It would be extremely difficult for me to incorporate all my thinking each week into one comprehensive post, so for today's I wanted to respond to a point in the Current Trends article. One of the things that jumped out at me was in the section discussing the trends in Asia and how "parents, especially mothers, take an active role in their children's education...and reinforce curriculum at home..." I believe I have probably had this discussion with various people one hundred times. Families today do not appear to be as involved in their children's lives as they once were. I know there are families who still sit down together and have dinner or talk about their days together, but that is more the exception than the rule. There are a number of reasons why this may be the case, more households with working parents means less time between picking up the kids from daycare and having a meal together in addition to getting homework done and off to bed before the routine begins again. It seems kids are involved or signed up for so many different things these days too. Extra curricular activities are scheduled multiple nights of the week. Even Sunday used to be a day that sports leagues didn't meet and families could spend time together. These things have all changed. The result I think is that families have other priorities and may view school somewhat like their job, where you go there from 9-3 and move onto another focus outside of those hours.
I do know one thing, the number of children that come to school without homework completed or their school/home folders still full with yesterdays newsletters and work, continues to increase each year that I teach. Home is just generally not a place where curriculum takes place.
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I agree that the kids have busier schedules and I know there are evenings when I wonder where the time has gone. I found that having a blog where parents can see what is going on in class has been very helpful. Most parents have access that allows them on their lunch break to check into their kids school life. It really helps keep them connected to school and I get more involvement.
ReplyDeleteHmmm...this is a tough one. I like Kelley's idea of posting information online so parents can access it...and I also agree, Rebekah, with your assessment of the busier lives that everyone leads. But, I also wonder if schools haven't done enough to work with parents so they know what they need to do to assist their kids...and pay attention to the homework that needs to be done.
ReplyDeleteCurious if any of your schools use Powergrade/Powerschool or a similar program for their grades? We use it and have found parents to be more involved when they can check online at their convenience. A missing grade - or a zero - can be pretty effective at getting parents attention. We also have a weekly schoolwide newsletter that the PTA helps put out. We email to all parents who sign up for it, which is another way to keep in touch without having to rely on the student to actually take that paper home.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that we "preach to the choir" when it comes to informing parents about schoolwork. The parents who remain involved in their child's schoolwork, are the ones that keep in contact- kids that you worry about- parents are more elusive. In our schools, we use Infinite Campus for grades 6-12. K-5 do not. Weekly newsletters, class website, afterschool program, and assignment sheets are how I communicate- still I have about 50%-60% return on daily homework. I feel like we do alot. In the most grades we have a parent night to inform parents what is expected for the year. It seems like our schools are doing enough- but parents seem very overwhelmed- not setting priorities and routines afterschool. It is the new culture- how many activities can we cram into one day and
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