Tips to Increase Parental Involvement in Education

True school reform will always begin with an increase in parental involvement in education. It has been proven time and time again that parents who invest time and place value on their child’s education will have children who are more successful in school. Naturally, there are always exceptions, but teaching your child to value education cannot help but have a positive impact on their education. Schools understand the value that involved parents bring and most are willing to take the necessary steps to help boost parental involvement.  This naturally takes time. It should begin in elementary schools where parental involvement is naturally better. Those teachers must build relationships with parents and have conversations about the importance of maintaining a high level of involvement even through high school. School administrators and teachers are continuously frustrated in an age where parental involvement increasingly seems to be on the decline. Part of this frustration lays in the fact that society often places sole blame on the teachers when in truth there is a natural handicap if parents are not doing their part. There is also no denying that each individual school is affected by parental involvement at varying levels. Schools with more parental involvement are almost always the higher-performing schools when it comes to standardized testing. The question is how do schools increase parental involvement? The reality is that many schools are never going to have 100% parental involvement. However, there are strategies that you can implement to increase parental involvement significantly. Improving parental involvement in your school will make teachers’ jobs easier and improve student performance overall. Education Increasing parental involvement begins with having the capacity to educate parents on the ins and outs of how to be involved and why it is important. The sad reality is that many parents simply do not know how to be truly involved with their child’s education because their parents were not involved with their education. It is essential to have educational programs for parents that offer them tips and suggestions explaining how they can get involved. These programs must also focus on the benefits of increased involvement. Getting parents to attend these training opportunities can be challenging, but many parents will attend if you offer food, incentives, or door prizes. Communication There are many more avenues available to communicate because of technology (email, text, social media, etc.) than what there were just a few years ago. Communicating with parents on a continual basis is a key ingredient for increasing parental involvement. If a parent isn’t going to take the time to keep track of their child, then the teacher should make every effort to inform those parents of their child’s progress. There is a chance that the parent will just ignore or tune these communications out, but more times than not the message will be received, and their level of communication and involvement will improve. This is also a way to build trust with parents ultimately making a teacher’s job easier. Volunteer Programs Many parents simply believe that they have minimal responsibilities when it comes to their child’s education. Instead, they believe that it is the primary responsibility of the school and of the teacher. Getting these parents to spend a little time in your classroom is a fantastic way to change their mindset on this. While this approach will not work for everyone everywhere, it can be an effective tool to increase parental involvement in many cases. The idea is that you recruit a parent who is minimally involved in their child’s education to come up and read a story to the class. You immediately invite them back again to lead something like an art activity or anything in which they are comfortable. Many parents will find that they enjoy this type of interaction, and their children will love it, particularly those in early elementary school. Continue to involve that parent and give them more responsibility each time. Pretty soon they will find themselves valuing their child’s education more as they become more invested in the process. Open House/Game Night Having a periodic open house or game nights is an excellent way to get parents involved with their child’s education. Don’t expect everyone to attend, but make these events dynamic events that everyone enjoys and talks about. This will lead to increased interest and eventually greater participation. The key is to have meaningful learning activities that force parents and children to interact with each other throughout the night. Again offering food, incentives, and door prizes will create a bigger draw. These events take a lot of planning and effort to do them right, but they can be powerful tools for building relationships, learning, and increasing involvement. Home Activities Home activities can have some effect on increasing parental involvement. The idea is to send home activity packs periodically throughout the year that requires the parents and child to sit down and do together. These activities should be short, engaging, and dynamic. They should be easy to conduct and contain all the materials needed to complete the activity. Science activities are traditionally the best and easiest activities to send home. Unfortunately, you cannot expect all parents to complete the activities with their child, but you hope that the majority of them will.

The Oil Spill is Affecting Animals, but What About the...

