Parents’ Responsibility to Help Children Learn

I agreed with almost everything Richard Kahlenberg wrote regarding parents’ responsibility in educating their children (“It’s Academic: School Success Starts at Home,” Valley Commentary, Oct. 16). There were only two areas where I found myself in disagreement.

First was his feeling of anger toward our national education policy, implying that it tells parents, “Hey, it’s your problem if kids don’t learn anything in school,” and secondly, his feeling that “until the schools undergo a true revolution, it is the parents’ problem.”

The reality is that it is not the parents’ problem but the parents’ responsibility. As parents, we need to be committed to helping our children reach their potential. The school’s job is to teach the academic skills and reinforce the social skills necessary for survival in today’s world. It is the parent’s role to stress the value of that education by helping the child learn responsibility for completing assignments, mastering the material and respecting the rights of classmates to receive an undisrupted educational experience in the classroom.

More and more of the responsibility (and blame) for educating children has been willingly given to the schools by parents. The “revolution” that schools need is for parents once again to take charge of educating their children.

Academics are only a part of the learning experience. Developing good work habits and a respect for self-improvement will make the greatest difference in their adult lives.

So turn off the television and set up “structured time.” Make the children accountable for completing their work carefully and preparing for tests. Help them learn how to manage their time.

It is only through their achievements that children develop a true sense of self-esteem and confidence.

MARGARUITE NEWMAN

Woodland Hills

Newman is a middle school teacher and the mother of three children.