EDUC 150W

"How much should poor school performance be blamed on family life, parenting, and life outside of school, rather than the schools themselves? Should parents be penalized when their child is truant? Are there family life situations that just cannot be overcome in school?"

       Students do not achieve in school due to a number of factors that cannot be exactly quantified. The effects of home life, poor teaching, and a bad school environment compound each other. Family life, parenting, and cultural issues can distract child from school work, contribute to students dropping out of school, and make education less of a priority. Some of these challenges are due to parenting, however I think that preposing to change individual parenting styles is an unfeasible policy decision. Many of the challenges children face because of poor parenting are in fact due to the conditions of society and a lower socioeconomic status. For example, truancy cannot be solely be blamed on parenting. Instead, absenteeism and truancy suggests that education is not a priority in the student's life. Parents should emphasize the importance of education, however until the effects of the opportunity gap and poverty are reduced, education will not be a priority for millions of children. Additionally, I do not believe that a lack of student achievement can be mainly blamed on parents or culture, or there are family situations that cannot be overcome. Although having a serious family tragedy or other traumatic issue will affect a child's ability to learn, the school can still provide the best learning environment for that child. Schools should be able to recognize the effect of a child's home life without thinking that their home life limits their ability to learn in school. Poor school achievement can be partly attributed to home life and parenting, however schools and social conditions also have a large responsibility for students failing to learn. Home life, social problems, and poor schools all contribute to failing students, requiring an effort to overcome these challenges both within and outside of schools. 

            Home environment and cultural influences have a strong impact on a student's prioritization of education and ability to learn, however a good school can overcome these limitations. Underprivileged children have more challenges at home that prevent good study habits and distract them from school. For instance, these children are less likely to be read to by their parents or have books at home, and more likely to watch television after school (Thernstrom & Thernstrom 147). Other home life challenges can be more difficult to overcome, for instance a child having fetal alcohol syndrome that results in brain damage, or the effect of a low birth weight on cognitive development. Children from a low socioeconomic background may also face obstacles in their community such as the prevalence of crime and drugs (Kozol 186-187). These factors demonstrate that a student's experiences out of school have a great affect their performance within school. Because minority students and those in poverty come to kindergarten already behind their peers, the effect of home life on the cognitive abilities of children is clear. Parenting and cultural influences help determine whether a child will be able to reach their full potential in school.

            Rather than directly blaming parents for home life situations, schools can concentrate on initiatives within the school that will create a supportive network for students and emphasize the importance of education. Certain home life situations require direct intervention, for example issues of child abuse. However, the absenteeism or dropping out of a student in high school will not be rectified by punishing a parent who most likely already has substantial social and economic disadvantages. Instead, beginning in elementary school, schools should emphasize a program of reforms following the example of the 90/90/90 schools, which have demonstrated that whatever the negative effects of poverty and culture, all children can succeed in school. These schools make education a priority by creating a culture of achievement within their schools (Reeves 188). According to Douglas Reeves: "Several of the schools...consistently appeared on the '90/90/90' list, even as students change from year to year, as the effects of poverty grow more onerous, and as parents participating in welfare reform programs are less likely to be at home before and after school" (192). Other reforms the schools implemented included making conscious curriculum choices to focus on reading, writing, and arithmetic, and having frequent chances for students to improve. The success of the 90/90/90 schools demonstrates that schools can overcome the challenges disadvantaged children face, therefore home life is not totally responsible for a student's failure. Life outside of school should not be blamed for a student continually not succeeding.

              Schools should focus on measures within the classroom to support students, however the school can also extend its support network outside of school to support a child after-school and at home. Many schools have implemented programs to increase collaboration between the school and the family, for instance home visits by teachers. In these home visits teachers can directly discuss issues with both the parent and the child present, and in addition can understand some of the problems at home the child might be facing. To not add to the work load of teachers, these visits can be undertaken by administrators or counselors. Additionally, after-school programs, preschool programs, and home intervention programs can effectively overcome home life environments. In my experience volunteering at Lafayette Village, all the children benefit from a distraction-free, focused learning environment, no matter their home life. No situation at home can or should completely prevent a child from being in school or learning. The school has the responsibility of creating the conditions in which children can learn. Often the challenges an underprivileged child may face outside of school are not due to individual parenting practices, they result from widespread social problems. The federal and state government have the responsibility of addressing these social problems.

            Home life situations should not be blamed for why a child fails to learn in school. Home life should be recognized as a contributor to why a child may have difficulty learning, or start behind in school. However, as proven by the 90/90/90 schools, great schools work for children no matter their socioeconomic background or race. Schools need to be reformed and improved and the social conditions that result in challenging home life situations must be addressed. All children have the potential to learn, schools should be able to channel that potential into achievement and collaborate with parents and communities to create success.

Works Cited

Kozol, Jonathan. "The Equality of Innocence: Washington, D.C." Savage Inequalities: Children in America's Schools. Harper Perennial, 1993. 175-205. Print.

Reeves, Douglas B. "The 90/90/90 Schools: A Case Study." Accountability in Action: a Blueprint for Learning Organizations. [Edgewood, CO]: Advanced Learning, 2004. 185-96. Print.

Thernstrom, Abigail M., and Stephan Thernstrom. No Excuses: Closing the Racial Gap in Learning. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2003. Print.