The classroom teacher has tremendous power. The teacher can empower a child to become a critical thinker who is proud of his or her heritage and has high self-esteem. On the other hand, the teacher also has the power to destroy aspirations by not allowing a child to recognize and celebrate the importance of his or her own culture. Recognizing a student's culture and using this to create a positive learning environment takes a great deal of energy and resources. Recruiting parents as a source of this energy and these resources is one way of enhancing the learning environment for a second language learner.
Parents can create a bridge between home and school to help ease the transition for many students.
This involved parents in experiencing how everyday activities and chores are related directly to science. It was designed specifically to increase parents' confidence in encouraging their children's interest in science. Having parents present also gives teachers more opportunities to apply cultural values to science and math concepts used in the classroom. Is Science was developed by Educational Equity Concepts, a non-profit organization in New York City. The Zuni Public School District is located in the extreme western part of New Mexico.