Prompt 5: Parent Involvement In Schools: Dewey and Kozol

Parent involvement is key when students are in school, especially at a younger age when most students are excited to go home and tell their parents what they learned in class that day. I know much of my elementary school years were spent detailing every aspect of my day to my mom the second I got into the car to go home! I liked her knowing, that way if I ever needed her, I knew she would be able to help. ♥

In the following video, children in grades 5 and 6 talk about how their parents help in and with school and why they feel it is important:






The unfortunate thing in my classroom is that parent involvement is very limited. She send notes home which never come back, calls parents to hold meetings, but still nothing; just the same few who are willing to help! My teacher has told me multiple times about how she wants her students to excel and do well, but she relies on the parents to support her and they are not.

Parent involvement is requested by teachers but not always granted. This is a big issue in the classroom. Even in the video it is mentioned, where one girl says how she would serve as a translator to her mother if she had to. This is one of the many difficulties teachers face, not only are they worried about the uninvolved students, but when parents who don’t speak English fluently (and may be embarrassed) or parents feel their lack of education means that they cannot help their children, the conditions to talk are severely restricted. Parents want to help, but they don't know how and more importantly, kids want their parents to be involved! They say without them they feel that they would be lost. With silence lurking in the shadows, however, and communication being placed into the hands of only the child and teacher, without that outside source, problems arise.

John Dewey’s article focuses on the relationships between social groups. Such social groups are made of people with common interests and common ideals. Born without any culture we are structured by our parents, friends, family, teachers, and peers what is deemed right. This is known as socialization and it teaches us that our morals greatly influence who we are and how we act.

I feel privilege plays an extreme role here, or there of the lack of privilege participation. Parents have the opportunity to help out, but the parents, it seems, always seem to have an excuse.

Involvement might also be contributed to the working class of the parents. Typically, if both parents work it is hard to schedule time to volunteer within the classroom or attend PTA meetings.

Jonathan Kozol talks about the challenges associated with different classes in schools. Class may be correctly referred to as the status an individual or group achieves by virtue of its economic strength, the influence among other groups, and the power to affect change in its community of choice. Perhaps the most elusive of all the social ills confronting us today is this issue of class. The issues cut across the social dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender, economical background, and educational background. Which serves as a reminder that, while it may be true that it is not as defined as it had been in the past, racism is still present and will not change unless we change how we participate in it. It also represents the idea that we have the privilege, or should have the privilege to choose where and how we live.


Clearly there are still inequalities. We find that, on average, parents strongly prefer teachers whose principles are to promote student satisfaction; though parents also value teacher ability to improve student academics. Parents want to do the best by their children and most want to be involved, but are scared or don't know how to be.

Kozol focuses on the quality of schools. He explains that resources are needed to even the playing field- to allow the lower and middle class to be able to reach the high class- whereas, the lower classes have to exhibit more diversity and creativity into their school systems. Perhaps this is an issue as well. The better the resources, the better ideas the students will have and the more chances they will have to grow to be the best student they can be, but they need that encouragement to succeed.

Privilege holds true here as well. Power is given based on knowledge/ unwilling acknowledgment so privilege is based on the hands of those who have it and those who don't. If parents were to be more active in the education of there students then perhaps some of the issues facing these students could be resolved.