Comments on: Parents Are the Missing Ingredient in Dropout Prevention http://spencerspeaks.com/2007/12/07/parents-are-the-missing-ingredient-in-dropout-prevention/ Here are my thoughts; share yours Tue, 06 Jan 2009 07:05:55 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.1 By: Stu Brann http://spencerspeaks.com/2007/12/07/parents-are-the-missing-ingredient-in-dropout-prevention/#comment-1202 Stu Brann Fri, 07 Dec 2007 16:47:02 +0000 http://spencerspeaks.com/2007/12/07/parents-are-the-missing-ingredient-in-dropout-prevention/#comment-1202 "Somebody" needs to bring some focus to the correlation between poverty and poor parenting. Even if you know better, too many working hours and too little money equals not enough energy left for helping with homework, no time off for PTA and Parent/Teacher conferences and neither time nor energy to become aware of either the need for or the availability of help. “Somebody” needs to bring some focus to the correlation between poverty and poor parenting. Even if you know better, too many working hours and too little money equals not enough energy left for helping with homework, no time off for PTA and Parent/Teacher conferences and neither time nor energy to become aware of either the need for or the availability of help.

]]> By: Wildflower http://spencerspeaks.com/2007/12/07/parents-are-the-missing-ingredient-in-dropout-prevention/#comment-1205 Wildflower Fri, 07 Dec 2007 17:16:31 +0000 http://spencerspeaks.com/2007/12/07/parents-are-the-missing-ingredient-in-dropout-prevention/#comment-1205 Great column and right on the money. Finally the missing ingredient in education is recognized, parental involvement. You have to study and practice and pay money to get a driver's license,you have to pass an emission test, get insurance, and pay money to get a license plate for your car, you have to get blood tests and pay money to get a marriage license. But there is no instruction required, no fee, no application to be filled out, no license required to be a parent. Maybe there shoud be. Great column and right on the money. Finally the missing ingredient in education is recognized, parental involvement.
You have to study and practice and pay money to get a driver’s license,you have to pass an emission test, get insurance, and pay money to get a license plate for your car, you have to get blood tests and pay money to get a marriage license.
But there is no instruction required, no fee, no application to be filled out, no license required to be a parent. Maybe there shoud be.

]]> By: noidea http://spencerspeaks.com/2007/12/07/parents-are-the-missing-ingredient-in-dropout-prevention/#comment-1206 noidea Fri, 07 Dec 2007 18:17:09 +0000 http://spencerspeaks.com/2007/12/07/parents-are-the-missing-ingredient-in-dropout-prevention/#comment-1206 Wildflower, Finally the missing ingredient in education is recognized, parental involvement? what???????? this is not exactly revolutionary thought. Also, are you actually advocating that the government chooses who should be allowed to become a parent? or is this a tongue in cheek comment on the fact that the poor who work two jobs, have societal difficulties etc. don't deserve to become parents? Wildflower,
Finally the missing ingredient in education is recognized, parental involvement? what???????? this is not exactly revolutionary thought.

Also, are you actually advocating that the government chooses who should be allowed to become a parent? or is this a tongue in cheek comment on the fact that the poor who work two jobs, have societal difficulties etc. don’t deserve to become parents?

]]> By: Wildflower http://spencerspeaks.com/2007/12/07/parents-are-the-missing-ingredient-in-dropout-prevention/#comment-1216 Wildflower Fri, 07 Dec 2007 21:30:13 +0000 http://spencerspeaks.com/2007/12/07/parents-are-the-missing-ingredient-in-dropout-prevention/#comment-1216 noidea, I believe it was a tongue-in-cheek comment that perhaps there should be some aforethought before bringing a child into the world. You can't just give birth, pow and that's all there is to it, it's 18 years of hard work and follow-through (and more if you want to give your child a chance to succeed in life with higher education). I was certainly not dissing the working poor. It all begins with EARLY stimulus, you can do that if you have NO money, you can sing the ABC's, read books, play "pretend" school, etc.and prepare your child to be a student. If parents work and have their kids in a coompetent day care center the kids are better off than those whose parents don't work and just sit around and ignore their kids all day. If all kids got early stimulus, there would be no need for the hours of homework, in the early grades, that busy working moms have to help with each day. As I said you don't need a cent to provide stimulus to your children. I don't think the government should choose who can be a parent, but I darn sure think the potential parents should understand what they're doing and what they're responsible for, before they do it. Don't have the kids, darn it, if they don't intend to do anything for them or can't afford them. It's not fair to the taxpayers who pick up the tab, the rest of us who parent responsibly by having only the amount of children we can afford and meet the needs of. noidea, I believe it was a tongue-in-cheek comment that perhaps there should be some aforethought before bringing a child into the world. You can’t just give birth, pow and that’s all there is to it, it’s 18 years of hard work and follow-through (and more if you want to give your child a chance to succeed in life with higher education). I was certainly not dissing the working poor.
It all begins with EARLY stimulus, you can do that if you have NO money, you can sing the ABC’s, read books, play “pretend” school, etc.and prepare your child to be a student.
If parents work and have their kids in a coompetent day care center the kids are better off than those whose parents don’t work and just sit around and ignore their kids all day.
If all kids got early stimulus, there would be no need for the hours of homework, in the early grades, that busy working moms have to help with each day. As I said you don’t need a cent to provide stimulus to your children.

