In this draft of my Advocacy Essay, I was able to add in more multimodal elements, yet some lacked captions and were not yet communicating the ideas I wanted to express in my paper. The main title was improved to specify the topic, but the essay was no longer meant to be a "prospective statement of argument", as shown in the sub header. At the same time, my essay did not have a controlling thesis statement, which meant that my argumentation was weak, and I was not yet connecting my three solutions and how they would work in tandem with each other. Even so, performing my oral presentation in class two days before turning in my second draft helped me consider new ideas to communicate in this draft, and the second draft was a considerable step forward from the first.

 

Haley Witzeman

Erik Kongshaug

Writing 39C

18 February 2016

Insufficient Parental Involvement: Tackled by a Deeper Understanding of the American School System

Figure 1: Can the American school system strengthen only by trying to reform the teachers and principals when finding solutions for unengaged parents?

Prospective Statement of Argument

            A lack of Parental Involvement consistently plagues students in the American School System, especially minority students or students of a lower socioeconomic status. Children typically perform better in school when a parent or guardian is involved, so students are worse off when the parent is not actively committed to their education. One political cause stems from No Child Left Behind, which had great influence on public school system for years. However, the law failed to efficiently increase parental involvement in all areas of education. Even though Title I (part of NCLB) pushed for parental engagement, the program’s test-based accountability resulted in more focus on the teacher’s performance inside the classroom. NCLB, according to author and historian Diane Ravitch, became a “law [that] forgot that parents are primarily responsible for their children’s behavior and attitudes” and made teachers ultimately responsible(Ravitch). A significant effect of the alleviation of parental responsibility is the “laissez faire parent”; they are not against the education system, but they are weak parents that do not communicate with teachers and over sympathize with a student’s poor behavior(Reid). Additionally, the Qualitative Report finds that parents participate less in the school system because they “feel it is the school’s responsibility to do the teaching”(McDermott). Though reformers and advocating politicians see this as a “scapegoat” approach taken by those uninvolved, these parents don’t have much time to commit to their child’s public schooling because of jobs and time restraints. As a result of lower SES parents’ reduced educational engagement, there is a missing piece in the child’s educational upbringing, and some students even go as far as dropping out of school because of this lack of support. Another subgroup within public schools, ethnic and minority children, face teachers who don’t connect with or respect the culture of their students. Parents consequently refuse to participate in the school community because of a gap that hinders the student’s performance. Moreover, case studies such as “The SAT and Admission: Racial Bias and Economic Inequality” conclude that standardized tests like the SAT prove to be an unfair advantage to minority children, as questions are directed towards white students. The result of poor teachers and tests is parents who don’t believe in the efficacy of their children’s school system; thus, they do not participate.

           

             Are these problems at the fault of parents of school children? Scholars often debate whether the problems revealed as a lack of parental involvement can be completely pinned on parents themselves. Some find that though parents are responsible for a child’s upbringing, schools are ultimately responsible for student education and a failing school system cannot be saved by blaming parents. This is not the general thought, as organizations, politicians, and school systems are constantly working towards solutions for these problems by targeting parent accountability. The question is: do the solutions advocated for by these groups benefit parents and students of every ethnicity and SES? Additionally, do they work to strengthen the school system? Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York City, attempting to revamp the school system, recently began advocating for the “one-stop community center”, where parents can receive support and resources. De Blasio’s ideal center would contain resources such as medical and dental clinics as well as adult courses(Taylor). At the same time, one of the centers currently being introduced in Ohio, a product of the state’s decision to use the ESEA’s School Improvement Grant funds, provides resources for low-income families by giving grants to different organizations and providing out of school services. Taking a unique student-based approach instead of directly tackling the issues of uninvolved parents, this system “supports high-quality, out-of-school time learning opportunities and related activities for students who attend eligible schools”(“21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC)”). Students disadvantaged from a lack of parental involvement in their community and in their education can benefit from programs in community centers, as they tend to one of the root causes of parental involvement: parents who do not have time to support and strengthen their child’s education. These centers are relatively new and have not been evaluated on a cost/benefit scale. Yet, the proliferation of school community centers would provide a fresh alternative to reforming the whole school system, allowing this optional program to be a good resource for the families or individuals who need it.

