School Family

Recently ran across this column from Newsweek about a very involved mom wondering why her own daughter listed “dad” as role model on a school assignment.

The column itself — especially the fairly heated stay-at-home vs. working mom debate in the comments section — isn’t exactly warm, fuzzy Mother’s Day stuff, but it is thought-provoking.  Is getting involved worth it? (I say yes.)  Will the kids recognize its worth? (Maybe, but not likely while they’re still kids.)  Is there a proper balance between not involved and too involved? (Definitely, as there is in all things.)

Anyway, it’s a good read.  Love to hear your thoughts on it.

Front page of the Washington Post today features a well-done story on today’s parents getting more organized, more educated and often more effective at advocating for change in their schools and their districts.  All around — largely thanks to the web — topics that used to be the sole domain of the professionals (and the professionals loved that) are seeing the light of day.  Think about what WebMD has done for patients.  That’s a good thing.

Quick comment on one of the theories in the article.  A quote like this:

Officials caution that the new technology has turned up the volume for select parent voices. It can be especially apparent in parts of Fairfax or Montgomery where well-educated parents are not afraid to throw their weight around and register complaints with a phone call to the superintendent or the media. Blast e-mails and Web sites give these parents even more of an edge, compared with others who lack time or resources, some observers say.

Schools need to be more concerned about the digital divide than ever before, Hunter said. “We don’t want to create two levels of power, those with access to information and those without it,” she said.

…tries to imply that the folks advocating for changes are somehwo doing something wrong.  It’s something you hear a lot in education debates, and I find it problematic.

Yes, we want all of our schools to be great.  And no, we don’t want to leave anyone behind.  But if two schools are currently at level A and — through one effort or another — one of those schools moves up to level B, there’s only a net gain there.  That’s a good thing.  Would we rather both schools stay at A unless/until all school can move to B?  No way!  I’d also submit that effort that moved one A school to level B doies eventually re-set the bar for all schools.  If the parents at the first school advocate for change at their school and that change works, wouldn’t a good administrator eventually make the change at the second school, as well  (even if the second school’s parents don’t advocate as loudly or as well)?  I certainly hope so.

Parents getting involved and advocating aren’t a [part of the problem.  They’re part of the solution.  Drives me a bit crazy when folks imply otherwise.

Agree or disgaree?  I’d love to hear about.  Important discussion. 

Got this note/column from my friend Leanna Landsmann.  She and Bill Jackson (of GreatSchools.net) wrote this spot-on column for EdWeek this week (Jan 21 issue).  Rather than spouting off, how about I just share it. 

(Wait, I’ll spout off a bit — I think this same message, that parents need to be leveraged waaaay more, should be heard by all kinds of education muckety-mucks.  Also do love the way the Obamas to date have been very publicly school-involved.  Feel free to share.)

The column:

Improve Education From Day One: Leverage Parents

 

 

Barack Obama, who becomes the nation’s 44th president this week, is getting plenty of advice on which goals to tackle first in this ugly economy. Most ideas call for urgent action and carry a big price tag.

 

When it comes to education, however, there is one high-impact, low-cost lever we hope he and his choice for U.S. secretary of education, Chicago’s accomplished schools chief, Arne Duncan, can pull immediately to boost student achievement: parent power.

 

President Obama has a good start. During the campaign, parents and teachers cheered when he said the magic words: “Turn off the TV, read to your children, check their homework, and send them to school ready to learn.”

 

Many parents heard what they’d been thinking, and teachers were thrilled that someone so persuasive was singing their song.

 

Parents are the first teachers of the nation’s nearly 55 million school-age children. Research clearly shows that many of these students’ foundational skills and attitudes toward learning have already been shaped by the time they get to kindergarten.

Children are deeply influenced throughout their schooling by parents’ expectations, behavior, and support. Many studies show that parents have at least as much impact on their children’s academic success as teachers do.

 

President Obama can use the full weight of the presidency to unleash the transforming power of this latent resource. For too long, schools have assigned parents the role of fundraiser and bake-sale booster. Let’s launch a national campaign that draws them more deeply into their children’s education.

 

Here are four ways this can be done, and how Mr. Obama and his team can help:

 

First, work with states to develop national K-12 education standards that define what it takes for young adults to be successful. Communicate those standards in plain language to parents and citizens everywhere. Many of the current state standards and uneven assessments are unfair to students and often misleadingly reassuring to parents. National standards—focused on what matters most—will be a powerful rallying cry that everyone can get behind, including parents.

 

Second, leverage new technologies to show parents how their children are progressing. Show them what it looks like for their children to be academically “on track,” and how they can support their children’s learning. We all have heard horror stories about parents who are suddenly shocked to learn that the reason their 8th grader is having trouble in science can be traced to her reading at a 4th grade level, which means she has to scramble to catch up. New Web- and cellphone-based technologies have the power to keep parents updated on progress daily and draw them into deeper involvement and support—and at a very low cost.

 

Third, use the presidential bully pulpit to make it cool to do well in school. Kids show great excitement about Mr. Obama’s presidency. The day after his election, one high school junior snapped up a newspaper to keep for her future children. “I love Obama!” she exclaimed. Why? “He’s just like me!” Because she was white and blonde, it seemed worth asking, “And how is that?” The girl explained: “He’s smart. Like me. Now I won’t get teased for good grades. He’s skinny, like me, and he’s from a messed-up family but he made it to the White House. So can I.” Now there’s a child who will not be left behind.

