Who impacts a student's education more –- parents or teachers?

I couldn't agree more with Stacy on her Accountability comment. A child's educational success depends three groups--student, parent(s), and teacher(s). At this time, when Florida teachers are facing legislatively enacted "merit" pay, your comments strike to the heart of the issue. All of the above need to be held accountable for the child's success or lack thereof. Holding the feet of only one of these three to the fire is unconscionable and irresponsible.

I agree with Stacy in her Accountability comments. At a time when Florida teachers are being "threatened" with merit pay, her comments really address the heart of the issue. Because a child's education is a team effort--student, parent, teacher--ALL members of the team need to be held accountable. Trying to put the feet of only one group to the fire is unrealistic, irresponsible, and unconscionable. Well said, Stacy.

In the United States, we unfortunately get wrapped up in this accountability issue. We're so focused on achievement, on being number one, that we get "lost in the sauce."

Research clearly and repeatedly shows that regardless of input by teachers, parents, and so on, the determining factor of educational success lies squarely in the realm of economics.

Teachers are not the messiahs of American Education. Often, we want to be. We certainly do impact one or a few lives, tremendously, but ultimately it depends on legislation, the health of the economy, language barriers, poverty and divorce rates, parenting skills, the health of the child (mental and physical), and many more variables than I can mention here. Each of these are factored together and "add up to" the child's perception of their world and connectedness to it and all of its institutions. It's the whole village...it's not "A" or "B" it's "C-all of the above" and how that village works together in a values and principles-driven society....or not. The "Starfish" story is a bunch of malarkey. Saving one or two is not sufficient impact to strengthen our communities of the future. We do not simply want a few good men or women....we want highly effective and responsible adults who have the ability to creatively problem-solve and cast informed votes.

Veronica

Accountability...a pretty strong and often scary word in education today. Who is accountable for what? Should it be that educators are to be held accountable for everything, even things beyond their control? What about parent accountability? What about student accountability? What about society's accountability? I am so tired of being the only one beaten down over if a child is considered "successful" as measured by some inadequate test that really doesn't measure what is important. (Why is it important that a student be able to identify an onomatopoeia? How about asking them to understand what it was about and apply it?)

I have been teaching for 9 years and love what I do. I take countless hours away from my own children to help the students in my classes, because they have no one to help them otherwise. My evenings, weekends, and summers are more often than not spent helping students after school, working on lessons, grading papers, taking professional development to keep learning myself, teaching summer school, etc. What are parents and students doing?

Research shows that one begins learning and developing from the moment we are conceived. I have students that come to me from years of abuse and neglect...some of them receiving that abuse and neglect from conception...how am I to "fix" all that and help that student be academically successful? I can only do so much and I will go to my grave trying, but don't put the blame all on me as a teacher. Parents MUST start being a more POSITIVE prominent role in their child's lives. I have so many students that go home after school & are expected to be the "parent". They take care of the house, their siblings,etc while their parents work. For others, it's not that the parent is working evenings, but that they are so consumed with their own "problems" that they don't pay any attention to their kids. Many of our parents don't realize (or seem to care) that their kids are out running the streets, having sex & drinking by middle school, up all hours of the night playing video games or online. We constantly get the excuse of, "But what can I do? They won't listen to me." BE A PARENT! Be a parent from the beginning! If parents instill the difference between right & wrong, love & hate, respect & disrespect, provides the best possible environment,etc. from the beginning, our world would be a much better place. Pay attention to your kids, show them that you are glad you brought them into this world! Stop the "poor me" syndrome and do something about it.

Students also have to be held accountable. This is one of our biggest obstacles right now at the middle level. There are no credits so they pass on even if they fail, because of budget cuts our mandatory after school program was cut, if a students refuses to try in class or on mandated assessments there's no consequences, etc. So students also need to be held accountable and have consequences for their behaviors/actions.

Society & government are also to blame. Society needs to be pumping their heads full of the idea that education is the way out of a life they don't like and that you have to WORK for what you want. Instead, our media shows them that violence and disrespect is the solution to everything and that everyone owes you, without you doing anything in return. Our government just keeps enabling people by providing handout after handout. You want a handout? Work for it. You want to make something of yourself? Work for it. You want an education? Work for it. You want to break the chain of poverty and neglect? Work for it. One can overcome anything if they put the effort forth. I've seen students that came from the worst of the worst conditions and they have thrived because they made the decision they didn't want to live the rest of their life that way. Teachers can't pour that into a child...we can encourage it, but it starts from home.

If my head alone is on the chopping block for the accountability of my students based off one academic test, then I want to see parents, industry leaders, and government leaders have a "test" to see if their accountable. How many of them wouldn't be making AYP?

I'm not saying teachers don't have an influence; we definitely do, but it is not our influence alone and shouldn't be held accountable for it all.

Why not the student?

I hold my students accountable for their learning. I've had students who had no support from home who wanted something more out of their life and so they applied themselves, worked hard, and challenged themselves to exceed expectations. I've also had students from wealth and privilege who saw no value in their schoolwork because they knew that their parents would provide for and support them.

Do parent and teachers influence students - absolutely! However, I think too often we don't include the student when we talk about factors that impact education.

Literacy is the basis for success in school. Oral language is the building block of literacy. Research is showing that the amount of oral language a child is exposed to and develops before they enter school is predictive of success in school. In looking at intervention we need to begin looking at what is happening in the home during the earliest years of development before a child even enters school (even preschool). The amount a child is spoken to, the size of their receptive and expressive vocabularies, their ability to articulate speech sounds properly and their exposure to the world all play a role in school success and are all things that happen in the home.

Literacy is the basis for success in school. Oral language is the building block of literacy. Research is showing that the amount of oral language a child is exposed to and develops before they enter school is predictive of success in school. In looking at intervention we need to begin looking at what is happening in the home during the earliest years of development before a child even enters school (even preschool). The amount a child is spoken to, the size of their receptive and expressive vocabularies, their ability to articulate speech sounds properly and their exposure to the world all play a role in school success and are all things that happen in the home.

I remember reading a newspaper article about a "feral child." She had very limited human interaction during her first six years of life, thus was never taught many of the things most people believe are "natural." Thankfully, she was removed from the home and adopted by a supportive family; however, she is thought to suffer from "environment autism" and is never expected to speak.
If she does not achieve in school, is her teacher to blame?
Although this is an extreme case, I see kids everyday who have had limited, home-based educational experiences, who have never received any assistance from their parents even as very young children, and who are currently encouraged (by parents) to stay home from school to work.
If these students do not succeed, how is this a reflection of my teaching ability? As an educator, I can only do so much to help these students; I only see them 50 minutes per day and the amount of help they need far surpasses what is physically possible.