Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums GT Research parental involvement on school success, thoughts?

Well... as a parent, I often act as a "tutor" for my kids. Mostly informally (although we did set up a more formal tutoring structure for my older kid's high school honor math years because it was daily/ongoing). And the more a parent performs that role, the more they understand exactly what is (and isn't) going on academically in the kid's classroom. Leading in many cases to more discussion with the school on assignments and curriculum (and teacher quality). I have a lot of education (masters degree), so I am probably more able to tutor effectively than many parents. And I only have 2 kids -- clearly the more kids you have, the harder this would be to fill this role.

I got down to the point where it said "we measured attitude, then called it effort," and threw up my hands. Without paying for the full article, I can't tell whether the researchers actually did a reasonable job, though.

The "parental effort" they looked at (according to the synopsis) was:
- did you read to your kids
- did you go to parent-teacher conferences
- does your kid's teacher think you care

There's no indication here that any other sort of effort has value, because that's not what the study was designed to do.

Plus they were looking at kids who graduated from UK schools ~30 years ago, and it's not clear how much you can extrapolate from that.

OTOH, the conclusion of "if parents have high expectations for both kids and schools, the kid is likely to get a better outcome" is not one I personally disagree with.

There are obvious weaknesses, which I also feel are due to the data set used. But the results are interesting, and not counterintuitive to me. It makes sense that even brilliant kids taught poorly would fail to excel in greater numbers, that kids whose parents showed greater interest in their schooling would tend to try harder, that schools (sadly) would probably give the children of squeaky wheels a better/better-tailored education, etc.

Every night, I sit down with my 5 yo son as he struggles through his reading. Every night I'm there to cheer him on or commiserate as the case may be. He works super hard and his award winning smile every time he conquers a new word lets me know that i'm exactly where I should be.

Do you honestly think he'd work so hard if he had to celebrate alone?

I think that involved parents do make a difference in a child's performance. But I think the method of parental involvement may be different for each child/student. For instance, sitting with my son while he does his homework is a recipe for disaster. There are temper tantrums, procrastination and way too many distractions. However, DS knows that we are available if he has questions, needs help or (after his work is finished) wants to discuss it greater detail. He is also aware that we will give him a rope just long enough to hang himself when it comes to school work. He is 11 and wants to show that he is becoming a bit more independent. So our rule is that as long as his grades stay reasonable(A's and B's unless he has been upfront and working on whatever is giving him trouble), we will not double check every homework assignment. In reality, he asks us to check certain classes regularly and seems happier now that it is his decision. And his grades are actually better than before.

I don't see that having the parent sign an agenda book each night promotes much parental involvement, which is what our school required through Elementary school.

I think that at least one adult needs to hold a vision of school effort as worthwhile. 'Waiting for Superman' implies that the achievement gap can dissapear in charter schools where there are systems in place to teach in ways that work AND systems in place to get rid of teachers who aren't able or willing to hold that vision of success.

Of course to get into a charter school a parent has to have above average drive and willingness to go through a process that isn't gaurenteed. That takes lots of self-management. I cried for the kids who didn't have their numbers called in that movie.

I think that a lot of parents actually sabotage their children's school success - in a sort of 'don't get your hopes up' way, or in a frank distaste for school. We aren't the only ones who start to shake when we put our kids on the bus for school, or when we walk through those low ceilinged hallways. Lots of people have negative impressions of school for a whole variety of reasons, and that gets communicated to students.

Then there is the whole bunch of folks who don't want school to be hard because they are afraid that hard work might lead to low self-esteem. Don't they see that the only real self-esteem is build from tackling challenges that the child initially judges to be hard?

I've seen kcab's point in action as well.
I agree with CFK on this one - adding that various endeavors have different minimums.
I didn't know whether to laugh or cry when I heard this coming out of my DS's mouth. Apparently in his view, he was working hard! Scary, but still I was happy to hear that at least for moments at a time, he holds this view.

Love and More Love,
Grinity

Ya know, a common belief is that the greatest indicator of wether a kid will graduate college is if the parents did. But ya gotta believe supportive, consistent, and involved parenting can break the cycle of a few generations of delinquency and broken families. It may take a generation or two, but we'll get there if each generation does a little better than the last.
And yes, I believe that anyone who is successful at anything had help.
Ps. How do you spell "wether"?

Haha. Editing to add this link to this song the hubby just heard on the radio and told me to google. Dedicated to my son.

It depends on which one you mean.

A wether is a neutered goat. (Like in "bellwether.")
Weather is what it's like outside.
Whether is if.

Ah, thanks.