U.S. Parents Participate in the Education of their Kids

U.S. Parents Participate in the Education of their Kids American education does a lot to make every teacher and every parent understand the need for parental involvement in their educational process. Historically the role of parents in American school has been changing. And up until 1960 the prevalent opinion was that parents should not interfere in the work of the school. Some of the reasons for this situation was: the low level of education of many parents, their fulltime work, etc. In the seventies and especially in the eighties a movement for engaging parents in school affairs rose up. Modern parents are interested not only in family financial support, but also in the rise of academic achievement of their children and the development of positive self-esteem. Statistical studies conducted in the early 90s, proved that the development of school reform in the U.S. is slowing down due to low parental involvement in childrens education (89% of people involved in school reform, called it the main reason). Not only were teachers dissatisfied with such state of affairs, but also parents (40% of them said that they pay poor attention to the education of their kids, and 80% expressed their desire to participate actively in the work of the school) and children (72% of children aged 10-13 years and 48% aged 14-17 years indicated that they would like to talk more with parents about school, 82% of high school students believed that parents should be actively involved). Parent Enabling Policies for States, 1991, was trying to convince teachers that: · Parents have the right to take part in the selection of programs, methods and forms of education for their children, · Parents know their children better than anyone else, and this position can help professionals (teachers and psychologists) in their work, · Good parents and good teachers are equally important for the development of children, · Sometimes parents need help, additional knowledge on how to deal with children, and the teacher can help parents in that task. Here are some of the principles of working with parents, that have been formulated by the Department of Education of the State of New York (Parent Partnership, 1991): 1. Each family is unique in its way to support a child and collaborate with the school and the community. The uniqueness of the family should be respected. 2. Family, community, school they all play an important role in supporting and developing child’s mind. The basis of their partnership is trust, confidentiality and mutual respect. Participation of parents in their childrens education is to be welcomed. 3. The main task of any teacher is to provide social and emotional support to parents, a mutual exchange of information, strengthening and rainforcing parent-child dialogue, the involvement of parents in the education of the child in school and at home and support for children in further education and professional growth. 4. Establishing equal relations among school and community are not possible without the establishment of personal relationships between parents and teachers as well as between teachers and students. Some booklets describe the simplest steps to help reach out to parents. An example is the questionnaire for school personnel (adapted version) (The Parent Institute: Whats working in parent involvement, 1993): Are we friendly with parents? Is it easy to get to school? Is it easy for parents to find a teacher, head teacher and the office of the principal? Is the school open for meetings, supplementary education courses for parents and students, etc.? Do we know how to talk to the parents on the phone? Is the entire school friendly with the parents? Are we educating parents? Are we making open consultations or workshops for parents on children’s homework, discipline, motivation, etc.? A. Henderson in one of the teachers guide (North Central Regional Educational Laboratory, 1990) underlines that in order for the child to be successful in school, and then later in life, the most important thing is not his IQ, income, or social status of the family, but how his parents are involved in his (or her) education. In order to support parents in this difficult and long process, there are some of the rules for the school staff: School staff should be familiar with each child. Class instructor(leader) must regularly interact with students in the class, The teacher must personally contact each family in her class at least once a month (by phone, in person or at school events) Parents should at least once a month be able to come to school. In addition to meetings, it may be holidays, open day, volunteer work, picnics, etc. For parents who want to participate in the life of the school, the school doors should be opened at any time. They can attend classes, talk with teachers and the administration and use the library and the cafeteria, etc. Also there are some guidelines and recommendations for teachers to develop contacts with the family and real life in the school. For example family photos that children bring to school, interview family members, works on the participation of family members in various events, etc. Teachers can assign homework that is not possible without the participation of the parents in order to develop the role of parents in their childrens education and to strengthen the school community. Of course, the problem of getting parents to actively participate in the learning and growth of children in the U.S. has not been solved completely. But the principles underlying it, the presence of the legal framework, the theoretical and statistical studies of various kinds of training programs and manuals, a variety of recommended methods and ways of working, as well as its intensity indicates a greater probability of success in the actual practice of the school.