 

            Another step towards solving the problems from absence of parent engagement lie within schools that can promise to create a social climate that welcomes diversity and awareness of culture. Because parents feel undermined by teachers that do not respect their values, they opt out of activities in the school system, which could be reversed by programs that welcome cultural diversity. One program that has attempted this, the IECA (International Educational and Cultural Awareness Organization) works to “support and facilitate communication to prevent racially based discrimination between youth”, but does this by creating opportunities for students instead of ignorant teachers and school systems. Rather, a “culturally responsive curriculum”, according to “6 Ways Teachers Can Foster Cultural Awareness in the Classroom”, would attack the root cause of parent frustration. Though creating and maintaining a culturally responsive curriculum is multifaceted in nature, small steps inspired by the curriculum could transform a school system. One step taken could be introducing more bilingual representatives in schools with children of different ethnicities. In 1989, Fred Carrigg, part of a school district in Newark, implemented a program that introduced more bilingual and ESL (English as a second language) teachers; as a result, more parents were welcomed into the school environment (Kirp). Yet, this is an old model and the same solutions may not be as feasible. Today, individual schools and districts can combat cultural exclusion by hiring bilingual representatives that can assist in the classroom and communicate with teachers and specific parents. Even hiring teachers would not be a stretch, as it would strengthen the school system and improve the performance of students. However, schools are already in a financial deficit and do not have a surplus of funding to allocate to untested programs.

            Many students who suffer from insufficient parental involvement can not access resources they need to succeed, so enrolling these students in more charter schools would allow them access to a better education. The original intent of charter schools was to give students access to specialized, competitive public schools. In more recent years, charter schools have taken the form of small-scale schools within a community that foster their needs and specific student population. Because of this, many states have attempted implementing specialized charter schools in areas with lower SES and minority populations. One successful example is reported from Carolyn Thompson of The Huffington Post, who reviews a National Charter School Study from Stanford involving fifteen different states and reports that black students who attended charter schools “gained the equivalent of 14 days of learning” through charter schools and that those same students in poverty gained “the equivalent of 29 days in reading and 36 days in math”.

 

The study revealed that the greater deficit the student faces in their normal education due to a lack of resources, the greater their improvement of an educational experience from charter schools. One reason may be that the staff is able to tend to particular students and approved by the parents who enroll their students. Parents are typically more comfortable taking part in an educational system that they trust, thus they are more inclined to be involved in the school system.

            As parents have a greater desire to be involved in the system, the charter school system effectively provide parents more opportunities. Engagement can range anywhere from helping a child with homework to helping in school, but parents can find a greater sense of purpose when communicating with representatives and staff from the school system. Some parents are unengaged in this realm because they do not feel appreciated by school staff. Maria Pena, a single mother from Brooklyn was asked a number of questions in the New York Times article “A Push to Get Parents Involved at Struggling Schools” regarding her desires for programs in schools; she states that she “would definitely sit” and collaborate with a community school team, but “the problem is if they would listen.”(Taylor). In this case, the problem is not caused by “laissez-faire” parents; rather, it is caused by their own doubts of being valued in their engagements. To reverse this trend, legislature for charter schools has attempted to make the significance of parental involvement lucid. The Utah Charter Schools Act created new legislation that mandates the system so that “The purposes of charter schools are to…provide opportunities for greater parental involvement in management decisions at the school level”(USOE). Because the schools advocate more actively for a board of parents, they provide parents the confidence to provide resources needed for their children to succeed.

            School system’s incessant problems with disengaged parents can be solved by addressing root causes through steps at reformation attempts. Just as shown in the past, large scale reform cannot abolish a single problem in the school system. Rather, taking small steps towards improving conditions for parents and students through community centers and teaching assistants can greatly enhance a student’s educational experience.

