With the announcement of Obama’s blueprint for NCLB (which is mostly broad statements, and details not yet known), the commentary heard most often is back to the blame game: it’s the parents’ fault or it’s the teachers’ fault.
While I maintain that it is not conclusively one or the other, I was struck most by the commentary that claimed parents didn’t value their children’s education. That just doesn’t sound right to me. Of course, there are some bad parents out there, but what makes so many people think that the majority of parents are apathetic about their children’s education?
The general consensus is that the lowest-income schools are the ones that get the least amount of parental support. However, instead of assuming that it’s because parents don’t care, what I know from having been a resident in one of the largest districts – LAUSD – with one of the highest poverty rates in the country is that most parents are simply trying to survive the day.
When I returned to Los Angeles (because my family is here), I had no home, no job, no car, no checking account and two children who were turning 3 and 6. My ex-husband had destroyed my credit with his drug habit, and I didn’t have a college degree yet because when I graduated high school, I was under contract for a television series. Life just happened and there I was at age 30 with two kids and very few marketable skills.
I started getting back on my feet, but with every gain, there was a new challenge (not to mention the ex-husband drama, a continuing saga). We ended up moving 4 times in 5 years as a result, and with every move came a new school for the girls. I stressed (and continue to stress) every summer break, trying to obtain quality, affordable summer child care. I went back to school and obtained my degree by attending classes two nights a week and on Saturdays and worked full-time.
I know that some teachers and parents at their schools thought I didn’t care about my kids because there were a lot of things I couldn’t attend. I couldn’t attend PTA meetings because they either took place during my workday or on nights that I was in class. I couldn’t attend a science fair because something came up at work. I didn’t sign off on my children’s homework half the time because they did their homework with my parents while I was in class. To this day, I’m still not always sure what time their schools let out because they go straight to their after-school program.
What I was doing, however, was (more…)