3 Student Loan Resolutions to Make in 2018

3 Student Loan Resolutions to Make in 2018 Pixabay It comes as no surprise that one of the top ten resolutions for almost every new year is to get out of debt. This is actually one of my personal goals for the year. Even though I worked four jobs at the same time while in college, I still had to take out student loans each semester. On top of undergraduate studies, I took out even more financial aid loans for graduate school. While the education is most certainly worth the cost, we would all likely agree that we could well do without the debt that comes with it. While there is no get out of debt scheme that you can tap into to get out of student loan debt (or any other form of debt for that matter), there are some active steps you can take and resolutions you can consider making in order to manage your finances and pay down and eventually pay off your student loans. Of course, it might feel discouraging at certain periods while you’re going through the debt payment process, but it doesn’t have to stress you out. Consider making these three resolutions for your  student loans  this year: 1. Calculate your payoff timeframe and create a plan. This is probably the most obvious first step. Before you can actually get to work on doing something or completing something, including paying off those massive student loans, you must know the full amount and then follow up your findings with a plan. Taking some time to calculate the month and/or the year when you are most likely to have paid off your student loan debt can be a major motivating factor in taking the necessary steps to get there. Financial advisors and loan terminology typically talk in 10-year or 15-year terms. This kind of verbiage can be abstract and frustrating. It is more difficult to hold on to than say December 2028. Additionally, if you are still in school, you can figure this out to begin at a later date. If you are done with school and just started work, you can also give yourself some room to make a little money before starting to pay your student loans down. Once you know the month and/or the year that you will be completely finished paying your student loans, create a reasonable payment plan. Unless you know you can absolutely do it, avoid putting lump sum amounts on the plan you create. You can choose to pay a certain amount by the end of each year, or by the end of every 6-months, or by the end of each month. Monthly goals can also be a good motivating factor to keep going. For example, $10,000 by the end of a single year might be reasonable for you. Pixabay 2. Set your savings to automatic. Yes, automation is one of the most important things you can do for a lot of your life. No, it does not prevent you from thinking about your life. Instead, it frees you up to think about the things that matter the most. You should think about some things, but savings should not really be one of them. Saving money has been a decades-old proven method to ensure financial security over the long haul. For large numbers of people, an emergency fund of $300 to $700 isn’t possible. But saving a little bit in consecutive increments can add up over time. With my bank account, there is a feature built into it that automatically rounds up to the next dollar when I use my debit card. The figure that is rounded up automatically gets transferred to my savings account. Additionally, I have set my checking account to automatically transfer a certain amount each month on a specific day to my savings account. Over the course of a year, the amount in savings builds up to a significantly encouraging amount. Putting money in savings does not take money out of your pocket, it adds money to your pocket over time. 3. Make all of the money you can stand to make. Starting out, it could be likely that you are working as hard as you can at your full-time job, but the salary just doesn’t cut it even for the most modest people. In that case, if you are not up for a promotion or for a raise, consider taking on more work. It’s called a “side hustle,” and there are plenty of opportunities online and otherwise to grab. These can be amazing ways to earn extra cash while being flexible and keeping your full-time job. If you are a hard worker, you can work several of these side hustles into your current schedule. For example, if you work at your full-time job for 10 hours a day, consider spending 2-3 hours tutoring in a subject you are passionate about. Or, consider becoming an Uber driver or a Lyft driver and put in a couple of hours after work or a full day on weekends. The harder and smarter you work, the more money you will make, and the sooner you can pay off your student loan debts. These are just three of the primary resolutions you can consider making to improve your financial state over the next year or even over the next five years. The longer you do something good, the easier it becomes and the more results you will get. Even if it is just one resolution, you will be better off over the long term in reaching your financial goals.