How to Raise a Lifelong Learner
Parents as Partners in Education
By Teresa Carson
We all want the best for our children, including the best education possible. So how do we, as parents, make that happen?
“We know parental involvement is crucial to children’s success in school and in life,” says Stefani Willis, project director for the Chalkboard Project, an organization focused on improving Oregon’s public schools. “They perform better and they’re more interested in pursuing higher levels of education when their parents are involved.”
Parental involvement in education – from sharing bedtime books with our toddlers to signing our high schoolers up for SATs – is clearly the key to raising lifelong, successful learners. The following chronology includes many ideas for parents on how they can become their child’s “partner in education.”
The Early Years
When we talk about parental involvement in education, many of us think of volunteering in the classroom, but teaching kids to value education begins long before the first day of school. By creating a home rich in opportunities for exploration – including books, puzzles, art supplies, age-appropriate building materials and abundant interaction with adults – we teach our little ones that learning is fun.
By integrating educational opportunities into everyday activities, parents can help their kids understand that learning doesn’t occur in a vacuum. “When we learn something, we try to relate it to something we’ve done in the past or known in the past,” explains Phil Pasquinelli, a sixth grade math teacher in Vancouver, Wash. Pasquinelli believes that by reading, playing and exploring with his son, now 5, he’s helping him build a strong educational foundation. Whether visiting OMSI or the zoo, working on a jigsaw a puzzle or playing in the snow on Mount Hood, says Pasquinelli, “all those different experiences are going to help him in life.”
Sharing the joy of discovery is key, says Marilyn Harrison, child development program director for Community Action Organization of Washington County, which runs Head Start and Early Head Start programs. “It’s showing children that if I’m interested in something, I learn about it,” she says. Make books available at home, visit the library, and use computers to answer questions or explore topics that interest you and your children. What’s important, says Harrison, “is demonstrating active curiosity.”
At Portland State University’s Helen Gordon Child Development Center, shared learning is built into the early childhood curriculum. “Rather than the parent always being asked to sit on the board or help in the classroom or read a story,” says co-director Will Parnell, “we are asking parents to become actively engaged in the learning experience.”
In a recent study of tulips with a class of 3-year-olds, for example, parents engaged in observation, discussions and art activities with the children. “As parents are studying something (alongside the children), the children become more engaged in the study,” Parnell says. “I think the earlier we can get parents and teachers engaged in this active learning, the more (children) see learning as a value, learning as growth.”
Parents should continue their own educations as well. Harrison notes the pride she sees in entire families when teachers in her Head Start programs return to college to pursue education degrees and become fluent in English. The sacrifices required drives home the point that there’s great value in education, that it’s worthy of significant effort.
When southeast Portland dad Chris Myers decided to pursue his dream of becoming a librarian, his young boys saw firsthand that education is a lifelong pursuit. Now a librarian at Oregon Episcopal School, Myers continues to model a love of learning by reading voraciously. His boys, ages 4, 6 and 8, are all enthusiastic booklovers, too.
School Days
Volunteering in class becomes a focus for many parents when children begin school, but there are countless ways to stay involved beyond the classroom. Myers and his wife Laura Smoyer are both active at southeast Portland’s Glencoe Elementary, where their two oldest boys attend school, but neither spends much time in the classroom.
“Most of my efforts at Glencoe are best made supporting the teachers and supporting the school versus actually being in the classroom,” says Smoyer, whose myriad activities include organizing school events, participating on site council, and arranging childcare for parent-teacher meetings. Myers is chair of the site council, helps organize an annual golf tournament, and leads a Junior Great Books group before school.
“I think parents should be involved and help out to whatever extent they can and in ways they’re comfortable,” says Myers. “It can be just nuts and bolts things or it can be policy things. There’s somewhere everyone can fit in.”
Maintaining meaningful, ongoing communication between home and school is another important aspect of staying involved in a child’s education, but with hectic schedules and crowded classrooms, that isn’t always easy. E-mail can be especially efficient, says Pasquinelli, because it facilitates dialog between parents and teachers even when in-person communication isn’t feasible. The Chalkboard Project is helping schools move beyond e-mail with a program called Edline, where parents and students can check on homework assignments, test scores, attendance and other important issues online. “Parents who are using this system love it,” says Willis. “If they’re at a desk job from 9 to 5, it’s great to be able to check in and know what questions to ask (their child) when they get home.”
As Willis says, when it comes to parental involvement, “one size doesn’t fit all.” Some parents “might not ever be able to step into the school,” she acknowledges, “and that’s OK.” They can still be involved in their child’s educational experience. Everyday activities like reading to children, making sure they get to school on time, asking about homework, and knowing the names of their teachers send a clear message that we value education.
High expectations and encouragement are essential, too. “Research suggests,” says Sandy Bell, vice president of programs for the Oregon PTA, “that high standards make a huge difference.” Some families “don’t have any expectations that their students will even go to school,” she notes, “and they don’t.” Tell your kids you know they’re smart and you expect them to succeed in school and in life, adds Harrison. “In some families that’s a given,” she says, “but in other families it’s really important to communicate that you have that goal.”
