By Rick GarciaHere’s a million-dollar question for parents: How connected are you with your child or grandchild’s educational attainment?
As many parents and guardians become very concerned about the demise of our State’s Educational system, the waging war between the educational professionals and policy makers at our State Government are pushing families with school-aged children toward the edge of the cliff leaving us to either take charge or jump off.
I saw a two panel comic strip which really summed up how I see some parents engaged.
Panel one titled “Then” depicts a time perhaps in the late sixties where a stereotypical old Schoolmarm is sitting proudly behind her desk with folded arms, while across from her a set of parents have their backs to the teacher as they hold up a bad report card scolding their child, “Explain these grades!”
Panel two titled “Now” depicts the present where a young teacher is distressed and cowered behind her chair while a child with a smug smile and arms folded, watches over his parents shoulders who are confronting the poor teacher, “Explain these grades!”
Aside from opinions from both sides of the aisle regarding the quality of teachers, school districts, and educational standards, the key issue is to what level are parents engaged with their child’s education. But parental involvement can also be problematic when parents become either ultra-aggressive or downright “clueless” to their children’s academic needs.
Case and point: Homework. A website firm recently released results of a national survey of 778 parents with kids younger than age 18 about homework. The survey showed that 43 percent of parents admitted to doing their child’s homework for them.
For years, teachers have revealed to me why parents do their child’s homework: Better grades. I have to confess, I “took over” my child’s fourth grade science project which involved research, creativity and model construction. In many cases, teachers could obviously sniff out the difference between parent and child work. Despite the grade, my child loses in the end because she did not learn or understand the goal of the project to begin with. Shame on me!
Another reason cited for parents doing a child’s homework is the limited and lack of time to do the work. Many parents have kids in athletics, church groups, daycare or after-school care well into the early evenings. Add dinner, if adequate, and other family matters, only then will you finally have that sliver window of time for homework before your already exhausted child retires. Rather than changing the family schedule to provide ample time for homework and relaxation, well-meaning but misguided parents will actually do the homework for the child to turn in the next day. Not only does that demonstrate unethical cheating to a child, but it also denies him or her, the chance to master the content being taught. At test time, a child’s knowledge (or lack) of the material will certainly come to light. While helping a child with homework is to be encouraged, especially one who is struggling with the assignment, actually doing a child’s homework is parent involvement gone badly!
As to becoming “Clueless” I have to admit, I never had taken calculus or bio-chemistry in high school so I could not help my kids with their homework. What I could do was to provide the home environment conducive to learning whether it was a quiet, comfortable study room, snacks or encouraging hosting group studies with friends. But more important was time. We minimized television, internet games and their extra-curricular activities and pushed early bedtime.
The bigger issue out there is what do we want our children to genuinely learn? I could go on a rampage about the rigorous scholastic standards set by our State leaders to prepare our children to “Meet the demands of the global economy” but rather ask a simpler question to my child: Are you truly learning?
Rick Garcia, a nonprofit executive, a civil rights advocate, blogger and a contributing writer for The New Citizens Press can be reached at rrgarcianrg@gmail.com
This was printed in the February 24, 2013 – March 9, 2013 Edition
