I struggled with deciding on which topic I was going to choose. But I chose Parent Involvement as my topic of choice because this is something I struggled with for a long time in my center. In talking with other teachers and some of my colleagues this was one of the biggest issues that they struggled with in their own centers is a lack of parent involvement and support. The person I interviewed was the Education Coordinator and the Pre-K Headstart teacher at the center I am doing my internship at.
Parent Involvement is an area in education that is important to me. Being a parent volunteer is how I got started in the Early Childhood field. I volunteered at my son school for everything. I was the parent that attended every school program, volunteered on every fieldtrip, attended parent meetings, and volunteered in his classroom 2-3 times a week until they offered me a job as a paid parent volunteer. I always wanted to be a voice when it came to my son's education. I want every parent to feel that they have a voice and explain how important parent involvement is in their child's education and the program.
I chose my advocacy topic of Parent Involvement because currently where I am doing my internship and in my own center parent involvement is not happening at all. Parent Involvement is a requirement by the Headstart program. I am looking forward to working with the Education Coordinator and the Pre-K teacher on how we can increase their parental involvement in and out of the school. The one insight I gained during my interview was that they believe one of the reasons they have a lack of parent involvement is because the parents are just not encouraged to participate in anything and their lack of not knowing how important parent involvement is when it comes to their child's education. I believe that the reason they don't have a lot of parent involvement is because most of the parents do work but another reason is the parents are very young. I am excited about helping the center improve on getting their parents involved.
About Me
- Nakia Davis Group 1/ Foundations Early Childhood
- My Name Is Nakia Davis, I Have Been Teaching For 10 Years and I Have A 18 Year Old Son.
Hi, that is a wonderful thing to get involved in your child's education. I always wanted to be that parent that was at the meetings and school daily volunteering and making it my business to show my children that mommy is right here helping on both ends. However, it did not turn out that way. Even though I was there for my children and still around as they are grown, I was a single mother and had no extra help. Although, I have my family and we are definitely strong, I'm talking about there with me daily giving that helping hand. When you have to work and take care of the household it is definitely hard to do everything you want to do and more. However, you are right it is a very important need for parents to come out and get involved, they have no idea what that does for their child's education. I take my hat off to the professionals that's willing to help and find a way to get the parents involved. I also work with young parents and I do know what you mean but we must teach them with our wisdom, they might not like it but they'll appreciate it later!
ReplyDeleteParent Involvement is tricky to accomplish with the busy society we have today. What types of parent involvement are you struggling with in your current Head Start program where you are interning? Is the struggle with parent volunteers, parents coming to involvement activities, or parents supporting learning in the home environment? Many people interpret parent involvement to mean different things.
ReplyDeleteI agree that parent involvement is a concern. One thing I have learned over the years is that our definition of parent involvement has to change. Many times parents cannot attend activities especially in school hours due to work, but they may be willing to do things at home to help the classroom, they may want to be involved electronically through a web site or Facebook page, they may donate items to the class, etc.
ReplyDeleteHi Jennifer can you add me as a group
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Thank you for your port!!! I can relate to the challenges of parent involvement and being so busy not to mention where one finds it in their daily and work routine to help out at the school during school hours. It is very challenging! However, I think it is important for parents to be intentional about their child’s education and future yet still find ways to manage getting in what they can when it comes to their child’s education. Something I do to stay connected with parents in my classroom is creating newsletters, calendars, and through email which goes straight to my cell phone.
ReplyDeleteI believe that it is important for parents to be intentional and isn't the "sacrafice" of taking an hour out of their day to meet with their child’s teacher. I know for some parents it may be more challenging because of work hours, or transportation but maybe carpooling or taking turns attending meetings with other parents and then informing one another feedback, I would still consider parent involvement.