I am currently observing a 1st grade bilingual
classroom with students who are of age 6-7. I had the opportunity to talk with
the Classroom teacher Mrs. H and 2 parents that currently come in and
volunteer. I have learned from Mrs. H that, out of the 22 students only 2
parents have come in to volunteer throughout the school year. When there are
classroom parties more parents have participated and helped. I was amazed that
only 2 parents were volunteering but as the teacher shared, it seemed that many
of the parents either worked or had little ones they could not bring or get a
sitter. Mrs. H mentioned that she does see that half of the classroom receives
support on homework at home while the other half does not. She can see it
through the homework. Mrs. H mentioned that she gets to meet the parents during
conferences and only then is she able to have a face to face meeting about
there child’s education. Although the school does not allow for home visits,
she did mention that they try to send home weekly newsletters informing parents what
they are working on for the week and any other news feed. Mrs. H. also provides
her actual cell number for parents to call her at anytime if they need her. I
think this was something extra that a teacher is doing, she is providing a open communication with her parents.
I was also able to speak with the 2 parents Mrs. A and Mrs.
N and they both seemed very interested and supportive when it came down to her
children’s learning. Both parents come in during centers for language arts. I asked them if they had any idea to why
other parents are not volunteering and they told me they believe it was because
they work, and other reason being that the parents may not feel
comfortable helping. I asked the parents how can we invite more parents to
participate, and they said by possibly calling them giving them the option on
when and how they can help. So it sounded like they may need more direction. I was also given a suggestion on possibly holding events on
a Saturday where parents will be more then available and not feel rushed. I was
also told that many parents don’t know how to help their child at home and may
need more resources then the school is already providing.
I found this very interesting, but overall it gave me a bit
of a direction to approach.
Damaris,
ReplyDeleteI really like your posting. It is very close to what I see and live. In my son's school they always ask if someone can volunteer, but in my case I don't have time and many other parents are in the same situation.
There is also the case of parents that don't feel comfortable like you mentioned or don't know what to do. The idea of having something on a Saturday is great. I believe that more parents would be willing to participate in this case.
Do you feel that parent participation is something many schools deal with? I have come right out and state that I am going to need volunteers on field trips because of the nature of behaviors we see in our classroom. I have a couple parents who will go out of their way to help out, but there are more who do not participate in anything we plan. It is unfortunate because they are missing out on some interesting new things the children are learning.
ReplyDeleteAgree Ann, and yes I believe many schools probably do have the same issue, but I believe that in some areas it may differ because of class, language, and education. I think this ties into it as some parents many not have the time because they live in proverty and are working 2 jobs. This may cause a difficulty and they may not be able to support there child while in school or at home.
DeleteParent participation has fell off quite a bit in the Head Start programs here. As you stated, some parents really do have to work, and others just do not give their time for whatever reasons. I do know that in the higher grades such as the elementary schools, parent participation is better when it comes to field trips and different activities at the school, particular at some of the charter schools in the area because it is a trade off for students to get free education. I remember years ago when I first started working in Headstart, parent volunteers helped out all the time, even working in the classrooms as assistants to the teachers especially when another teacher was absent and no coverage for a substitue was available. It seems as if there became a lax in this parent involvement when the parents ages became younger and rules started changing and it was not stressed enough that parent involvement was and is always important.
ReplyDeleteI chose your blog to respond to because there were bilingual students in the classroom. I was shocked to find that some of the students were bilingual, but only 2 out of 22 parents have come to the school to volunteer this year. I would think the fact that there could potentially be communication barriers, that the parents would make an effort to come and check on the progress of their child. I have seen in other posts that many parents have other children at home, have to work, no transportation or are in school themselves. I just wonder if a child will every understand the excuses but could better appreciate actions. I just do not believe in complaining or making excuses as a parent nor in my personal life. I feel it is equally the job of the teacher and administrative staff to become an integral part of the parental involvement process. Find out what are the teachers and staff personally doing to initiate better parental involvement in this school. We all have to make our children a priority, no matter what is going on in our personal lives. I understand teachers have to teach and parents have to work, so what. We must come up with a workable soultion in order that the child will be able to succeed, the adults are already adults, it is our job to get our children to adulthood successful and without excuses.
ReplyDeleteYou seem very surprised and concerned about the parents not volunteering. From my experience I would be surprised to see any parents volunteer. I have worked for five years at Head Start on the Wind River Reservation. I have never had a parent volunteer in the classroom, ever. I think that the teacher you observed was right when they said that it is because they work. Many parents work at the same time that their children are in school so that their schedules coincide. Some parents cannot afford to take off of work to come into the classroom, and some have other responsibilities that prevent them from helping out in other ways. Where I work on the reservation, the Native Americans are very mistrusting of schools and the government. This comes from a long history of school being a place where their culture was destroyed and their children taken from them. There are many reasons why a parent would not be able to or would not want to volunteer in the classroom. I wish that more parents were able to help out, but we need to make sure that we are very appreciative of what they do. They also may be working hard behind the scenes at home to help make their children successful.
ReplyDeleteIn this day and age it is difficult to get parents involved however parental involvement is the key to the child's overall academic success.
ReplyDelete