Radio Commentary
When people hear
the term “parental involvement in school,” they usually think it means taking
part in PTA activities, helping to 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 impossible
for a parent to cover all these bases.
Many 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.
