One of the things I have struggled with in relation to parenting has been my daughters’ education. While I am aware of my general lack of time as a work at home mom, and sometimes, though it pains me to admit it, my patience is not always what I think it should be, I have struggled with the question of whether I should be teaching my daughter at home rather than sending her to school every day.
However, as I learned early on, I didn’t have to just send her out the door in the morning and pick her up again in the afternoon. In fact, our school encouraged my volunteering and I watched my daughter flourish as her teacher, school administrators and I worked together to provide a comprehensive learning environment that spanned from the living room to the classroom and back again. I found that through my volunteering I was able to touch many children’s lives who did not have the same familial structure or level of parental involvement my daughter has, I was able to spend 3 hours a week reading with children who touched my heart and taught me the importance of parental outreach in schools. When you volunteer your time, you are not only supporting the teachers, you are helping to enrich the students lives.
As parents we have the unique ability to effect our children’s learning both inside and outside of the classroom. When parents support their children’s schools, classrooms, and parent-teacher organizations by donating time, services, or products they show their children they believe in their education and they make it easier for their schools to offer more learning opportunities for the students. Parents can also offer support by taking an active part in their child’s education by studying with the child, challenging their knowledge at home, and holding their child accountable for their responsibilities. When parents take the time to instill values like respect, self-reliance, responsibility, and manners in their child, parents are equipping their children with the tools necessary to have a successful education.
Communication between educators and parents is of utmost importance also. When the lines of communication are open, parents and teachers can more readily and successfully tackle discipline, learning, or social issues and receive support. Parents can now stay connected to educators and administrators through a variety of options including email, classroom blogs, the 1-call system, online classroom tools, social networking, and good old fashioned telephone and snail mail. Thanks to technology many schools can hold real-time parent-teacher conferences using video conferencing tools, parents can ask homework questions and get an immediate response from other classroom parents or the teacher, and working parents can stay informed by reading their teacher’s classroom blog. This increased availability can and should translate into better parent-teacher communication and a greater learning experience for the student.
When parents and teachers work together it is obvious that the student benefits, whether you choose to volunteer your time, services, or you just support quietly at home remember that you are just as responsible (and more too) for your child’s education and future. It is up to you to show your child that you think education is important, that you support your child’s teacher and the effort he or she puts forth, and to instill the morals and values that will enable them to grow into contributing and valuable members of society.
