The student club at O'Ambassadors conducted a study of students to determine who they felt was responsible for their educational performance, in response to a TV show that blamed teachers. They found that among honors students, only 1 in 17 said teachers most influenced them, while 66% cited family, especially mothers. For non-honors students, over half lived in single parent homes or without guardians, missing crucial support for their education. Research shows increased parent involvement leads to better student achievement, so poor performance cannot be solely blamed on educators.

1. Looking For Superman In The Wrong Place Who is responsible for the poor performance of students?

2. Presented By: The McCluer North O’ Ambassadors Club

3. Why We Conducted This Study Sept. 20 th 2010, Oprah Winfrey had an show entitled “Waiting For Superman”. This particular episode addressed the maladies of public school education, and very boldly stated that the failure of public school students lies squarely on the shoulders of their educators. We at O’ Ambassadors were unconvinced, so we conducted our own study of the students in our school to ascertain where they feel fault lies. Breaking the statistics down into honors and non-honor’s students, we found some amazing results.

4. The Results When asked who has influenced them the most in their education, only 1 in 17 of the Honor’s students said teachers. 66% of Honor’s level students mention family members as their largest influence for educational success. Out of that 66%, 26% specifically said their mothers were there largest influence/ inspiration to succeed in school. Among the non-Honor’s students, 56.8% of them live in single parent homes or with legal guardians, and are missing a crucial part of their educational upbringing.

5. Outside Statistics National Institute for Literacy says one review of 53 studies showed, beyond dispute, that student achievement results from increased parent involvement in education. Poor performance in school is NOT solely an educator’s problem.