Parent Involvement in Education

Parent involvement in education is such an important topic, but it is not emphasized enough. I wrote my letter concerning this issue, because I feel that it is an issue that needs to be addressed. If you look at Gainesville, in particular, we have many schools that are failing. Does that mean teachers are not doing their job, or does that mean that the parents aren't getting involved? The truth is that parents are not as involved in their child's education as they should be. Many feel that their child's homework should be done in Afterschool, and others do not care if it's done at all. Some parents do not expect their children to do their homework. They often say that they are too busy and do not have the time to sit down with their child and help them with their homework. Other parents say it is not their responsibility to do their child's homework. Yes that is true, it is not their responsibility to do their child's homework, but it is their responsibility to make sure it's done and done correctly. That's another issue. Many parents will just ask their child if their homework is done, or just look at. They will not actually take the time to sit down and check to see that it's being done correctly. So here lyes a major problem. Some children might be doing their work but they are doing it incorrectly. Therefore, they are not learning anything, but how to do it incorrectly. Teachers within the education system can only do so much. They can't be around their students 24/7 making sure they are learning. They only have them for 8 hours of the day. Therefore, it's the parents responsibility to make sure they are learning outside of school. It has been proven through research, that those students whose parents are involved in their education do better in school. I think that parents need to step up to the plate and really become an active participant in their child's education.