1. The Pros and Cons of Parent Involvement
Pros of Parent Involvement Cons of Parent Involvement
•Teachers are always short handed and an extra •Some parents simply come into the school so
pair of hands in the classroom is usually that they can get the “low down” on other
needed. If a parent that is professional comes students or student parents. You can already
into the classroom they can get many of the see the negative repercussions of this type of
tasks accomplished that the teacher needs involvement on multiple students and their
done. And a teacher can count on a families. This doesn’t help a teacher or the
professional parent to do the job well. school
•Parental involvement lifts teacher morale. •Time constraints are the greatest barrier to
Schools and teachers benefit from parental parental involvement. Lack of time is one of
involvement because involved parents develop the many reasons parents give for not
greater appreciation for the challenges that participating more in their children's education.
teachers face in the classroom. Teacher morale Lack of time is also cited by school personnel
is improved. Communication between home as a reason for not seeking parental support
and school helps a teacher to know a student more actively. Thus, effective solutions to
better, which in turn allows the teacher to teach enhanced parent involvement require freeing
the student more effectively. Communication up time of parents and teachers or finding ways
also helps to dispel any mistrust or to work around their schedules.
misperceptions that may exist between teachers
and parents. •Some parents that volunteer their time don’t
actually get anything they’ve been asked to do
•Parents that volunteer and come into the because they’re too busy talking with other
classroom to help the children can take small parents or faculty members.
groups of children to focus on a specific area Sometimes having a parent in the classroom
of need. Parent involvement can help teachers can be more disruptive than the students as
with students that are behind in reading or some parents don’t follow instructions and like
writing. It can give those students the extra one to take “instruction” into their own hands.
on one help they need that a teacher of 20+
students cannot give. •A teacher can lose valuable time redirecting
the parent to something else.
•With parent helpers in the school it gives them
a chance to see teacher teaching styles and also •The clingy parent can also prove to be a
gives them opportunities to see other ways of disadvantage of having parents in the
dealing with problems that may have more classroom. An example is the parent who
success than what they are doing at home. It’s clings on to a child after the child has
always great for parents to come in and learn graduated high school. Any parent heavily
too. overly involved in a child's education,
especially at the college level, is commonly
•Another benefit to having parent involvement referred to as a "helicopter parent" who only
is that is shows kids that they are important impedes the child's independence and self-
enough to their parent or guardian to take time esteem.

2. out of their day to come in and help. Although
they may not vocally say that they love it when
you come to help, they really do appreciate a
parents effort to be more involved.
•Parent involvement also gives other parents a
chance to get to know one another and
establish relationships with other people in the
community. Getting to know the parents of
students is just as important as getting to the
students themselves.