Pushing Parent Involvement

Posted Tuesday, November 30, 2010

In Cleveland, teams of administrators are delivering alarm clocks to the homes of chronically truant students. In Michigan, a county prosecutor proposes jailing parents who repeatedly miss teacher conferences. Educators agree that students do better in school when their parents are involved, whether that means assuring their attendance, monitoring their homework or meeting with their teachers. But what happens when parents are absent from their kids' schooling? Does coaxing or compelling them to be involved actually work? And should schools take more responsibility for connecting with parents? Getting parents to pay attention to school, Tuesday at 9 on the Sound of Ideas.

Guests

Cathy Whitehouse, Principal and Chief Educator, The Intergenerational School
David Quolke, President, Cleveland Teachers Union

Additional Information

The Plain Dealer: Cleveland Schools Come Calling on Homes of Students with Unexcused Absences
The Huffington Post: Michigan Prosecutor Plans to Make Parents Face Jail Time for Missing Parent Teacher Conferences

Please follow our community discussion rules when composing your comments.

Joane Johnson 10:40 AM 11/30/10

As a product of CPS, along with my four sisters, our seven children and now my grandson, I have always championed neighborhood schools. My parents raised us to have pride in education. We have instilled that in our children and now our grandchildren. My grandson is 8, reads on an eighth grade level. He has read Harry Potter since he turned five. Now, he reads Percy Jackson and has asked for H. G. Wells Time Machine. His sister, four, reads on a second grade level and is teaching herself math. She adds double digits, now. They are well versed on the computer. The last of our children are still in school. The 16 yr old will graduate in June. She carries a 4.0. Her sister close. She has received scholarship offers from everywhere, already. We are a black family. Raised in the Hough area. We have degrees from in progress to Masters. One sister taught for 30 yrs in CPS, retired and is now teaching in college. Reading is a must. Education is a must. We accept nothing less. As for not blaming parents? Don’t get me started. When you are asked why your children/grandchildren sound white, all the time, it starts to wear thin. Some educators support that idiocy, too. Maybe he should try to fit in when my grandson is hit for knowing the answer and speaking ‘english’.

chris 10:49 AM 11/30/10

The ideas of the Detroit prosecutor are a start but don’t go far enough. Parents who take zero involvement in their children’s education, even failing to ensure they get to school, should not only be prosecuted, they should be sterilized. If they fail to provide the basic tools needed to survive in this world, they should be prevented from having further children. Their neglected children didn’t ask to be born, and they can’t be blamed. But once such parents have demonstrated their lack of concern for their child(ren)’s upbringing, they should simply not be allowed to have further such children. The “system” cannot be responsible for knocking on doors and coaxing parents to get their children to school. There are plenty of children and parents who do take an active role in education. The topic of your show today really boils down to another case of government becoming the parent, the daddy. Next it will be paying cash rewards to parents for getting their kids to school. Just once on your show, with all the talk of “programs” to help the “less fortunate,” I would like to hear the phrase “personal responsibility.” Darwin needs to play a role here. Teach the kids who can be taught and let Darwin take care of the rest.

mark 11:40 AM 11/30/10

Wrap around services: euphemism for - “keep kids out of their homes & away from the adults in their lives for as long as administratively possible”. Liberal double talk to cover up for all of their failed policies.
Maybe that’s all we’re left with after 45 years of anti-poverty - keep you in POVERTY programs. And virtual total social freedom with commensurate cultural rot.

Problem is: there are good ideas & there are good ideas that are workable...This wrap around stuff is not politically sustainable...right or wrong.
Jeff Canada’s wonderful program is NOT scalable. It’s a boutique solution.

Question: Anybody want to talk about WHY there are soo many single moms (with or without 2 jobs)?