by Ciji Parks

Created on: March 21, 2009   Last Updated: February 18, 2012

Wake-up, parents! That was not meant to sound like an insult and was not written to the majority of parents. It is written for those parents that have kids, think they are cute, and don't want to spend much time helping them through school. I am not sure those parents realize what a responsibility children are. They are a tremendous joy, but they demand a lot of your time and energy as far as their schooling goes. Things are a whole lot different than when I went to school. I'm thirty-nine now. School is very tough nowadays. Take a look at your junior high student's science textbook. Did you have to know all of those things when you were in school? I sure didn't.

I teach in a small town in the mid-west. Collectively, our students do very well on state assessments every year. That is a blessing to the teachers who work very hard to make sure that students are prepared. Sadly, though, there are students that do poorly. Those students are often the ones that could care less about completing their work, reading their books, and making extra efforts to do well on the tests. Do you know why these kids are so unmotivated? I think I do. In most of those cases, the parents of these students are the ones who let the teachers do all the work. They feel that it is strictly the teachers' job to educate their children. They spend very little time reading to or with their kids, helping them with homework, or discussing educational issues with them. Students that succeed have parents that care about their education or miraculously, they are rare students that care without parental support. I assure you that those students are few and far between.

I have really bright kids myself, but I spend a lot of time studying with them or reading with them, whether it's listening to them read or reading to them. I also use everyday experiences as teaching opportunities.

As a Title 1 teacher, I have the privilege of working with students that teeter on the edge of failing their classes. I would say 90% of them have parents that either don't have time or don't take time to help educate their children at home.

Why is it important to help your kids along with their schooling? It's because the job market is becoming more competitive, colleges are very expensive and scholarships would be a blessing to any student. If you want your child to reach his or her full potential, I would highly recommend taking a great interest in helping him or her along with his/her schooling. The interest you show in your child's education carries over into his/her performance in school. If you think school is important, your child will most likely develop the same attitude.

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