FAMILY | How to Become Actively Involved in Your Child's Education

FAMILY LIFE
How to Become Actively Involved in Your Child’s Education
by Matthew Lynch

“It takes a whole village to raise a child.” African Proverb

Parental involvement is the best predictor of a student’s educational achievement. Parental involvement demonstrates to your child the importance of school, resulting in improved student attitudes, moral, and academic achievement. Parents’ active interest also results in increased attendance, lower dropout rates, fewer discipline problems, and higher aspirations in life. Children who have been supported this way throughout their education are also more likely to consult with parents when making educational decisions.

Be a positive role model. Show your child your love of learning by picking up a new hobby, keeping up with current events, or reading a book. These actions will show your child that not only is one never too old to learn, but that learning should continue throughout life. Show your child that what he is learning is an important part of being an adult. Use math to double a cookie recipe. Help your child understand how you use these skills at work.

Visit the public library often and have reading materials available. A child’s success in reading comprehension is directly related to the availability of reading materials at home. Filling your home with culturally relevant books, whether your own or from the public or school library, will develop a child’s comfort with books. In addition to loaning books, many libraries have children’s programs for every age, from toddlers and teenagers. Usually, they also have a section devoted to African American Literature. Make visiting the library a family tradition.

Build on school learning. Express to your child that learning does not just occur at school. One way to do this is to plan family activities, which support what your child is currently learning. If your child is studying different animals or their classifications, visit the zoo, an aquarium, or even a farm. Take your children to local historical sites when that time period is being studied. Teach them the importance of voting and the hardships that many African Americans had to go through in order to secure this right.

Observe your children to find out what interests them. Some children will tell you what they find interesting by discussing it endlessly. Other children need their interests to be drawn out. This just takes a bit of investigation. What topics do they bring up? What books do they check out from the library? What is their favorite subject in school? Start with an area your child already finds interesting. If you are at a complete loss, ask a teacher or one of their friends.

Educational opportunities are everywhere. While grocery shopping, have your child practice math skills, whether it be counting bananas or calculating sales tax. Have your child map out the best route to the city. Learn about the birds that arrive in your backyard each spring. The following are some natural connections and examples:

• History/Social Studies and Current Events. Discuss the past and recent history of African Americans. When your child is studying the writing of the Constitution, discuss a bill currently being argued before Congress. Teach your children that Christopher Columbus was not the first person to sail to the “New World” and that an African gentleman holds that distinction.
• Literature and Society. Read Richard Wright’s Black Boy. The Right Foundation

Before focusing specifically on what a child is learning, parents must lay the foundation. This starts with a healthy lifestyle. For example, a healthy, nutritious breakfast will start the day off right and has been proven to positively affect academic achievement. Make sure your child gets enough rest and relaxation. This means going to bed at a reasonable hour. Tired students are poor learners.

Organization and ritual are important cornerstones of the foundation. Organization will allow for a calm and smooth morning before school, setting the appropriate tone for the day. To do this, children should wake up at a specific time, dress and prepare for school at a specific time, etc. It also helps to have the child’s belongings waiting in a specific spot, preferably near the door. In fact, have her prepare her belongings the night before. This organization and ritual will make for a more pleasant morning, one in which you can express your pride in your child and allow him to calmly head out for a school day. To help keep the school week organized, you can keep a central calendar with upcoming school events, including sporting events, meetings, and report card mailings.

African American parents should set rules and consequences for their children, because they instill a sense of law and order. These rules and consequences should be in writing but not set in stone, because there will be exceptions.

Some examples of disobedience of home rules and their consequences include loss of outside activity privileges for one week for incomplete chores or loss of driving privileges for older students when academic expectations (failing grades, irregular attendance) are not met. For home rules that are not followed like disrespectful or aggressive behavior toward family members, loss of all privileges may be a consequence for your child. Remember these consequences should be fair and related to the severity of the violation.

Priorities

Education must be made the priority and therefore a true commitment. Be mindful of activities, whether educational or otherwise, which detract from that commitment. A child’s school attendance also demonstrates the priority given to education. Your child should understand that he will attend school unless he is ill. This includes not taking him out of school for non-medical reasons.

Goals and Standards

Once education is made a priority, goals and standards must be set. A child should understand he should always do his best. Emphasize the importance of completing assignments. Other standards of education may be imposed depending on the child’s age and circumstances.

Behavioral standards are also relevant to a child’s educational success. These behavioral expectations, determined by each individual family, must be clearly understood. The consequences for failing to meet those standards should be clear. Children must learn that poor choices result in unpleasant consequences.

Goals differ from standards in their specificity and immediacy. While standards are more general and long-term, goals should be short-term, specific, and measurable. An appropriate goal for any age would be to earn an A on the next math test. Children should be expected to set their own goals, with your help. Putting goals and standards in writing and placing them in a conspicuous place may also help your child remember what his goals.

Encouragement and Praise

Praise is important to people of all ages, children especially. Encouragement from the most important people in their lives, their families, is priceless. Be your child’s cheerleader. This does not mean that parents should ignore areas needing improvement. Encouragement includes constructive criticism when necessary. For example, instead of criticizing your child for a messy paper, suggest that his ideas will be clearer if the paper is neater.

Rewards

Almost everyone can be motivated by incentives. Incentives can range from simple stickers for younger children to special trips to the movies or the music store for older children. Rewards can also simply be praise or special time spent together. Be sure that the incentive does not overshadow the goal itself. Children should work for good grades or positive learning experiences in their own right.

Report Cards

While we know that reports cards are limited in their ability to measure intangibles such as work habits and intelligence, you should always take your child’s report card seriously. Remember to praise and reward a good report card. In the event that your child does poorly or does not live up to his potential, make sure that, you talk about the situation and develop an improvement plan with the teacher.

The Bottom Line

Parental involvement plays a large role in a child’s academic success. Parents must instill a love of learning in their children and form partnerships with their schools in order to ensure they will succeed academically. Unfortunately, in African American communities, parental involvement in schools is often low, and until African Americans as a whole take interest and become involved in every facet of our children’s education, we will forever be behind.