There are many reasons preventing consistent parent involvement. Some barriers may be seen as practical due to the lack of childcare, feeling exhausted after an eight-hour workday, or feeling that school involvement not being a priority. Sometimes the question may be as simple as “How will my involvement benefit me, the parent?” This is also known as secondary gain, or the expectation that the parent will leave the encounter with a greater sense of understanding that is meaningful and perhaps insightful as it relates to their child’s learning potential and how it may be applied to other areas of learning. This applies to both learning potential discussed during school meetings as disclosed by teachers and learning deficits. Consistent parent involvement differs from parent to parent due to prior experiences, which parents must define based on their own unique circumstances
This includes questions adults can ask themselves, such as whether overt or inadvertent acts by schools have signaled to parents that an open environment will provide incentives for involvement or if an environment seen as hostile and uninviting serves as a deterrent for involvement. Perhaps we can compare barriers to consistent participation in schools, too. Health insurance coverage requires annual physicals designed to detect illness and medical conditions that, if detected early, can be effectively treated as we age.
Moreover, a similar argument can be made for prioritizing routine dental exams and cleanings and the multitude of reasons we may resist moving this to our to-do list of priorities. These are personal choices, and for many parents, medical and dental exams for their children are necessary and not seen as barriers. This book aims to identify and harness parental motivation so that consistent involvement in their children’s schools will be as routine as their involvement in their children’s pediatric and dental visits.
Think back to when you were in elementary or middle school. What would have happened if your parent was asked by either your teacher or the principal to come to school for a conference to discuss concerns about YOUR behavior. If you are like me, the very thought of your mother being asked to come to school to discuss your behavior would ignite the fear of an immediate spanking when you returned home and several days of scolding and punitive lecturing.
Elementary and middle school—when children are most receptive to their parents’ frequent meetings with teachers—is an optimum age range for TogetR4Success workshops. These meetings are most effective when shared information is positive and reveals each student’s unique strengths and qualities. Disruptive behavior may be observed by the parent as similar to behavior witnessed at home and with siblings and peers that only require verbal redirection. The teacher’s primary role is to teach and instruct; therefore, disruptive behavior prevents or reduces the opportunity for this to happen consistently, and significantly so if the behavior interferes with student learning in the classroom.