When schools struggle, there are always a variety of factors presented to explain the problem – everything from funding to poor leadership to poverty to the breakdown of society, depending on who you listen to.
But there is always one factor that rarely is disputed: A lack of parental involvement.
When a child’s education relies entirely on the time he or she spends in the classroom, that child’s potential is limited. There is no doubt that a child’s success in school relies in no small part to having an home environment conducive to learning. That means children are well-rested and well-fed and ready to learn when they arrive at school. It means children are exposed to reading and learning at home. It means they have a quiet place to study and a time set aside for it. It means having a parent who is aware, involved and invested in the child’s education.
When those elements are absent, the educational process is seriously compromised.
We recognize that when a child succeeds, she doesn’t not succeed on her own. That is also true when a child fails.
Knowing that, there is a temptation, at least in some quarters, to take a fatalistic view. When a child lacks that parental support, there is nothing much that can be done.
But we should never be satisfied with that conclusion. We may blame the parents, but it is the innocent child who suffers the consequences. We must never accept that without some effort to intercede on the child’s behalf.
We must do what we can, when we can, for as many as we can.
Tuesday, at the Columbus Municipal School District’s regular meeting, Superintendent Cherie Labat outlined her plans to address this issue. It is called Parent University, a national program geared to help parents learn how they can support their children’s education.
The goal of Parent University is to increase parental involvement in the schools and empower parents to raise children who are successful in school, and in life. Workshops are held in schools, public libraries, YMCAs, houses of worship, businesses and other community locations. Workshops range from topics like Helping Your Child Prepare for the End-of-Grade and End-of-Course Tests, to Preparing for Kindergarten, Middle and High School, to Surviving Adolescence. More than 70 course topics are available for families.
The program itself suggests something that is rarely considered when the subject of parental involvement is concerned: It may not simply be a matter of parents being unwilling to provide their children with the kind of support they need: It may also be a matter of parents not knowing how to do that.
Today’s educational process can be complicated. Curriculum, teaching methods, even the language of education, can be confusing even for well-intentioned parents. Knowing how to engage with educators, how to evaluate their child’s progress, how to recognize when their children are struggling with concepts are not something that always comes naturally.
Teachers and staff are continuously involved in development programs needed to be effective in their roles. That parents might need that sort of help as well should not be surprising.
There will always be a segment of parents who do not accept their share of responsibility.
But there are others for whom the will is present, but not the information they need.
Parent University is a far better alternative that simply throwing up our hands in frustration.
We believe it is a positive approach to a critical problem.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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