It is not often that you find a student who excels in school, participates actively in extracurricular activities who does not have parents who are concerned with their student's success. Teacher's spend less than half of the year with students, and during that time, about 1/4 of the hours in the day. Learning is a 24/7 process that must continue at home.
That being said, if a student isn't performing well in school that doesn't mean their parents aren't involved or concerned about their success. (As we learn in Philosophy 101 - just because one thing is true doesn't make the opposite also true) I think most educators agree; parental involvement in the school community is a huge factor in student success.
However, recently I've been thinking about how the school community impacts students' out of school life. Sure, it is great for parents to attend school functions, communicate with teachers about their students achievements, but what about the converse? What about the effect of teachers knowing about and actively participating in the community in which they work (but don't necessarily live). If a student sees their teacher participating in other community events, it makes that student's connection to school even stronger.
I'm not saying teachers should spend their weekends going to every public event in their community; but showing an understanding for the community your student's live in can have countless rewards in making a connection with them that shows them you're putting in the effort, so perhaps they should too. Teachers who are involved in sports, community service, the arts, etc. in the community have a connection with students that the teacher who is only seen in school during school hours doesn't have the opportunity to make.
-MB
see also The Importance of Letting Students Know You Care (9/8/12)
That being said, if a student isn't performing well in school that doesn't mean their parents aren't involved or concerned about their success. (As we learn in Philosophy 101 - just because one thing is true doesn't make the opposite also true) I think most educators agree; parental involvement in the school community is a huge factor in student success.
However, recently I've been thinking about how the school community impacts students' out of school life. Sure, it is great for parents to attend school functions, communicate with teachers about their students achievements, but what about the converse? What about the effect of teachers knowing about and actively participating in the community in which they work (but don't necessarily live). If a student sees their teacher participating in other community events, it makes that student's connection to school even stronger.
I'm not saying teachers should spend their weekends going to every public event in their community; but showing an understanding for the community your student's live in can have countless rewards in making a connection with them that shows them you're putting in the effort, so perhaps they should too. Teachers who are involved in sports, community service, the arts, etc. in the community have a connection with students that the teacher who is only seen in school during school hours doesn't have the opportunity to make.
-MB
see also The Importance of Letting Students Know You Care (9/8/12)
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