Staying Involved As Children Grow
As children grow, dynamics change at home and at school. “I don’t sit at the table with them and help them do their homework anymore,” says Bell, whose two children attend high school in Oregon City, “but we ask them about it every night and we make sure they go to bed on time and don’t get too much computer time.”
When children move beyond the elementary years, parents need to redefine their role in school as well. A former middle school teacher, Smoyer found it difficult to incorporate parents into the classroom. Kids aren’t as open to their parents being in class, she says, but that doesn’t mean you can’t volunteer at school. Helping teachers with copying or other administrative tasks, organizing school events, or even volunteering in a different classroom can keep you informed and involved.
Harrison reminds parents not to get discouraged. “I think giving up is so tempting in those teen years when the kid doesn’t want you around, doesn’t want to talk to you and doesn’t want to talk to the teachers,” she says. “That’s when parents need to demonstrate we’re not going to give up. We’re going to go to the school and (find out) what help is available in order for my child to succeed.”
Even a teen preparing for college can use some parental guidance. “There’s lots of timelines,” says Bell of the college application process, “lots of administrative pieces, and lots of options. It can be really overwhelming.” By helping her daughter access available resources including school counselors, the career center, and other students – and accompanying her on campus visits – Bell supported her daughter through the process without taking control.
Creating a Successful Partnership
Clearly, parents play a vital role in a child’s success in school and in life, but we’re not the only players. “What I try to stress between the teachers and my students and myself,” says Bell, “is that we’re in this together. We each have accountability.”
Smoyer agrees, emphasizing the importance of teaching kids to take responsibility for their own educations. Her oldest son is in second grade, but he already knows it’s his job to complete school assignments – and that there’ll be consequences if that job doesn’t get done. “I always think how many years (are) left until they’re 18,” says Smoyer. “We always have to be working toward that.”
Emily Puro is a Portland freelance writer and mother.
Parental Involvement Standards
The National PTA has established six standards for parent and family involvement programs – six areas in which parental involvement has been shown to have the greatest impact on children’s academic achievement. These standards have been validated across all income levels, ethnicities and educational backgrounds, says Sandy Bell, vice president of programs for the Oregon PTA. “They hold true regardless of what the parents are able to bring to the schools,” she says, “but they manifest themselves differently based on the parental situation.”
Meaningful Communication: The first standard is two-way, meaningful communication between home and school. Whether in person, by phone or by email, only by working together can parents and teachers ensure that students get the support they need.
Parents Helping Students Learn: From making sure kids get enough sleep to setting up a dedicated space for them to do homework, parents need to do whatever it takes to help their children succeed.
Understanding What It Takes to Parent Well: Providing parents with tools to parent effectively, whether through pamphlets, lectures, workshops or other means, is an important focus for any program striving to keep parents meaningfully involved.
Volunteering: Spending time in your child’s school is a great way to observe his educational experience, support his teachers and administrators, and show him his education is a priority for you.
School Decision Making: Parents are more informed and more involved than ever in budget and policy decisions at the school and district level and the PTA encourages schools and districts to adopt parent involvement policies. Beyond that, Bell believes parents should get organized in order to speak “with a single voice” on school issues.
Community Involvement: The sixth standard acknowledges that every taxpayer is a stakeholder in the public schools. Events like Grandparents Day and programs like SMART (Start Making a Reader Today) promote a shared sense of involvement.
For more information about staying meaningfully involved in your child’s education, visit the National PTA website (www.pta.org), the Chalkboard Project’s Web site (www.chalkboardproject.org), or contact your local PTA.
Obstacles to Parent Involvement in the Schools
According to a statewide survey conducted by the Chalkboard Project in 2005, most Oregon parents want to be more involved in their children’s schools. So what’s stopping us?
The number one barrier to volunteering in the classroom, the survey found, involves schedule conflicts at work. Chalkboard is challenging employers to change that through an Employer-Classroom Connection program, and many employers – like downtown Portland architectural firm Dull Olson Weekes Architects (DOWA) – are rising to the challenge.
In addition to partnering with schools on a variety of classroom programs, DOWA offers employees scheduling flexibility to volunteer at their children’s schools. That means marketing coordinator Tami Fuller can attend monthly meetings of a technology committee at her daughter’s Lake Oswego elementary school as well as the occasional field trip. “It’s nice to be able to still do those things,” says Fuller, “even though I’m a working mother.”
Another major obstacle the survey found was that many low income, minority and non-English-speaking parents don’t feel welcome in their child’s school. Chalkboard recently launched “Running Start” to familiarize school staff with common cultural barriers to parental involvement and to train them on how to make parents from diverse cultures and socioeconomic backgrounds feel welcome. The program also offers information to parents about how the public school system works: how to request an interpreter, read a report card, prepare for parent-teacher conferences, volunteer in the classroom and more.
For more information on these and other innovative programs, visit the Chalkboard Project at www.chalkboardproject.org.
Teresa Carson is a Portland freelance writer and mom.
June 12th, 2010 | Category: General Education Topics
