In order for schools to be successful, parents need to have a say in educating their kids. Also, parents should support educators and decisions made to improve the school experience. I like how Helen Westmoreland (2009) says that family engagement is "a shared responsibility in which schools and other community agencies and organizations are committed to reaching out to engage families in meaningful ways and in which families are committed to actively supporting their children’s learning and development." This quote can be taken to a different approach. Educating kids is a shared responsibilty between educators, community members, and family members. One of my undergrad professors said it best when he stated "How can we help educate your children?." Teachers shouldn't be solely responsible for teaching kids everything. Parents and family members need to help teach kids and keeps the kids motivated to learn.
Another article I read said community involvement helps support all youth ("School-community partnerships," ). In my education, I have witnessed kids not feeling accepting when it came to school. Whether it was some of my friends or some students I see in the halls now. It is hard for them to see support when they do not get support from home. Parental Involvement needs to be across the board and should encompass most students.
As one of the other classmates pointed out, Jacobo's story was pretty cool. I like the fact that the teachers and parents took initiative. The student teachers did an awesome job in helping Jacobo get excited about learning (Genzuk). Addressing students' interests is a great way to ensure that child's education. During my undergrad degree, it was stressed to keep the students involved and wanting to learn. The best way is to be involved with what the student knows and experiences. Connecting education and learning to something that is relevant to the student will help the process flow more smoothly.
This entire module could spark a lot of discussion and opinions. I feel the lack of support that within some schools can be tied to the prejudged image of teachers and the school system as a whole. When I was in criminal justice, one of the concepts we discussed was fruit of the poison tree. Basically it means that one bad apple ruins them all. Some parents and communities have seen a negative side of teachers and has caused the view to spread to ALL teachers. Even though I am a first year teacher, I have witnessed the negative views and have seen how parents treat teachers. Having the lack of support for the education system causes children to not take their own education seriously.
When communities, families, and schools collaborate, education can be taken to a whole new level.
References:
Genzuk, M. (n.d.). Tapping into community funds of knowledge. Retrieved from http://www-bcf.usc.edu/~genzuk/Genzuk_ARCO_Funds_of_Knowledge.pdf
School-community partnerships. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/qf/Commout_tt/School-Com2-8.pdf
Westmoreland, H. (2009, August). Family involvement across learning settings. Retrieved from http://www.hfrp.org/complementary-learning/publications-resources/family-involvement-across-learning-settings
No comments:
Post a Comment