Parents Connecting the Living Room to the Classroom by Leon Howard, III

Leon Howard, III is the co-founder of the Muskegon Multicultural Beach Festival. In addition, he currently serves as a Residence Hall Director and Social Justice Educator at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI.

Turning the living room into an extension of the classroom is extremely important and is the one of the greatest ways a parent can help their child be successful. This does not necessarily mean or translate to all A's but it does mean ensuring that that they are learning, reflecting on what they learned and applying what they learn.  How learning is reinforced in the living room and how we make connections to what a child is learning in school to what is occurring  in their home, community, immediate surroundings and the broader world is an important responsibility of parents. There should be reminders and symbols all around the home that reminds a child the importance of education, knowledge, and of their responsibility to self and others. Every opportunity and tool should be used to reinforce what they are learning in the classroom and to take it to the next step if possible,  whether it is asking a child to write or reflect on a movie, TV show or video they watched, or by creating homework assignments for your child in addition to what the teacher gives. Especially, when they say they I do not have any homework. They should always have some type of homework which I whether call learning or reflection activities even on the weekend. A child should not go through a day without a parent or an adult in the home asking a child what did you learn or accomplish today. A child should not go through an activity or watch a movie or T.V show without them being asked to reflect on what they saw or asking them what did you learn from the experience. Notice I said parent not teacher. The parent is the most influential teacher a child will have. You do not have to be smart or educated to be a teacher, to help a child in school, to help a child learn or to help them be successful. You just have to know how to care, be involved in what they are learning,  ask questions about what they are learning, and create expectations and structure in the home that requires the television to be turned off and the child mind turned on or  through using what is watch on TV as a tool to discuss what is being learned in school.  Whatever a child is learning or being taught in the classroom they should be ready to discuss it and to teach it to their parents and their siblings in the living room or at the dinning room table. The classroom and living room needs to be connected in order to created a learning environment that breeds success and that challenges and support children, parents, and teachers. This is one of the greatest roles a parent can play in their child life and development.

A concerned mom....by LaQuetta S. Walker, MSW

LaQuetta S. Walker currently serves as a Research Assistant at Wayne State University in Detroit, MI.

It is a fact in our history that there have always been the fortunate(whites) and less fortunate(minorities); the have and the have nots. The fortunate have been able to afford the best things in life while the less fortunate does whatever it takes to get by. That does not mean the less fortunate have not tried to make things better, it has been harder to make it happen. Slaves were punished for being able to read and write because it was looked down upon for a "negro" to be educated. Today, minorities share the opportunity with whites to be educated but the value of the education is still unequal. Many schools in the high poverty school districts do not have enough books for students to study in nor out of the classroom. This causes an increase in the lack of comprehension of the core academic courses such as math, science and reading and basic skills of reading, writing and arithmetic.

In today's society, students need to be capable of operating various technological devices to keep up with the ever changing trends. However, it is practically impossible in the high poverty school districts to teach these skills because the school districts cannot afford to purchase the devices and parents cannot afford to own these devices in their homes. Children of all races need to have exposure to different things to enhance their learning and productivity. Teachers need to be compensated for their skills and abilities to academically prepare our children for the future. Teachers also need to be carefully selected according to higher standards than the current selection process. If children in high poverty school districts and communities are not exposed to activities in math and science they will not have an interest.

 According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (2010), the US is behind countries like China, South Korea and Finland in the subjects of math, science and reading due to the culture of the education. Teachers in China and South Korea are recruited from the highest levels of the graduating classes and are paid as much as engineers and scientists. In my opinion, the United States do not spend enough money on resources to provide a good education yet politicians complain about those who need federal assistance to maintain their household. If education was more of a priority than fighting an unnecessary war, then the poverty rate may decrease because more people will have access to a good education to obtain better jobs to provide for their families. If we spend more money on resources to provide adequate education for the children of our future then we would be able to score higher on these standardized test that in my opinion only reflect what can be done on paper and not in production of services.

Lee, Kurtis PBS NewsHour Extra, December 10, 2010 www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/features/us/july-dec10/education_12-10

Sincerely,

Educated Social Worker and dedicated parent of a 3rd grader