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Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Can These Parents Be Saved?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
From the fascinating conversation going on under the thread about parents who lie about where they live… DeKalb mother “MMM” writes about DeKalb’s parent resource centers:
“Programs that modify behavior of parents and their students are another valuable option. The parent resource centers in Dekalb and programs like PAT (parents are teachers) can be excellent—-but in the experience of most educators, the parents who make use of these services are usually not the ones that most need them.”
I toured these parent resource centers when they first opened. I felt like a kid at Toys R Us. So many wonderful, glorious things: books, games, toys, workbooks. You check them out just like a library. Bring them back when you’re done. What a great idea, I said. I wrote a story about the centers in hopes that parents would take advantage. I heard a few months later from the folks at the center I visited. They said the center had indeed been a hit. But they acknowledged that teaching a parent how to help the child in a meaningful way mind does not happen overnight. They stressed that there was still so much work that needed to be done. And they noted, like MMM, that many of the parents taking advantage are already very involved, diligent parents.
Can these well-stocked and staffed programs designed to engage parents make a difference?