 

Abstract

            Parental involvement is crucial in a child’s educational upbringing, and a lack thereof results in a community gap, reduced student participation, and low-performing schools. More often, parents of different ethnicity that decline active participation feel a misunderstanding and disconnect from teachers. Moreover, parents of a lower SES feel that they do not have the time and it is the teacher’s responsibility to educate their child. Additionally, a national focus on teacher and test-based accountability alleviates parents of pressure to be involved, causing a deficit for the child. By creating community centers, hiring staff to enhance inclusion of conditions and diversity, and encouraging the growth of charter schools, the students suffering from a lack of parental involvement can enjoy an enhanced educational experience.

 

Annotated Bibliography

“Changing the Conversation About Homework from Quantity and Achievement To Quality and Engagement”. challengesuccess.org. Challenge Success, 2012. Web. 11 January 2016.

-This white paper provides information on the relationship between the efficiency of student homework completion and parental engagement in the student’s homework. In this white paper, the idea of parental involvement is challenged, as parents tend to try to assist their students in multiple ways by hiring outside help, yet this is not always beneficial for the student. At the same time, the piece clearly states the significance of parents as support units in their child’s homework process as “cheerleaders”. Challenging Success, the publisher of the white paper, is an organization dedicated to gathering information and providing strategies to schools and families in order to enhance the learning experience for children. Their research assists families and helps children grow and gain self-esteem.

 

jeffdowd. “The Problem with ‘Failing Schools’”. The Society Pages. 10 March 2011. Web. 10 February 2016.

-The article in this source is written and submitted on “The Sociology Lens”, which is a small subsection of the website “The Society Pages”. The website provides information specifically to scholars and graduate students via journal entries in order to discuss pressing issues in sociology. The article outlines the fact that new studies are revealing that parents are the ones to blame for their children’s behavioral and educational problems, but that this approach is overly simplistic. In the case of this advocacy project, the political cartoon is a great way to debate the true causation of a lack of parental involvement. Did the pillar get knocked down by itself? Did another pillar contribute to the fall of the “parental pillar”? The political cartoon provides a great multimodal element along with the debate in the online article.

 

Layton, Lyndsey. “Student poverty, lack of parental involvement cited as teacher concerns”. Washington Post. 9 June 2015. Web. 11 February 2016.

-A reporter from Washington D.C., Layton focuses her writing on national education. However, she has made her way around the spectrum of journaling by writing about other topics such as congressional affairs and safety policies. She provides a credible experience through the Washington Post article, especially by utilizing the results of a public opinion survey from the Communities in Schools foundation, which provides great insight into what professionals in school districts are trying to do to combat the problems with a lack of fiscal parental engagement with children in need. The article could easily be used or expanded to discuss both the personal opinion of the author and the statistics of the study involved, making the credible article useful for anything from a hang quote (which I will use as a multimodal element in my paper) to a rich conversation between the author and the solutions proposed involving parents and students.

 

Lee, Phillip. “The Curious Life of In Loco Parentis at American Universities”. Higher Education in Review. 2011. Web. 21 January 2016.

-Lee’s article mainly discusses the aspect of “in loco parentis”, which frames the original motivation behind a lack of parental engagement with their child. The author is an instructor in education from Harvard University and has written several other articles on issues regarding student ethnicity, activism, and diversity. His reputation and articles make him a credible source of information regarding students, demographics in universities, and even the relationship between the two. In loco parentis is a great tool to begin to introduce the concept of traditional public schools and universities taking on the responsibilities of parents, thus exercising accountability. Linked to accountability are many reform ideas and debates about holding parents accountable in a measureable way, which the advocacy project will discuss.

 

“No Child Left Behind and School Choice Opportunities in Special Education.” GreatKids. n.d. Web. 10 February 2016.

-The article is from a website called GreatKids, a compilation of various resources that encourage parental involvement, such as videos and worksheets. Additionally, the website features articles backed by research and are created by staff members that work in unison with other organizations doing research. The organization can be seen as credible because of its focus on research and discovery. The article’s significance lies in its connection between Title I and school choice provided to parents through No Child Left Behind, which can improve the historical conversations regarding parental involvement and No Child Left Behind.