I don’t think the government should choose who can be a parent, but I darn sure think the potential parents should understand what they’re doing and what they’re responsible for, before they do it. Don’t have the kids, darn it, if they don’t intend to do anything for them or can’t afford them. It’s not fair to the taxpayers who pick up the tab, the rest of us who parent responsibly by having only the amount of children we can afford and meet the needs of.

]]> By: Wildflower http://spencerspeaks.com/2007/12/07/parents-are-the-missing-ingredient-in-dropout-prevention/#comment-1218 Wildflower Fri, 07 Dec 2007 21:58:53 +0000 http://spencerspeaks.com/2007/12/07/parents-are-the-missing-ingredient-in-dropout-prevention/#comment-1218 noidea, when my little grandson was 18 mo. old his mother had a hard time diapering the wiggly little boy. I started singing the ABC song and he held still and listened. The next week when she brought him over, I noticed she was singing the ABC song to him and he wasn't wiggling during the diaper change. He learned his ABC's very young. In his first grade class now there is a boy who didn't know the ABC's, and had never sung the ABC song. A parent reading volunteer found this out and started working with him. He had been memorizing the reading book from listening to the others. Plenty bright enough, just had received no intellectual stimulation the first 6 years of his life. I think parents owe more to their kids than that. noidea, when my little grandson was 18 mo. old his mother had a hard time diapering the wiggly little boy. I started singing the ABC song and he held still and listened. The next week when she brought him over, I noticed she was singing the ABC song to him and he wasn’t wiggling during the diaper change. He learned his ABC’s very young.

In his first grade class now there is a boy who didn’t know the ABC’s, and had never sung the ABC song. A parent reading volunteer found this out and started working with him. He had been memorizing the reading book from listening to the others. Plenty bright enough, just had received no intellectual stimulation the first 6 years of his life.
I think parents owe more to their kids than that.

]]> By: noidea http://spencerspeaks.com/2007/12/07/parents-are-the-missing-ingredient-in-dropout-prevention/#comment-1220 noidea Sat, 08 Dec 2007 00:15:18 +0000 http://spencerspeaks.com/2007/12/07/parents-are-the-missing-ingredient-in-dropout-prevention/#comment-1220 Wildflower, We're not talking about 'your' little boy or girl, or grandson or grandaughter for that matter... The problems lay in the children of the poor. Your comments regarding an application for parenthood, although recognized by me as tongue in cheek, is directed squarely at the people about whom Jim is writing. They have no less right to have children than we do.. Jim's point was that children are being left behind because of the strain that poverty has on the family. An admittance that parents are important is a good step forward by government forums, because parents are THE MOST important piece of the puzzle. An important move to how the family, or lack thereof, plays a role in a childs development. Outside of any amount of money that we can spend on education, parents must be involved. If not the child will struggle to succeed. Which is tough in these times even for the educated adult. Wildflower,
We’re not talking about ‘your’ little boy or girl, or grandson or grandaughter for that matter… The problems lay in the children of the poor. Your comments regarding an application for parenthood, although recognized by me as tongue in cheek, is directed squarely at the people about whom Jim is writing. They have no less right to have children than we do.. Jim’s point was that children are being left behind because of the strain that poverty has on the family. An admittance that parents are important is a good step forward by government forums, because parents are THE MOST important piece of the puzzle. An important move to how the family, or lack thereof, plays a role in a childs development. Outside of any amount of money that we can spend on education, parents must be involved. If not the child will struggle to succeed. Which is tough in these times even for the educated adult.

