Gov. Walker stresses reading during visit to Elmwood
January 6, 2012 at 10:12 am in Pierce County Herald
Minutes before Gov. Scott Walker walked through the library doors Friday, an Elmwood third grader uttered, “I’m freaking out.”
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Increased funding and support for public school teachers and programs that work to improve early reading proficiency are needed. But public school teachers and programs will be far more effective when parents also do their part. Studies clearly show that parents who are better focused on their children’s education make a huge difference in student achievement.
For example: The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) tests 15-year-olds in the world’s leading industrialized nations on their reading comprehension and ability to use what they’ve learned in math and science to solve real problems, but U.S. students have not distinguished themselves on these exams. To better understand what made a significant difference in student performance on these exams, OECD looked beyond classrooms and interviewed parents about how they raised their children. This research study found:
* Students whose parents reported that they had read a book with their child “every day or almost every day” or “once a twice a week” during their child’s first year of primary school had markedly higher exam scores than those students whose parents read to them only “once or twice a month” or “never or almost never”, regardless of the family’s socioeconomic background;
*Students whose parents reported they were more engaged with their child’s education also had markedly higher exam scores, regardless of the family’s socioeconomic background, and the forms of parental engagement that were most strongly correlated with better exam performance were the frequent actions of reading a book with the child, talking with the child about what the child did during the school day, and telling stories to the child. Simply playing with their children made the smallest difference in exam performance.
Similar findings have been made by the National School Boards Association’s Center for Public Education.
See, “How About Better Parents?”, 11/19/11, New York Times, at http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/20/opinion/sunday/friedman-how-about-better-parents.html?adxnnl=1&ref=general&src=me&adxnnlx=1321995626-pCBG4pf0RjM+jQQGD9lHhA
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If parent involvement is key, and I believe it is, I can’t think of a better solution than homeschooling, can you? Total attention, focus, love and support of a parent combined with excellent curriculum and it is no wonder why many colleges and universities are recruiting homeschool graduates. It may not work for every family, and it may not be suitable for all grades, but it can build a very strong foundation that cannot be matched by any school, public or private. I always find it funny that schools cry about student to teacher ratios, but then tell you that a one on one ratio at home can’t possibly work.
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In my personnal experience, my son was in need of one on one help, and the school district refused to provide that help, leaving my son to struggle. As parents we felt that he was falling behind, simply due to the lack of caring by the Elmwood School District. We tried to speak to everyone involved and only were told “If you dont like what we do here, get out” It was the special ed instructor at the time that also stated “Your child will never get one on one help, no matter who you are” This was help that an IEP (indiviual eduacation plan)required by DPI ( dept. of public Instruction) for the school to provide, yet failed to do so, and the state did nothing about it either, so who is the one losing out in this case ? “THE CHILD”. We tried to help our kids with their subjects, but once they get past what you were taught yourself 20 years prior, you are not much help to them anymore. It has become increasingly noticeable that schools care more about their sports than their studies. The idea of the state governor showing up at a school to read, tells me that the governor is trying to look good to the people of the state.. Publicity and nothing more…especially with the recall looming…these are just my opinions, but they are valid ones of experience.
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