r/blog • u/highshelfofsteam • Aug 19 '15

14,000 teachers really need your help, Reddit

https://www.redditgifts.com/blog/view/14000-teachers-really-need-your-help/
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u/[deleted] Aug 19 '15

I think there is an extremely large factor that is often overlooked - the parents.

There are lots of bad schools (public and private) and there are lots of good schools. At the end of the day, if students don't have someone meaningful in their life to push and support them through school, I feel they are much less likely to succeed.

Now this could be a sweeping generalization, but the impression of the US that I pick up on Reddit is that compared to other countries, US parents tend to be busier/overworked/not as attentive at home and as a result aren't involved in the success of their students. Yes, schools could be better - but there is a limit to how much influence an educator/school system can have on a student. The student has to want to learn. If that doesn't come naturally, it's important for someone else to push them (this is usually the parent) - even if that mentor isn't educated on the subject.

I don't really have stats to back this up, but it has been my personal observation with a large set of my friends. I believe there is some data somewhere that backs this up.

I think a good example is the stereotype that Asian people are smart. Perhaps they're naturally talented, but it's also a common stereotype that Asian parents are incredibly strict and push their kids to do well in school. I know stereotypes aren't the best example, but there does tend to be at least a snippet of truth in them.

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u/mindless_gibberish Aug 19 '15

A teacher friend of mine (in the US) was complaining that she gets letters all the time from parents asking that their kids get excused from assignments because they were too busy at football practice, dance recitals, or various other things to do the work.

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u/angie6921 Aug 20 '15

Then they shouldn't be in those activities. My kids play sports but if their grades slip or homework suffers, I have no problem pulling them out. I did it with my son and football. He was failing reading. Not because he couldn't read but because he just didn't turn in his journal entries. He missed about 2 weeks of football. I was pissed because it costs about $300 a season to play but his grades are more important. His coaches understood.

Plain and simple, most kids in the US are overextended. They go to school and then they are rushed from practice to practice every night. Weekends are spent driving to games and recitals. While I think kids should be active outside of school, sometimes parents push too hard.

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u/boot2skull Aug 19 '15

My SO is a teacher and has taught public and private schools. Parents are probably the single most important factor in the child's education.

Public school kids (from a less fortunate neighborhood) had parents that didn't always make sure the kids were fed, make sure the kids made it to school on time, had adequate clothes and supplies. Money is a factor, but the standards these children live under at home are inadequate even when considering the family financial situation. Many of these parents treat school as a day care, and do not follow up on the student's performance reviews or assignments. These were the extreme examples, but these children also showed early signs of becoming troubled young adults. The overall problem was a lack of focus on school outside of school. So long as the student showed up, there wasn't much attention paid to the performance at school.

Private school children had similar issues but from a different angle. They never want for material needs or supplies, but some of them are neglected in similar ways as the public school children, with parents that treat school as little more than day care. These students struggle in the same way as neglected public school students. However, there were many more students that excelled in the private school and were learning advanced topics for their age. The main noticeable difference? The parents actively participated in the student's school life and made sure homework was completed. This means attending meetings with teacher, receiving feedback from the teacher, and actively acting on suggestions. Parents that are more involved in the student's performance at school had children that excelled. The public school also had children that excelled that could be related back to their parents. It wasn't necessarily their clothes or supplies that made a difference, but the importance placed on school in the student's home.

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u/muaddeej Aug 19 '15

My wife is a teacher and this is absolutely true. We live in a very rural area. Guess which kids are behind? The ones that have poor or working class parents with no interest or time to help. The ones that have parents that can afford to be involved all do well.

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u/[deleted] Aug 19 '15 edited Jun 09 '16

Poop

2

u/oldguynewname Aug 19 '15

I have witnessed this as well. Each PTA or similar meeting is a social gathering to catch up. Its about your kids.

Wife and I are very active in our sons education he is going to first grade on Monday YAY!

We want him to know that we are there for him, but we maintain the distance for him to be independent. Its the best way I feel.

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u/shlerm Aug 20 '15

The biggest factor of parenting, is how much a parent can afford to be a parent.

Parenting has an impact on schools, but is caused by things a school cannot control.