Since the dawn of the industrial revolution, mankind has increasingly become reliant on fossil fuels such as oil for energy. Oil fuels our car, warms our homes, generates our electricity, and creates a myriad of goods including everything that contains plastic. In our global economy, oil must be transported great distances to reach markets throughout the world. With seemingly increasing frequency, these journeys sometimes end in accidents that result in oil being spilled into the ocean. The most devastating oil spill, The Deepwater Horizon oil spill, occurred on April twentieth of this year. Deepwater Horizon is an oilrig located in the Gulf of Mexico and it is owned by B.P. Everything seemed to be running efficiently on the rig until†¦show more content†¦Animals that live in the Gulf are beginning to show changes caused by the oil. One species in particular that is being affected by the oil is the brown pelican. They inhabit the area in which the oil is located and look to the ocean for their main source of food. The oil coating the ocean tricks the bird into thinking the water is calm and the bird will land in the water (Kaufman). Once the oil comes in contact with the pelican, it is no longer able to regulate its body temperature. Eventually, this causes hypothermia and the bird dies as a result. Birds are already beginning to wash up on shore of nearby coastlines at an abnormally large rate. In the last month, â€Å"†¦fifty dead brown pelicans were discovered dead on shore, much larger than the average fifteen dead birds in previous months† (Kaufman). If this trend continues at this pace, the eradication of a majority of the sea bird population in the Gulf is a serious possibility. Another species that is actually in danger of a major death rate is the shrimp and shellfish population. These types of animals are â€Å"†¦more vulnerable to oil and chemical dispersants because they are stationary† (Kaufman). The oil is toxic to these shellfish and will cause death in matter of a few hours (Kaufman). Shellfish are a main source of food for many different types of aquatic animals in the Gulf like various fish and bird species. As a result of the oil spill, competition for food hasShow MoreRelatedPollution And Warming Of The Ocean1649 Words   |  7 Pages1880(â€Å"earthobservatory†). You may think one degree what is the big deal? You have to think how much energy it takes to raise the entire planet of the earth by one degree. The surface area of the earth is 196.9 million square miles. The cause of the temperature means that more solar radiation is getting through our atmosphere. Most scientist believe that large levels of radiation actually cause the ice age(Ice Age). 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Nicholson and Riley “Indiana writers in history” Free Essays

Nicholson and Riley are two of the most celebrated Indiana writers in history. Their portrayal of the culture is outstanding considering they each didn†t completed high school. Their writings came from the heart of Indiana. We will write a custom essay sample on Nicholson and Riley â€Å"Indiana writers in history† or any similar topic only for you Order Now They are both considered true sons of Central Indiana. In the essays they both had different views of Indiana, but both were leaning on the same premise of homey, beautiful and comfortable. Riley and Nicholson brought a real feel to the images they wrote about.. The two writers created an â€Å"atmosphere† about Indiana that everyone would enjoy. Riley and Nicholson saw different things in Indiana and they both loved the state and all aspects of it. The traditions the authors created were some of pride and glory of the difference they had between other states. Hoosiers were rather bias when it came to there own state. They thought of it as state in which someone really didn†t wanted to leave and if they did they were always happy to come back. In Nicholson†s essay on Indianapolis he states that Indiana people think the more they travel to other states the more they like their own city or state. Hoosiers were proud to be from this state. They felt that other states only dreamt of possessing this same pride and glory. Maybe a false tradition Riley created could have been that a reader from another state reads this and has never been to Indiana, will think that everyone in Indiana is a low-educated, hillbilly, a hick from the back woods. The fact is, education wasn†t highly needed on the farm. But a farming education is still and education. They skills they learned on the farm where just as valuable as the skills you learn in the classroom. Each writer did speak of the neighborliness of the people in the state and how they would give someone anything they had to offer. This lifestyle is s imilar to the current Morman way of life. They each mention how earthly Hoosiers were by putting trees on the sidewalks in the city and the swimmin†-hole they loved as children. Nicholson talked about the city of Indianapolis and how it had a natural feeling. However this feeling can also be translated to the entire state. This was because of Indiana†s low urbanization and education. The people didn†t need all the high tech trains and whistles in their state they liked. That is just the way it was. The authors† spoke of the kindness the people in the state, even for strangers. Indiana was safe and women could go to the market without having to worry about being attacked or robbed. Riley made points about the everyday life of the normal Hoosier and the things they went though. Riley talked about punkins† and how the people didn†t come up with many ideas of their own but when they did, they stood by them. The writers celebrated many traditions of Indiana in their own special way. Riley and Nicholson brought different experiences to the readings. Riley gave the real dialect of the people of Indiana and how they spent their days on the farms, while Nicholson talked about the kindheartedness of the people of Indiana. In all my trips to Indiana and while living here, I have found that Nicholson†s writings of the people back then hasn†t really changed that much. One of the factors while choosing Butler as my University, was the Gentleness of the Indiana culture. The two writers, in their writings made a pretty complete picture of Indiana. But it appears they both left out the northerner Indiana people.. They concentrated on the central and border southerner, but rarely mentioned the north. While the role of the Northerners culture was minor, their Indiana†s traditions and values were substantial. The Northerners played a function in the diversity of the state and the cultural cradle Indiana formed in the Midwest. While I have resided in Illinois my entire life, and now reside in Indiana, I see the differences in the people of Indiana and the pride they feel for their state. Illinois may not feel such a pride since their culture around the Chicago area is so diverse. There are many residents that come from all over the world. In Indiana, their roots are from the farm communities where their forefathers sweated blood and tears to farm their land, feed and educate their children, and die trying. Riley and Nicholson just put into words all the feelings the people of Indiana feel. After reading these excerpts, you realize, the Indiana people know all this but it was nice to read about why they feel so strongly about their state. Now Bobby Knight might be a different story! How to cite Nicholson and Riley â€Å"Indiana writers in history†, Papers