Reforming Education :: Learning Teaching School Essays

Reforming Education There are many factors that contribute to a successful education. For students in K-12 the most important factor is parent involvement. The reason that parent involvement is so necessary is because there is only one teacher per 25-30 students. Even though the education law passed in California has allowed for smaller classrooms it is still difficult to give children personal attention. Parent involvement in education can also be viewed as a cultural attitude. The Asian American families that have immigrated to the United States take an active role in their child's education. The child also understands that it is expected that they succeed in school. Many of these immigrants have come from countries, like Vietnam and Korea, that have been torn apart by war. They view education as a way to move up the economic ladder. The parents will often sacrifice their own needs to make sure that their child succeeds by working more than one job in order to pay for tutors or special schools. The special schools that these children attend are known as cram schools. Long a tradition in the Far East, where competition to get into a top university borders on the fanatic, cram schools of Asia have begun to appear in this country too. (New York Times Jan 29, 1995) For immigrants these schools are helpful because it will strengthen the students' English skills. The schools are useful to these students because most of these students are recent immigrants that have not fully developed their English skills. For students that were born in the United States parent involvement can help reinforce what the student has been taught in school. In California this has become even more of a challenge because of language barriers. According to the United States 1990 census California shows the following: European American 69% Hispanic 25.8% Asian 9.5% African 7.4% The 1990 census also contained the following data in regards to the primary language spoken in the home for children between 5-17 years old: Speaks only English 3484048 Speaks only Spanish 248586 Speaks Asian or Pacific Island 6647 Enrolled in elementary/high school over 3 years old: White 3119767 Black 441880 American Indian 50082 Asian or Pacific Islander 572418 Unfortunately many parents are uninformed of the power they posses when dealing with the schools. An excellent book that discusses what power the parents process in dealing with their child's school is "Getting the Best Education for your Child" written by James Keogh.