As a grade one teacher, how would you motivate parents to become involved in the classroom and in their child’s education?

good presentation by mr.jassmin,,,  agreed

We can't deny the significance of parents involvement in the process of meaningful education. To grab the intention and positive involvement of the parents remain an issue for many schools. As a Grade one teacher it is easier to handle this issue by following this strategy:

1- "Actions speak louder than words" is a common proverb. Its implementation is very helpful to proceed with. Activity based teaching along with a sequence of tremendous motivation on daily bases is a perfect tool to make the parents directly involved in it. Students of such a teacher never forget their teacher and the activities they did, even at home. They tell much to their parents after returning home, thus growing interest in their parents. 

2- Communicating with parents through Diary, maintained on daily bases is another effective tool to keep in touch with parents.

3- Arranging various activities from time to time with the participation of parents is another way to encourage parents to get involved in education process of their children.

4- Small certificates, awards and prizes for the children on their performance also have a positive effect on the children and their parents.

Parental involvement has always been one of the most important factors in a child’s education. Parents who set high expectations for their child’s educational achievements and monitor their child’s learning process inspire their children to get excited about academics. Children who are motivated to learn behave better in school and have higher attendance rates and enables the teachers to spend more time on classroom instruction rather than dealing with disruptive student behaviors.

1.  Children Activities and Events

The most effective ways to engage parents in their child’s education is to provide opportunities for the parents to work with their students in home learning activities. When parents are involved in their child’s learning by participating in home learning activities, they encourage better overall academic achievement of children. Parents can get involved in their child’s education by also participating in school events, attending parent teacher conferences and volunteering with school activities.

2.  Parent Monitoring

It is important that parents should remain involved in every level of their child’s education to stay informed of their child’s academic process. Teachers should encourage parents to set daily routines at home and enforce these routines. For instance, parents should allocate time for homework, chores, play time and dinner. Parents can provide more structured out of school activities for children than unstructured activities. Open communication between parents and children helps to increase each child’s self-esteem and confidence, which helps to improve school behavior and grades. For example, parents can ask questions about their child’s experience at school and have open conversations each day about school. Maintaining a positive home environment helps to increase the morale of children. Parents should maintain a positive and supportive home environment for their children on a regular basis.

3.  School Programs

One of the best strategy is that teachers and school administrators can offer programs to assist parents in creating better home environments for their children. Teachers and administrators can organize ongoing school events to give parents opportunities to make regular trips to the schools and take active roles in regular school activities. School administrators can also provide resources to connect parents with educational training, such as family literacy programs. Also, school administrators can provide information to parents about family support programs, such as health and nutrition programs. Teachers can also establish homework policies and provide positive reinforcement to students who complete their homework on a regular basis.

4.  Parental Advocacy

Teachers can encourage parental involvement in school by allowing parents to be a part of important decisions regarding their child’s education at school. Many schools provide organizations for parents to get involved in important school decisions by establishing PTA or PTO organizations. Also, schools can establish opportunities for parents to hold leadership roles in parental organizations.

5.  Lack of Parental Involvement

When parents show lack of enthusiasm for their child’s academic achievements, it teaches children to have low expectations about learning. This can ultimately lead to the same – lack of enthusiasm of the children. Parents should be encouraged to provide ongoing support for their children’s academic success and reinforce positive behaviors at home.

The bottom line is teachers and parents need to COMMUNICATE as often as possible and parents play the most important role in developing their children. In these modern age technology, an alarming trend of parent are depending more on the teachers and the maids to handle their children educations and tend to spend less time with their children.

It needs a big effort