Recently I reviewed the Official Blog of the U.S. Department of Education, Homeroom. I found their post, A new framework: Improving family engagement, to be very eye opening.
http://www.ed.gov/blog/2012/12/a-new-framework-improving-family-engagement/
From this article I was able to determine that family engagement or lack of is a problem that even the Department of Education is reviewing and researching. After reading the comments I learned that some of the Teacher Unions in some States (California for one) prevent parents from being in the classroom and assisting with students. I don't fully understand their reasoning behind not wanting parents in the classroom.
http://www.ed.gov/blog/2012/12/a-new-framework-improving-family-engagement/
From this article I was able to determine that family engagement or lack of is a problem that even the Department of Education is reviewing and researching. After reading the comments I learned that some of the Teacher Unions in some States (California for one) prevent parents from being in the classroom and assisting with students. I don't fully understand their reasoning behind not wanting parents in the classroom.
I discussed this blog with several colleagues who agreed that it seems odd that a Teacher's Union would go against parent involvement. We also debated whether they were confusing "involvement" with "engagement". The difference being "involvement" refers to opportunities for participation while "engagement" refers more to the relationship between schools, families, and communities. I believe if you have strong family engagement you will have a high percentage of family involvement. My colleagues and I all agreed with the comment that Family Engagement should begin in early childhood programs but vehemently disagreed with one individual who responded:
"All families don’t need this level of support. For those that do, it’s fine. Educated middle income and well off parents have a lot to offer if only schools would listen and be more receptive to change."
By "level of support" she was referring to programs mentioned in the previous comment such as Parents As Teachers (PAT). We believe that all families can benefit from programs like PAT and Early Head Start (EHS). As a home visitor for EHS I have had families that had well educated parents, and who may have even been over income but eligible due to a child's developmental delay or disability. I also participated in First Steps as a parent with a child who had a communication delay. While I consider myself a good parent and well educated I know that our family and my child greatly benefited from this program. I also believe that we (educators) should want ALL parents / families regardless of socioeconomic or educational status to be engaged in their child's education.
