Challenges

Every parent has their own different opinion on how to raise their child. One might agree or disagree on a certain idea or topic dealing with a school setting. One parent might believe the child should learn how to read by a certain age. On the other hand, another parent might believe the child should take their time with the reading process and not worry about what age they will learn how to read. Similar problems could possibly occur within the classroom having to do with the teacher and the parent of a child. Teachers should be motivating and helpful when it comes to students learning abilities. Some parents leave it up to the teachers or service learners to teach their child how to read and write. On the other hand, some parents believe it is their job to teach their child such skills. This could be an issue in the classroom because each student will be at different levels of reading and writing, which is usually normal. Not all children learn how to read and write at the same pace as other children. I believe service learning is a great way to get the child involved in the importance of reading and writing. (or any subject) Since the parents of certain children are not willing to sit down and guide their child into the right direction having to do with school, the service learner can help the child with any issues they might be having. Service learners can be a motivation for the child not matter what sociocultural background they may come from.

Since the culturally competent teacher should work with families and community resources in order to understand different families and the learning process, the teacher should be able to gather the basic concept that not all families are the same. Each family has different community resources which will or will not help their child learn. Family participation is extremely important when dealing with learning. If the parent of certain child is not willing to put in the effort to show how important learning is, the child will never understand.

While tutoring at Jamesfield Elementary School, I have noticed that parents of certain children do not put in enough time and effort in the learning process. That would bother me as a teacher because learning is when a child acquires innovative knowledge, behavioral skills and values which will soon be needed in the child’s near future. This could be a problem if I was the teacher of this classroom. I do not like to see children being left out just because their parents could care less about learning. Don’t get me wrong - most parents do seem to care about their child’s progression in school, but other parents won’t even give their child the time of day to learn.

In this not so perfect world, teachers and service learners should come to realize that every parent is different in their own way. I connected this issue dealing with parents, teachers and service learners with the theorists Kahne and Westheimer. Kahne and Westheimer dealt with respecting ones community. I believe educators should provide knowledge and educational experiences to all different races and religions. Service learning is a way to motivate students to learn what is out there in the world and how they can help others in need. Family participation is necessary in today’s society. Respect must be shown no matter what one parent might believe in.