Parents, it’s time to help your kids
STEVE SMITH
The school board member spoke to me frankly last Monday about the
challenges of trying to get non-English speaking parents to become
active in their child’s education.
“It is essential that we improve the learning environment and
parental involvement,” he said. “We need the community to help out in
the education process so that it involves everyone, and it’s
difficult. Parental involvement is central to the whole process. As
an educational establishment, we have to make it possible for parents
to get involved.”
Two days later, the Daily Pilot reported that three schools in the
Newport-Mesa Unified School District “failed to meet federal
standards for English proficiency.” All three schools are in Costa
Mesa and have a high percentage of children from Spanish-speaking
homes.
The parents of these children could have the option to pull their
children out and send them to a better performing school.
The Pilot also reported that “each of the schools will have to
revise academic plans and use funds for staff professional
development. The district must provide technical assistance.”
So, here we go again, chasing our tails while kids go through yet
another round of watching grown-ups try to figure out what’s best for
them. What’s it going to be this time? Should we try teaching by
standing on our heads? How about getting eyeglasses for all the kids
-- glasses always make people look smarter, don’t you think?
What about math? Too much, too soon? Maybe we should try holding
off teaching algebra until the second grade to see if that has an
effect.
Let’s try everything humanly possible and waste more tax dollars
and teacher time trying every politically correct method we can.
Let’s do everything except confront this problem head on and announce
that the parents of these children are failing to provide the
learning environment at home needed to reinforce the importance --
the power -- of the education they’re getting.
We can’t do that because we’d be called racist or insensitive or
both or more. We’d be called anything except honest.
But at least one school board member gets it. “The learning
culture is new to most parents in this district. They are not
familiar with the system. They were not born here, and they did not
go to school here. They don’t realize how hard children are trying to
learn, how competitive school has become and how violent it has
become. They don’t realize the benefits of education and technology.
If they are not aware, then their children miss out. It’s difficult
for children to make it on their own -- they need a partner.”
Plainly spoken, and every word true. Too bad it’s Lan Nguyen of
the Garden Grove Unified School District.
So, Newport-Mesa school board members, which of you is going to
stand up, as Nguyen has in his district, and say clearly and directly
to the parents of these kids that no matter where they transfer their
children, no matter how much training their teachers get and no
matter how much money we throw (away) at this problem, nothing will
change unless they do.
And please, spare me the details of how these parents are working
two jobs and have this or that other challenge. I assure you that
Nguyen can offer you two Garden Grove hard luck stories for every one
in Costa Mesa. But Nguyen is still pushing parents.
How about some teachers coming forward? It’s time.
Here, I’ll make it easy for you. This is what we need to tell
these parents:
1) Turn off the TV and take away the video games. (It’s quite
likely that many of these kids would rather play basketball on a
GameBoy than shoot hoops in a playground.)
2) Make sure your kids have some sort of breakfast before they
leave home. (It’s a common habit among “A” students.)
3) If you don’t already know English, learn it. Classes are at
night, and they are free.
4) Speak more English at home. (I promise you that you won’t lose
your cultural roots.)
5) Read to or with your kid(s) every night. Give them a small
reward when they finish a book -- any book.
6) No perks or play time until homework is done each night.
7) Tell them over and over about Lan Nguyen, who escaped communist
Vietnam and came to America in a dangerous boat journey at age 19
after a year in a refugee camp. He is now a lawyer and a school board
member. I asked Nguyen why America, when he could have gone anywhere.
He said, “In the United States, it is more true than before that you
can be anything if you try.”
So, what’ll it be? Do we try another round of feel-good tactics
and fail our kids once again, or do we make a concerted effort --
from the very top of the district and with something more than
sending a flier home with tips -- to help the parents of these kids
learn how to create learning environments in their homes?
Whatever we’re doing now is not working and has not worked for a
long time. If it did, the numbers would show it. So it’s time to try
something new.
If Garden Grove can try it, we can try it, too.
* STEVE SMITH is a Costa Mesa resident and freelance writer.
Readers may leave a message for him on the Daily Pilot hotline at
(949) 642-6086.
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