Parent Involvement and does it help in the Academics of Their Children
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ABSTRACT: There are three key elements than be used in determining the success of a child while they are going through the 13 years of school; teachers, the student, and the parent. As with anything there are some exceptions. If students to not have proper guidance in one or all of these areas then it is likely that they may do well on standardized test and even further in life. Parents and more specifically, their involvement are one key issue that can determine where the child ends up in the future. Research show various opinions on whether or not parental involvement has any affect or possibly hinder the child.

INTRODUCTION: This literature review began with certain questions such as “Will children do better in the classroom if they have more parental involvement”, “Are children now days doing worse in school because both parents work” and lastly “How much help should I give a child so as to not let the help be a crutch for their learning”. I wanted to focus more on the actual parental involvement and whether or not the child does better in school overall. As a parent of three boys, one of whom has already graduated high school, I have always wanted to be a good parent and make sure that my children always had the best education. I have also wanted to be part of their learning as a whole, but due to the fact that I am in the military, it does not always afford me that opportunity. While at home I made sure that I stayed in touch with the teachers and always asked them to keep me informed about my child’s progress and any issues that may arise in their particular classrooms. I have had the opportunity to work with teachers in different states such as; Virginia, Arizona, North Carolina, and Texas. Because of the military, I have had to move around and my sons have had to switch schools a few times. I have been lucky in a sense to have mostly good teachers. I have had a couple that did not seem to be as interested in my children’s education as I was. In one state I was able to be involved a lot and my sons did very well. In that particular state, the teachers put the assignments online and the parents were able to see what the child did at school as well as what they were doing each week. This program was not perfect but it did help the parents who did not have responsible children or even that forgetful child. If the child had to study for spelling word or find the definitions for those words but did not bring the words home…well all I had to do was go on the site and pull them up. Some may say this is not necessarily teaching the child responsibility but at the same time what is more important, that they are taught responsibility or doing their homework? I believe you have to have a balance but at the same time understand that every child develops and learns responsibility at a different level. Not all third graders are going to be responsible enough to write down every assignment or remember to take the worksheet out of their desk at the end of the day and bring it home to do. I felt in this situation it was better for my children because not only did I have a lot of parental involvement but at the same time, the teachers/school system made it easier for me to be involved. The parents that wanted to be involved were and the ones that didn’t want to be involved were not. There was no excuse for a parent to not know what was going on in the classroom.
WHAT IS INVOLVEMENT?
Involvement or the root word involve means “to engage or deploy” (dictionary). Some studies suggest that it takes this from parents in order for children to become more successful in school as well as in their future lives. How much involvement or how little involvement may have a significant impact on the world as a whole. Being part of something can have a negative or positive influence on what the something is. When relating involvement