Radio Commentary
People usually think the term “parental involvement in
school” means taking part in PTA activities, helping chaperone field trips, or
volunteering in the classroom.
It’s important to remember that
another form of parental involvement is even more critical -- taking part in
education at home.
This means
encouraging children to read, monitoring their homework, reading to them,
placing reasonable restrictions on TV viewing, and making sure they go to
school every day.
It also means talking to children about
why school is important.
Many
children do not always get such attention.
In some cases, both parents are
working and are simply too tired at night or are not inclined to do this. In
single-parent families, often it is simply impossible for a parent to cover all
these bases.
Modern
children spend at least as much time watching TV as they do in school. And, of
course, if students don’t attend school regularly, they can’t benefit from what
it offers.
Parents
have to be around the house to supervise; they have to put pressure on their
children to turn off the TV and do their homework or read. They have to make
sure their kids go to school even when there is some small reason for staying
home.
This kind
of parental involvement is hard work, and relentless work, because it must be
constant. But it’s hard to think of anything more important parents can do for
their children.