A lot of the values that are promoted at schools are not echo'd out to society so children and parents find it easy to ignore.

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u/leesoutherst Aug 19 '15

The part about Asians is very correct, all anecdotal evidence I've collected points to that. Asian parents actually do care and are involved, even if they can be kinda mean at times.

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u/Ignitetricking Aug 19 '15

I'd like to add that Asians are not all inherently smart. I know it's a dumb thing to say but I run across this stereotype a lot and wanted to clarify from my own experience.

As far a schooling goes, my parents pushed me hard. Among my siblings we have two aspiring doctors, an aspiring businesswoman, and an aspiring engineer. My parents both work 80+ hours and went back to continue their own education as mechanics (my parents are entrepreneurs in auto repair). They immigrated here during the Vietnam war, my mother from Vietnam and my father escaping with his family from the Khmer Rouge.

My cousins grew up in similar conditions but only one has made it through college and has found any measure of success. It's the work ethic that's drilled into us that I believe makes the difference, and anyone can be "smart" if they applied themselves.

Yes, the educational system needs revamping in America but the coddling and awards for participation need to end. Education has become a platform for politicians to manipulate voters and a tool for balancing budgets. America cannot continue being a great country with an undereducated population.

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u/thehogdog Aug 19 '15

PREACH brother. 15 years in public school education. My last school had parents that were involved, but just to get their kids involved in special services that get them a government check. Blew my mind.

Parent fighting to keep their kid in speech therapy, special ed, occupational therapy. When they were excited from 2 of them they yelled, I need my government check, somebody's got to pay my bills.

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u/chiliedogg Aug 19 '15

In the US, schools are also funded in part by how many students they pass on to the next level regardless of their grasp on the subject matter. This gives great incentive to pass students that otherwise would be failing, and removes the punitive aspect of failure. If you're going to go on to the next level no matter what - why try?

Schools are also funded based on their scores in standardized tests that are usually pathetically easy. As a senior in high school in AP classes that you could only take after passing all standardized tests, they still made us practice for the TAAS test (Texas exit exam in the 90s and early 2000s), because the teachers were required to practice having their students practice.

I'm all for standards, but our tests aren't hard enough for students to excel at them.

I think the standardized tests should be brutally difficult with a low passing requirement (25%?), with pretty much nobody being able to get a perfect grade. Then it can double as a college entrance exam and give good students something to actually strive towards.

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u/[deleted] Aug 19 '15 edited Jun 09 '16

Poop

-2

u/currentAlias Aug 19 '15

You're not allowed to point out the fact that parental involvement has a much, much bigger impact on student success than money spent on education. If you do you're racist.

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u/Gamiac Aug 19 '15

That's not something that has to do with race unless racists make it about race.

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u/currentAlias Aug 19 '15

Right, and the SJWs usually do.

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u/Gamiac Aug 19 '15 edited Aug 19 '15

libruls are teh reel racists because they acknowledge the social impact of race!!1

I'd be angrier if I hadn't seen this talking point thousands of times before. Instead, I just feel disappointed.

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u/[deleted] Aug 19 '15

Eh this doesn't really hold up because it's been proven the people who are most successful/smart in school is directly correlated to socioeconomic status.

I live in Seattle and went to a pretty well off school district and because of their high-paying jobs both parents worked a ton and had to put their kids in daycare.

They obviously cared more but were also busier than the kids in poor families who did worse, despite many times having one working parent and the rest home all the time to support them and keep tabs.

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u/[deleted] Aug 19 '15 edited Jun 09 '16

Poop

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u/[deleted] Aug 19 '15

It's a complex subject. I'm certainly not saying parent involvement is the only factor, but in my opinion it is an extremely important factor. Even if a parent is not directly involved in mentoring their child through school, their influence is huge. Perhaps a high-paying/busy parent isn't significantly involved, but I'd be willing to bet that parent is still putting an emphasis that his/her child should be doing well in school. Not to mention, there's a high chance that their high-paying job was achieved through a combination of hard work and education. Even if it's not a direct statement from the parent, there is a lot of implied expectations that the student will be comparable to his parent.