PARENT INVOLVEMENT - CLASSROOM AND THE SPORTS FIELD

Many parents are involved  in their children’s school sports.  Parents should put as much involved participation in their children’s school class room.  Football, basketball, baseball, soccer, etc. are just sports, which translate to mean a game.  School sports are like the lottery.  Each player goes into play with a certain practiced skill. Each player takes a chance at winning.  Both the lottery and school sports contests have one winner.  No matter if only two play against each other or thousands play, only one winner is victorious.  Many parents pay attention to their child participating in a sporting match or game, every inning or down, while encouraging their child to do their best at executing each task to the best of the student’s ability.  The parent yells at the top of their lung to their child how to use their skill each down, swing, kick, move, etc.  The parent does not want their child to lose their chance at being better and recognized  in sport.  The parent wants the child to be the winner.  Too many parents never pay any attention to the class room from which their child is daily educated.  Each day, hour, second every school student is influenced by some subject matter or learning experience.  School class rooms are where most of the children will be exposed to past events, present events, opinions, facts, lessons and appropriate group behavior.  The class room subject and its message is where most students will pull their future livelihood. Too many parents do not know who the teacher is leading all this knowledge exposure for their child.  Each parent and teacher must come together the same as on the sporting field and arena, and team up to make sure each student uses their skill to the best of their ability.  Education in the class room is not up to chance.  Success in the class room equates a student’s effort and the resultant achievement. Each student can be the winner.  The only competition is the student and the comprehension of the subject matter.  Pat Riley said,  ‘There are only two options regarding commitment.  You are either in or out.  There is no option in life as in-between.’  Parents must put the same effort into the daily life of their child in the class room and its curriculum as their child participating during sport.  Teachers must nurture an environment, dialogue and platform for the parent to be in full participation.

EACH STUDENT IS AT WORK

I have students which do not want to complete assignments.  They put their head down, mess with their cell phone and continually ask to leave the classroom for the bathroom, locker or anywhere but where there is an assignment.  I tell them school is a student's work.  Students laugh at me and retort, 'School is not their work.'  I challenge each one.  I relate to them if I call their Mother right now on the telephone and report their child is refusing to do the assignment and does not turn in the assignment, the Mother will want to speak with their child.  I ask the student, what shall their Mother say to them if I put the two together on the telephone?  The Mother always says, 'Get your WORK done.'  She will say, 'Turn in your WORK.'  So now to each student I ask, "Where did your Mother send you each morning when you left to go to school?"  The student went to WORK.