5 Exciting ways Parents can Engage in the Learning Process of their kids
By: Daniel Ochekwu
Tags: Education Reform, Education, Teaching

5 Exciting ways Parents can Engage in the Learning Process of their kids

A few days ago, while driving around town with a friend, we continued our conversation about having parents involved in their children’s education. One thing we both agreed could be considered a factor influencing parental absence in that aspect of their children’s life is the socio-economic status of the families who often send their kids to public schools.

Parents with little income are often forced to prioritize. They’re forced to prioritize time, affection, income, etc. Due to the fact that what they earn per month is limited, these parents take on multiple jobs to cater for the things considered basic needs on Maslow’s hierarchy. Looking at the relationship that exists between working hours and other needs such as spending time with family, we see a simple inverse relationship. With increase in time spent with family, there is a corresponding decrease in the time working and by extension the income to be made from the place of work. Parents must prioritize and because they have to cater to basic needs, they’re usually unavailable to support their kids. The big question, however, would be understanding how teachers and parents can maximize the little available time to ensure marginal learning outcomes for students.

Photo: FCI My Story of Water Art Project 2019

One important thing to note in creating the synergy between parents and teachers is the role of each stakeholder involved in the learning learning process of a student. Each stakeholder — Parent, teacher and child — has a role to play to ensure the student develops social, emotional and educational skills that would ensure success.

Here are 5 ways to develop a healthy synergy to ensure improved parent engagement:

Set and communicate big goals to parents

One activity I enjoy so much at the beginning of every term is communicating the direction my class will be traveling at the course of the term (semester). I hold conferences with my students first, then with co-teachers and then the head of school before reaching out to parents. This way everyone understands what we’re doing for the term.

Meetings with parents to communicate big goals for the term are always a delight. I would usually go prepared to discuss a few ideas besides my big goals.

Considering the context of the community I worked, I often called parents, or organized meetings in school or a choice location for parents which were mostly at the location of the small businesses they owned or worked at. This meeting lays the foundation of what the term would look like and we’ll often talk about creating a support system for students, and the best way to communicate with parents.

2. Hold personal conferences

Parent-Teacher conferences usually hold once or seldom twice a term. Sometimes you’ll rarely find parents of kids in public schools in attendance for these conferences.

One thing I did was to rework these conferences to suit the parents in the classroom. The goal is to get parents actively involved in what their kids are learning. Through conferences parents often identify and discuss crucial issues affecting their ward. The big question here is always’ “how can we attract parents?”

Here, I must confess, I did go out of my way to meet with parents. Some parents visited school, I had to hold phone conversations for a number of parents, and for the others I visited them. One thing I noticed, involving students in the meetings helped a lot. Parent-Teacher-Student conferences were more engaging as all stakeholders discussed business and gained valuable perspective.

3. Create bi-monthly progress report

This is an excellent way to give feedback to the team that progress is being made. In creating a report, think more about giving valuable feedback on growth and skills developed. Make recommendations for skills or areas needing improvement.

This is important to the student, teacher, and parent as it helps the stakeholders keep track of growth and accountability.

photo: Danoch 2019

4. Parents as Volunteer teachers

Send out invitations to parents to be part of the class for at least a day in the term. Parents who sign up as volunteers could serve as assistant teachers and help out during a teaching period. Parents irrespective of schedule would find this really interesting and would love to participate.

5. Organize bonding activities

Besides volunteering as teachers, parents could sign up to be part of a career evening, a sporting event, a theatrical performance where they play roles too. Create environments where parents have access to and a part of.