Hello,
I just wanted to let you know that this is our last post as well as April 25th is the last day of our class. Please forward all assignments my way by that date. The course evaluation form (that Mary Zahn sent in your registration packet) is part of your course grade. Please mail that to Mary Zahn.
Lastly, I plan on making copies of all book projects to share with all course participants. If you are uncomfortable with that, please let me know.
It has been a pleasure working with you!
Christi
Helping Parents Help Us-
Promoting Comprehension Through Parent Involvement
by V. Susan Bennett-Armistead
Your assignment is to read chapter 11 on parent support in the selected reading tab.
Please reflect on the following key questions:
1. How might parent involvement efforts improve achievements in reading comprehension?
2. What are the barriers to parent involvement in your community?
3. What are your ideas that would involve parents who traditionally do not get involved at school?
4 comments:
Parent involvement can help improve reading simply because they show the child that they are interested and want to be a part of the learning. If the parent shows enthusiasm and interest it is easier for the child to feel the same. They also were the first and the most easily understood of the pepole that the child interacts with (in most cases)something that helps the child 'see' things clearer when they are confused.
There is a language barrier for parents (several languages are spoken in the community) and a cultural barrier as well in my community. I don't think that the district knows how to incorporate these diverse groups as effectivly as they might. I feel there is also a problem in that we can't seem to find a way to make it enough fun that we can compete with the entertainment that is availble to people today. If it isn't fun and entertaning enough people won't come. Education is not seen as something people will enjoy. A sad fact!
Involving parents that don't traditionally get involved is a tough problem. We need to make them feel more important and valued as the article says. I don't feel like I have any answers. The fact that parents don't feel like they have the knowledge or abilities to help their child is something schools have to work on changing. Maybe through conferences. Most parents in our district attend at the elementary level, but only to get a report, not to provide insight and input. Maybe we need to approach this area differently as a starting place.
1. Students whose parents read to them at an early age usually become readers themselves. Most kids want to do the things their parents do. Those who never see their parents reading don’t see any value in learning to read. By getting parents involved in school, kids begin to see the value that their parents place on education. Whether it’s volunteering at school, attending evening events, reading with students at home, or making sure that homework is a priority – students can see that their parents think school is important.
2. Most parents work during the day. We have single parent families as well as families where both parents need to work to make ends meet. It’s difficult for most to be involved during the school day. Evening events usually draw a good crowd, although we’re competing for time with athletic events, swim practice, gymnastics, etc. It seems the same core group of parents show up for every event, while others never make it to anything.
3. The number one thing I would like to see from parents is taking time to talk with their child about school. Little things like asking what they did in school and making sure homework is completed have a huge impact on students. I don’t think that parents realize the impact that these things have on their child’s attitude towards school. I loved the parent involvement questions in the article. I’ll use them at parent teacher conferences next year. I hope it helps parents understand that what they say and do at home is as important to their child’s success as what we do at school.
Here’s one idea which I think has worked well. Our school has an annual Family Reading Night. It usually includes a short program, but most of the evening is spent with kids and parents reading together. They bring blankets and pillows and the school gym is filled with families spending a relaxing evening together. It’s a very non-threatening environment for parents. They have a chance to visit with other parents and read with their kids. Younger siblings are welcome, so no one has to worry about getting a baby-sitter. Everyone who attends gets a free book. We also have a Family Math night where parents and kids get together and play games which build math skill. In both events, the family is the focus. They’re not coming to school to hear a speaker, have a conference with the teacher, or sit through a long program. The focus in on family’s having fun together.
I believe a child's environment is VERY important for his/her academic achievements. Teachers can influence children for the amount of time spent in the classroom. Cooperation between the school and home can have a big positive impact on students.
I teach in a small parochial school where there is plenty of parental involvement. The primary teachers do have parents volunteer to help with reading groups. I don't believe there are any barriers for parent involvement at our school. Many of the moms are stay-at-home. We have many volunteer opportunities throughout the school that are filled by willing parents.
I think it helps that we have nearly all families with a computer and internet access. We could probably do a better job - via web blogs - that all parents are welcome to share their talents with our school. Maybe we could include a brochure for registration time that would list volunteer opportunities or encourage giving of "time and talent."
1. I think parents have the ability to really help their students with reading. First of all, they know a lot about their children that we do not. They know what books will interest them and what books they can successfully get them to read. They also know their background knowledge and would have a better idea of what kind of information they might need to construct meaning. Also, they have the ability to spend more one on one time with their child than the teacher does. Imagine how good all of our students would be if they had one on one help. Last of all, if they do help with reading they show the importance of it. A lot of kids are ambivalent about reading. I bet a lot of them would tell you that their parents are not readers as well.
2. There are some barriers to parent involvement in my school. I think the biggest one is that the parents do not really know what to do to help their child. I find almost all of my parents will help if they know what to do. Many of them will not ask either. I also think time is a barrier. I find that with more and more being placed on teachers at school indirectly they place more and more on parents at home. I have heard complaints about the amount of work to be done at home and the lack of time to do so.
3. To go along with what I said about barriers I feel that we need to educate the parents as well as the students. One of the things I got the most positive feedback on this year is a sheet I made for writing. It explains to parents what exactly the kids are taught when writing paragraphs. The parents liked it because they could use the same terminology and knew what was expected. I think that doing more of that kind of thing would make some parents more involved.
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