 

Fourth, be “parent in chief.” Parents took note when the young president-to-be called his daughters from the road and asked about their homework. Attending a parent-teacher conference the day after he was elected also sent a splendid message: We may have been up all night, but this is important. That he didn’t delegate this to Mrs. Obama set a great example.

 

The so-called chattering class logged a lot of broadcast airtime about where the Obamas would be sending their daughters to school. But their choice of the private Sidwell Friends School may not be as important to the girls’ academic success as the involvement the president and first lady continue to have in their daughters’ education: the questions they ask, the reading they encourage, the support they give, and the high expectations they set for academic performance.

 

We look forward to the morning President Obama walks into a morning press conference and says: “Sorry I’m late. Today was my turn to drill the girls on their spelling words.”

So the town muckety-mucks in this English town have banned the word “school” when referring to their new “learning center”. School, it seems, has negative connotations. We’ll call this the early 2010 leader for nuttiest education story of the year.

My favorite character in this story is the lady from the “Campaign for Plain English”. She and her crew are trying to eliminate gobbledygook from public life. Good luck! If you hang around the education world long enough, you s=actually start speaking gobbledygook as a second language. It’s scary. It’s also one of the thigs that inhibits parent involvement (but that’s another post…).

I’ll stop now…

All of us school parents have faced this dilemma, I imagine. Should I get involved with, how much should I get involved with or should I run away from the PTO or PTA at the kids’ school?

Of course, here at schoolfamily.com, we think getting involved is the way to go (and doesn’t have to be life-alteringly crazy), but I’m certainly open to other perspectives. Like these two competing takes from babble.com. First writer now hates the PTA after having served. Second writer has come to respect and enjoy the PTA after initial skepticism.

Short story from the Washington Post on video games and kids, but the fundamental truth lies in two simple sentences:

It called for parents to know what and how much their kids are playing. Too much gaming or too much video-game violence can lead to problems in school, the study found.

Yup — parent involvement matters here, too.

Granted I don’t know all the details, but let’s just say that I suspect this Atlanta mom might be a tad bit too involved in Junior’s school work.  Proudly jumping into the dumpster to retrieve a science project?  Hand-delivering said science project to the teacher’s door? I’d like this parent to take our “Are You a Helicopter Parent?” quiz.

Very interesting message and follow-up discussion over on the Washington Post site.  The topic:  what’s the right amount of homework?  And what’s the parent’s role in that homework?  Lots of strong feelings in this debate. 

As a dad, I found this quote eye-opening:

“In two-parent households, there is a perception gap between parents regarding a father’s involvement in homework assistance. Sixty-seven percent of fathers claim to help with their children’s homework; however, mothers say fathers help approximately 36 percent of the time. Sixty-nine percent of mothers say they help with homework, and fathers tend to agree, with 56 percent of fathers noting their wives’ assistance. ”

You can also check out our entire, extensive library of family + homework content here.

What’s the state of homework at your school and in your house?

Sometimes parent involvement doesn’t have to be that complicated.  Example: finding a way to make sure your child has breakfast before school is a fundamental step that all parents can take.

We’ve been sayig it for years with articles like this one on school morning habits. But, if you’re one of those who needs more proof, the National Institute of Health just released a study that makes the breakfast case crystal clear.

As you might expect the NIH doc is a bit dense, but here’s the most relevant finding:

Children who start the day with breakfast consume more vitamins, minerals, and kilocalories than those who do not eat breakfast1^,2 and have a better overall diet as measured by the Healthy Eating Index (HEI).3 In addition, children commit fewer errors on psychological tests on days when they eat breakfast compared with days when they skip breakfast.4 The School Breakfast Program (SBP) was started to “help contribute to the adequate nutrient intake of children and to ensure that they did not begin their school day hungry.”5 The SBP began in 1966 as a pilot project through the Child Nutrition Act and became permanent in 1975 through amendments to the Act.5 Currently, the SBP is available in more than 72 000 schools nationwide.6 In 1975, approximately 1.8 million children participated in the SBP; by 2000, that number increased to approximately 7.5 million.6 Data from some studies suggest that children who participate in the SBP have increased total dietary intake4; improved test scores,4 math grades,7 and attendance rates4^,7; and decreased tardiness rates.4^,7 According to data analyzed from the 1994-96 Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals, children in low-income households who ate school breakfast had significantly higher HEI scores than children who ate breakfast at home or elsewhere and children who did not eat breakfast.3

Cereal and milk counts. Frozen waffles and some juice counts. We’re not talking about four-course eggs benedict here.  We can do this.

This a weekor two old, but the Obamas made time recently to attend the parent-teacher conferences for their daughters. Love the fact that they went, obviously.  Why wouldn’t they, right?  Not like they’re busy or anything.

Laughing thinking about the actual conference:

“Well, mom and dad, your daughter has been fairly tired in class.  Last week, she apparently was on national TV at midnight or something.  Maybe we could work on those bedtimes a bit.  And while her state geography has improved dramatically, she tells me she can’t do any more oral reports without a teleprompter and that I should check with her press people for the proper spin on the next report card.  I’m not sure where she is getting these ideas.  Your attention to these matters will be appreciated.”

Here’s to a president with school-aged kids (and all the time challenges that go along with same). Should be interesting to watch how a 21st century president and First Lady handle the school apsects of their new life.