]]> By: emamond http://spencerspeaks.com/2007/12/07/parents-are-the-missing-ingredient-in-dropout-prevention/#comment-1223 emamond Sat, 08 Dec 2007 03:47:27 +0000 http://spencerspeaks.com/2007/12/07/parents-are-the-missing-ingredient-in-dropout-prevention/#comment-1223 Parental involvement in a child's education is without question an important variable in that child's success. HOWEVER, as has already been pointed out, some very poor parents are working long hours or two jobs to make sure that child has food, school fees and a roof over their head. Sometimes they must use public transportation or wait for rides; there is precious little time left at the end of the day for homework or special help on projects. Some parents are alcoholics or drug addicts or mentally ill and honestly would like to do better, but can't seems to find their way out of the quagmire. If education is truly valued by our society, schools and government need to take some responsibility to educate ALL children . . . not just the motivated, upper middle class kids whose Mommy doesn't work or who has the ability to tutor and monitor homework. Our students are NOT "Kentucky Fried Children", many are alternative learners who can't help that there's no one at home to help them and administrators and teachers and parents and ALL of us better pay attention to the fact that the canaries are fainting and falling over and all we want to do is blame the parents for not helping out? Some schools have established homework lines and after school tutor clubs. Some schools have dinners for their parents at parent teacher conference. Some have 1/2 day programs and exciting electives and art and music programs. Some have therapists on site. Some have health clinics and nutritious food. What passion can we as educators help this kid develop? No, these kinds of innovations won't save every kid but it will make a difference to some. We should ask ourselves: Why isn't school a sanctuary for this kid, why don't they want to come to school. Encourage and empower the parents. Maybe that's the best we will do, but it sure beats blaming them. Parental involvement in a child’s education is without question an important variable in that child’s success. HOWEVER, as has already been pointed out, some very poor parents are working long hours or two jobs to make sure that child has food, school fees and a roof over their head. Sometimes they must use public transportation or wait for rides; there is precious little time left at the end of the day for homework or special help on projects. Some parents are alcoholics or drug addicts or mentally ill and honestly would like to do better, but can’t seems to find their way out of the quagmire. If education is truly valued by our society, schools and government need to take some responsibility to educate ALL children . . . not just the motivated, upper middle class kids whose Mommy doesn’t work or who has the ability to tutor and monitor homework. Our students are NOT “Kentucky Fried Children”, many are alternative learners who can’t help that there’s no one at home to help them and administrators and teachers and parents and ALL of us better pay attention to the fact that the canaries are fainting and falling over and all we want to do is blame the parents for not helping out? Some schools have established homework lines and after school tutor clubs. Some schools have dinners for their parents at parent teacher conference. Some have 1/2 day programs and exciting electives and art and music programs. Some have therapists on site. Some have health clinics and nutritious food. What passion can we as educators help this kid develop? No, these kinds of innovations won’t save every kid but it will make a difference to some. We should ask ourselves: Why isn’t school a sanctuary for this kid, why don’t they want to come to school. Encourage and empower the parents. Maybe that’s the best we will do, but it sure beats blaming them.

]]> By: Wildflower http://spencerspeaks.com/2007/12/07/parents-are-the-missing-ingredient-in-dropout-prevention/#comment-1234 Wildflower Sat, 08 Dec 2007 19:51:52 +0000 http://spencerspeaks.com/2007/12/07/parents-are-the-missing-ingredient-in-dropout-prevention/#comment-1234 No idea, my grandson's parents ARE among the working poor, as are most parents I know of now. I was merely trying to point out that you don't have to have money to provide stimulus to your kids, becasue I think early stimulus is the key to a successful student. Some kids are doomed to failure by the time they get to school age, they lag behind all the way through until they finally drop out. They are doomed to the same lifestyle of poverty their parents have. America's children deserve better. No idea, my grandson’s parents ARE among the working poor, as are most parents I know of now. I was merely trying to point out that you don’t have to have money to provide stimulus to your kids, becasue I think early stimulus is the key to a successful student. Some kids are doomed to failure by the time they get to school age, they lag behind all the way through until they finally drop out.
They are doomed to the same lifestyle of poverty their parents have.
America’s children deserve better.

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