I have recently read an article that has opened me to a new
perspective on parent/guardian participation in the schools. I hadn't
realized before that teachers and schools often hold uneven cultural
and social expectations for parents. I always have thought about it
as the parents "fault" when they fail to participate or volunteer in
their child's education. Although there is still much truth to this,
I can also see how it could partly be the fault of the school or
teacher as well. A teacher or school can easily make the false
assumption that all parents are equally as capable of being active
participants in their child's education. However, this article
pointed out that this is not always true, and that teachers and
schools should be aware of this. The article states that a variety of
factors influence parents' participation in schooling, such as
parents' educational capabilities, their view of the appropriate
division of labor between teachers and parents, the information they
had about their children's schooling, and the time, money, and other
material resources available in the home. I have had the op****tunity
to chat with a teacher about family participation in the school she
teaches at. Now that I look back on it, the teacher may have been
assuming that all parents had the same capability of attending. When
she talked about how they tend to see the same families over and over
at the school events, and never see some of the others, she kind of
made an expression implying some families were irresponsible or not
sup****tive. I definitely now realize how easily this assumption can
be made and will consciously attempt to avoid making this assumption.
Can anyone relate to this situation or give advice/suggestions on how
to avoid this?
Thank you,
Murphy
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