Building successful parent-teacher partnerships Essay

The problems in the school life can be solved if teachers and parents work together as a team. â€Å"The traditional concept of involving parents in the process of educating their children has typically been restricted to one-way communication approaches. Either the parent is talking at the teacher or the teacher is talking to the parent. Yet the real purpose of parental involvement in the educational process is to foster an improved learning climate and support system for the child. Parent-teacher confrontation models do little to foster the development of their environments conducive to effective interaction and learning for the child† (Swick, 7). â€Å"parents and teachers must come to realize that their behaviors are much more important than their words in affecting the child’s self-concept. When parents and teachers work in complementary, supportive type roles as partners in the development of learning climates and support systems for young children, not only are they learning, but they are a vital part of the educational process† (Swick, 7). â€Å"†¦ the parent is the first and most important influence in the child’s development. It holds that the parent, like all other teachers,must first be a growing, compassionate person in order to be an effective parent† (Swick, 7). â€Å"Parents and teachers become stronger, more insightful individuals when they participate in joint determination of the educational program in which their children have optimal conditions necessary for growth toward becoming functional and developing persons† (Swick, 8). Parents provide personal information about children’s behaviors, characteristics, talents, interests, etc. Teachers give another view about the social development of the children for example with friends and other people, progresses in school, skills, achievements, etc. Involved parents: The hidden resource in their children’s education by Anita Gurian, Ph.D. Gurian, Anita. â€Å"Involved Parents: The Hidden Resource in Their Children’s Education† NYU Child Study Center. Available: 01 May 2012. Web Page. â€Å"In adolescence, children become more independent and usually don’t want their parents in school. In middle and high school, students have to deal with more courses and more teachers in a more impersonal way, so parent involvement, although less direct, is still critical. Parents can participate in events at school, monitor homework, provide experiences and materials that supplement course work, and help children with organizational strategies. Parents can influence their children’s academic progress by encouragement, reinforcement, and modeling. Children learn from their parents’ own learning styles and activities, such as discussions, newspapers and other reading materials, television habits and quests for information and knowledge.† When parents want to be in charge and spent their time for their children, they can have the opportunity to know their child’s life better. The parents can know the social life of their children at school and all the other activities that their children have. United States. Office of Educational Research and Improvement. National Center for Education Statistics. Parent Involvement in Children’s Education: Efforts by Public Elementary Schools. Washington, DC, 1998. Internet. â€Å"Parent attendance at school-sponsored events was related to the concentration of poverty in the school, as defined by the percent of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. In general, as the concentration of poverty in the school increased, reports of high parent attendance decreased. For example, while 72 percent of schools with a low concentration of poverty reported that most or all parents attended the school open house, 48 percent of schools with a moderate poverty concentration, and 28 percent of schools with a high poverty concentration reported that most or all parents attended the open house† (Carey, 14). Davis, Jonathan. â€Å"Facilitator Helps Parents Get Involved in Their Children’s Education.† NBC 26 News. (25 April 2012). Available: 1 May 2012. Web Page. â€Å"In order for a school to run efficiently you need to have the parents involved. I try my best to communicate that to the community and let them know that we have things that they can do, Like being a room mom and are able to give back to the school. In order to do that you have to have the parents to get involved because we want lifelong learners,† said Inga Coleman.