the negative effects of a lack of parent involvement. Keep them informed, because ultimately the responsibility and accountability is on the parent as long as teachers are teaching. So teach on teachers of America, even if lose the parents today, your invest in the students will make for better parents tomorrow. Votes: +0

I am a VERY involved parent and I am trying to find numerous ways to help my daughter excel in school. I get online constantly to try to find worksheets I can print off for her to have her work on but I have not been able to find many good sites that offer much in the area of 1st grade math. Any ideas? I would LOVE to be totally involved but I feel like I'm not as much as I could be. I'm also a room mother in both of my daughters classes and send supplies and do class parties etc...please offer any suggestions, send me an e-mail please. Thank you all! Votes: +0

I too am a teacher with DoDEA working in an overseas school. I think our situation, with deployments, is unique, however, I also believe stateside schools have their unique situations also. One recommendation I have for how to strengthen the teacher, parent, student team is to make sure the lines of communication are open all the time, not just when a student is struggling or having a birthday party. Email, weekly parent newsletters, and requests for volunteers for jobs from listening to students read, to simply cutting out laminated materials, are some of the ways I involve my parents in our classroom. Attending sporting events and recitals of my students is another way to make connections with parents and students outside of class. A goal of mine for this next school year is to have an occasional family night, where I invite parents in to our classroom and have students show them what and how we are learning. Votes: +0

Connecting with the parents is critical in the environment in which I teach. I am a DoDEA teacher overseas. Our children just went through 15 months where 80% of them had one or both parents deployed to Iraq. Sadly for five of them, their dads didn't come back. Imagine the stress of that hanging over your head daily coupled with all the other day-to-day trials and tribulations. Dad comes home for two week R and R, the child stays home to be with him. Dad comes home at the end of the deployment and kids are out for two weeks of block leave. The teachers spend a considerable time with the students in after school activities. Communicating with the parents is an ongoing concern when we see personality changes happening in the children. One effective way of communicating with the parents we have available to us is a gradebook program we use called Gradespeed. Online, parents can sign up to view their child's grades electronically. Teachers and parents can email and send notes to each other. With the click of the mouse, I can send progress reports out whenever I want. We have had great success with parent communication with this program. Votes: +0

Re:Eric
I post a unit's worth of material with guidelines of when the assignments should be completed and a final due date for the unit. That way, they can work on assignments whenever they get the chance. If they make it to the library once a week, then they can work on whatever assignment needed, not just the one's from that day. The flexibility is what parents and students want. I remind the students every couple days of what they still need to do, and for the most part, everybody finishes on time. -T Votes: +1

Has anyone figured out a way to make Hotchalk work for students who do not have computers at home. I really like using Hotchalk for assignments, but if the students do not finish them in class I have a problem because not all of them have access to computers at home. There is always the library, but they cannot make it there every night. This is particularly true because in the inner-city setting in which I work not all parents have cars. Any thoughts? Votes: +1

I am Technical College instructor, I teach Pre GED and GED preparation.The students that I teach are high school dropouts and adults. The course is a challenge, I have to go back to the basic teaching style inorder to find out what are the learning styles of the students. This is a individualize class but I end up some time teaching in a typical classroom setting
Votes: +1

I think it is important to touch bases with a teacher if you feel something is not right with your child academically or emotionally. It is also important to let the teacher know that she is a valuable team member as are the parents. My children go to school prepared for the day, ready to learn. I also participate and volunteer for what I can do at their school. I am active in that area and I ask the teachers what they need and I try to assist. Today, I brought in sorbets for the students in honor of my son's 10 year old birthday. They were expensive-but what better place to spend money- on my child and his friends. It allows for a great experience at school-the teachers and students love it-and it is healthy- and I value my children's school. I think teachers need to be valued and that is learned at home.

On the other hand, I teach at a school for kids that need alternative learning-high risk and high needs. It is difficult as I am not really teaching-but maintaining order. I wish I could teach more and try to maintain order less. The parents are not really here for the students and the students know it.I think my life could be improved as a teacher if I had an extra person in the class to maintain order. Another adult who would be the bouncer so to speak. These students gang up on me and they are tough. Do I think I will change their lives? No. Maybe some moments in school will be better and some will pass some state exams. I hope to make a difference-but I am glad that my own children are in a different school that feels safe and whose teachers know the parents care. Perhaps if I made more money-I would feel more valuable-the administration values the teaching staff-but the students are not respecting the teachers. Votes: +0

These are critically important issues - and when you follow the money, understanding the impact of our societal shift to two income families on consumption habits (parents showering their kids with goods because they don't have the time shower them with attention) it feels like we're struggling to find our way.

I'd like to bring this back to the question of "How do we improve teachers lives?" within the context of these changes to the way families self-organize and operate.