 

Ohio Department Of Education. “21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC).” 16 February 2016. Web. 21 January 2016.

-Introducing a new program, the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) has opened up a program for schools with students who are low-performing and of a lower socioeconomic status. The program was introduced beginning in the 2015-2016 school year, making this source very current. Organizations receive grants from the ODE if they provide a good claim and can promote the wellbeing of the disadvantaged students.

 

Puccinelli, Michelle. “Holding Parents Accountable”. The Blue Review. 6 May 2015. Web. 11 February 2016.

-This article is published on a website called “The Blue Review” which acts as a journal from Boise State University. Puccinelli is a graduate student and high school history teacher with a focus in academia. Her article addresses the idea that schools have a consistent way to hold teachers, students, and staff members accountable, but not parents. Parental involvement is indefinitely seen as a crucial component to a student’s success, as shown in the article by a 2002 study from the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory. Even though lacks in parental engagement are addressed as pressing in the article, Puccinelli takes a unique approach to the problem and states that it is not the solution to all problems in American education. Similar to the nature of the Advocacy project’s third idea for a prompt, the article poses questions in the end regarding where we can go next, as previous attempts at parent accountability have not had great influence.

 

Ravitch, Diane. The Death and Life of the Great American School System. New York: Basic Books, 2011. Print.

-Sharing her rich knowledge of the history of school reforms, Ravitch crafts a text that reflects upon various moments in history and concepts in the school reform system. She is a professor at New York University and has worked with Secretary of Education Lamar Alexander and Presidents Bill Clinton and George Bush. Because of her experiences and knowledge, GASS provides a credible account of the history of school reform that can be used anywhere from a simple quoting to a complex analysis referencing Ravitch as an expert. The book speaks of several aspects that organizations, philanthropists, and public officials focus on when changing schools, including (but not limited to) corporate reform, standardized testing, accountability, Common Core, and No Child Left Behind. Practically any aspect of the school system can be covered by this novel; if not directly, topics in this book can be linked to other specific topics talked about by other scholars.

 

Reid, Ken. Truancy: Short and Long-term Solutions. Florence: Routledge, 2004. Print.

-This short novel discusses the affairs and occurrences in which students choose to be truant to school. Ken Reid is a secondary teacher at Berkshire and at Oxfordshire and even took teaching positions in Cardiff and Leicester for higher education purposes. His work revolves around issues regarding school attendance (and a lack of school attendance, or truancy) as well as constantly utilizing behavioral studies of students for his writing. Because of his rich knowledge in the field of student attendance rates, “Truancy: Short and Long-term Solutions” provides not only an account of the kids who are truant and behaving poorly but also the parents who nurture these students. This includes laissez-faire parents, a term he uses for the parents who allow their kids all of the freedoms they desire, and even anti-education parents, or those who advocate against the ongoings in the realm of education.

 

Smith, Joanna and Wohlstetter, Priscilla. “Parental Involvement in Urban Charter Schools: A New Paradigm or the Status Quo?” Vanderbilt University: National Center on School Choice. 27 October 2009. Web. 16 February 2016.

-

 

Taylor, Kate. “A Push to Involve Parents at Struggling Schools.” New York Times. Print. 21 January 2016.

-Kate Taylor is a reporter for the New York Times and focuses on schools in New York City. Taylor’s article reports on the lack of parental involvement in New York City’s schools and Mayor Bill de Blasio’s attempts at raising up low performing schools. Unlike the Bloomberg administration’s targeting of weak staff and schools, de Blasio aims to create better schools through one-stop community centers. These centers would help parents become more involved in their children’s education. Additionally, the administration is making efforts to make parents of children in the school system aware that they can be involved in the school system.

 

Thompson, Carolyn. “Charter Schools Benefit Minorities, Poor Families Most, Study Shows.”The Huffington Post. Huffpost Black Voices. 25 June 2013. Web. 22 February 2016.

-

Utah Charter Schools Act. Chapter 150, 2015 General Session. Print. 25 February 2016.

-