Assignment #1-Group C, Reflection #1: Low Income/ High Income Communities and Their Parent Involvement in Schools

Having grown up in a small community in a middle-class neighborhood there were many stay at home mothers. Because of this I always believed that parent involvement in my various schools was a very normal occurrence as well as beneficial to myself as well as other students. In Jeannie Oakes and Martin Lipton’s Teaching to Change the World, the importance of community and parental involvement to a student’s education is addressed. Oakes and Lipton state, “When parents participate in their children’s education, students’ attitudes and achievement improve. Increased attendance, fewer discipline problems, and higher aspirations also are correlated with an increase in parent involvement…A stronger curriculum and more positive school and community relations are associated with parent involvement” (Oakes & Lipton, 2007). While parental involvement is important, not all schools experience this. While some schools have little to no parental involvement, which is negative, other schools have too much parental involvement which is equally bad but in a different way.


As Oakes and Lipton explain, students from low-income families who are also most often culturally diverse, struggle through school. Many argue that it is because of a lack of involvement, caring or enthusiasm from their parents. However, when spending more time examining these low-income families, this is often not the case. Oakes and Lipton address the many different reasons for a lack of involvement in schools among low-income families. They state, “Often low-income parents who grew up in the United States have unhappy recollections of their own schooling that dampen their enthusiasm for getting involved with schools” (Oakes and Lipton, 2007). They also address immigrant parents, “Immigrant parents may understand little about American schools—they mistakenly (or correctly) assume that parents are neither wanted nor needed at school, or trust that their children and the school will make all appropriate educational decisions. For many, language barriers make it difficult or impossible to communicate with teachers” (Oakes and Lipton, 2007). This is an important topic because low-income parent’s lack of involvement is not due to a lack of caring but of a lack of understanding as well as other issues they may have faced themselves in schools.


While a lack of parental involvement is harmful, despite its reasons, too much parent involvement can also be harmful. In most cases, the overly involved parents are from middle and upper social classes. Oakes and Lipton explain, “Such parents’ involvement and worries about their children may do more than create distractions and burdens for teachers. They may also threaten educational programs and approaches for all students” (Oakes and Lipton, 2007). Some issues revolve around diversity. These parents do not want their children to sit near other children who may live in poverty, or are of a different race, or who may speak another language. Other parents “often seek educational advantages for their children” (Oakes and Lipton, 2007). This perspective is important because while parent involvement is important, there needs to be a fine balance of just how involved they are and respecting the teachers and the school.


I found these different perspectives on parent involvement very interesting. I feel they addressed some very important issues. The first being that low income, minority, parents may have a lack of involvement not because they do not care, but because of other personal reasons. I also found it interesting how some parents are too involved, I did not know that was really a possibility. However, it is clear that if their involvement is affecting their children’s ability to learn it is harmful. While this was very insightful I feel that some may misconstrue the idea of over involvement and may pull back from their children’s school and distance themselves. This is unnecessary because while it occurs it is not very often.


Works Cited:
Oakes, J., & Lipton, M. (2007). Teaching to Change the World (3rd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.