What message can we deliver to parents, to help them understand how and why their role is important? Votes: +0

As parents and in our society, we are hurting our children more than we are helping them. I've seen an absolute increase in the "helicopter parent"...and what lesson does that teach? I will fight your battles for you and via nagging and intimidation, you can obtain what you want. As a parent, my children have weekly chores and when they complain about doing the dishes every night, I tell them it's their responsibility. When did we stop asking our children to become a functioning member of the family? Very few of their friends have chores. And thanks to our society, TV or a combination of the two, they have unrealistic ideals. They all want to be famous and rich...even if they have chores to do! As Lou Holtz, the football coach for Notre Dame, so aptly put it, 'Today, it's all about rights and privileges. Yesterday, it was about obligations and responsibilities.'

Our children have lost their educational advantage not because they are mentally slower today than 20 years ago. It's because we have stopped demanding that they participate in the family unit as a working member - we hand them the wii's, iPods, and cell phones not because they've earned it but just because. We used to teach them the value of a dollar... if you wanted something, you had to save your money and purchase it yourself. A child learned quite a lot about self reliance and pride for having achieved something by working for it. Those days are gone. In the inner city, I see children at or below poverty with huge TV's, iPods, wii's, $150 dollar sneakers, but no jacket or medicine because they spend their money elsewhere. Again, what message does that send to our children?

My husband is a coach in a division A school in the inner city. Every parent/guardian is convinced that their child is division 1 material...but they're just making the academic cut. When did we, ourselves, become so out of tune with reality? And where are the consequences for throwing a temper tantrum in right field during a game? Tough to have one when the parent is throwing one in the stands.

Arguing about how difficult it is to teach at a specific grade level is futile. It's all difficult irregardless of the grade level because there is little support from parents. Sure, parents are more than willing to help with parties, but less eager to set the law down about doing homework and studying. Extra-curricular activities, piano lessons, dance classes (and the list goes on) takes precedent in the family unit. When was the last time the whole family sat down and actually discussed their day, what was happening in school, in the office, etc.? Votes: +1

I couldn't agree with you more about pre-k education being the link between future success and failure. The early grades are the essential building blocks that the following grades build upon. Without those blocks, everything else would fall.
Votes: +0

I stand corrected.

I think you're absolutely right. Further, there is a substantial body of evidence making it clear that Pre-K education can be the difference between academic success and failure for many of our children.

Look for me to change my ways - - -

EMF Votes: +0

L.Fluitt--- For you to say that your work is just as hard is fine... but for you to judge it and say maybe even harder? I teach 5th grade at a title one school, which for Missouri, it means low-income. I have many students who receive food to take home on Fridays because their families can't afford it, over half of my kids get free lunches. Some of my kids parents are in jail and don't know when they will get out. I have a bi-polar student who cusses at me and other students on a daily basis... with no family who cares... he is bounced between his stepdad and grandma because his mom is in jail. So you think you work harder than "regular" teachers. We all do work in different ways.
I personally, will do anything, roll on the floor, act out, jump up and down, anything to get my kids to understand something.
There's nothing that angers me more is when someone in the education field compares their work to someone else's and makes judgements that their work is harder. Being a teacher in any grade, at any level, for any type of student, is hard work. I spend hours of my OWN time at home creating, typing, buying, grading, for my kids. I spend my own money to make my lessons and classroom more fun.
Teachers in general get no respect. Please take a look at other teachers, and have respect for all teaches, because I know I have great respect for our special education teachers and our preschool teacher. Votes: +0

Why are teachers considered k through 12 only? Since NCLB there is a lot of work in the preschool and prekindergarten section. I am a special education teacher teaching developmentally delayed 2, 3, 4, 5 year old children and believe me, it is just as hard if not harder work than the other grades. How many k through 12 teachers get on the carpet with their students and roll around (just to name one of the things expected of preschool and prekindergarten teachers)?

You are getting this response from me because I do not understand this blatant discrimination.

Maybe you do not understand that a lot of preschool and prekindergarten teachers are held to the same standards as "regular" teachers. Plus a lot of the preschool and prekindergarten teachers work for community based organizations contracted out to provide these services for large school districts (e.g. NYCBOE) that want to get the biggest bang for the buck... since bucks are so few and far between for our children's (our future's) education.

Working for a private institution, I do not get a 30-minute lunch, any prep time or time to fill out all the forms required by special education. I am expected to do duty as a special education teacher, direct care giver, janitor and day care worker if needed. I have to do all my paper work at home on my own computer, using my own paper and ink and time.

Talk about getting no respect... good thing Rodney D. has moved on or he would end up as a preschool, prekindergarten teacher.
Votes: +0