Teachers have been blamed. School boards have been blamed. Administrators have been blamed. Unions have been blamed.
Now a recent Associated Press-Stanford University poll on education found that parents are to blame for the plight of underperforming public schools.
The poll found 68 percent of adults believe parents deserve heavy blame for what's wrong with the nation's education system, outpacing teachers, school administrators, the government or teachers' unions. Only 35 percent of those surveyed agreed teachers deserve a great deal or a lot of the blame.
The poll, conducted in late 2010, included 1,001 adults nationwide, with a margin of error of +/-3.9 percent. The Daily Journal asked local parents, educators and outside experts what they thought of the results.
Anne Foster, executive director of the Mississippi-based Parents for Public Schools, said while it may be easy to blame one group or another, the situation is a community problem.
"Parents are just the latest scapegoat in the blame game," Foster said. "It's pointless to start finger pointing at parents. People are trying to find that silver bullet. There is no silver bullet."
Cynthia Veronda, a 14-year Kankakee School District 111 teacher, former school board member and coordinator of the district's parental training program, agreed there is no one segment of the education system to blame.
"Education is a partnership. It has to be a partnership," Veronda said. "Education really starts at home. It begins at home and it ends at home."
Parental roles
Trisha Cavender, 44, a Momence mother of four, agreed with the poll's findings.
The stay-at-home mom said there are many factors that contribute to what ails public education -- but the lack of parental involvement is high on the list.
"For so many it's so much easier to set kids in front of the television," said Cavendar, 44. "The biggest thing a parent can do is stay involved in their child's life."
Cavendar believes teacher tenure, the amount of state and federal testing and the lack of two-parent households also detracts from the effectiveness of public schools.
The poll showed those who said parents are to blame were more likely to point to the lack of student discipline and low expectations for students as serious problems in schools. They were also more likely to see fighting as a big problem.
These are all factors with roots at home. And this is where Veronda said parents can make the biggest difference.
"Teachers don't replace parents for setting expectations. We can't set the expectations," Veronda said. "Those expectations have to come from the parents."
But the problems families face have gotten much harder in recent years, some advocates say.
Julie Woestehoff, executive director of Parents United for Responsible Education, a Chicago advocacy group, said the problems children and their parents deal with inside and outside of the school on a daily basis only grow.
She noted some children are tired, some are hungry and still others can't get help with homework. Those situations don't even factor those who face violence or the economic threat many families encounter.
"In some cases we have a generation of parents who are disengaged in their children's education," Foster said. "We have to come to terms with what it takes to get schools to achieve. Great schools are the ones that can reach out and grab those parents and engage them. No one said it's going to be easy."
Finger pointing
Even so, Foster said the last thing the education system should do is label parents "the enemy."
"They should be engaged in helping to do a better job. Parents have a very definite role in public education," Foster said. "There are no silver bullets for blame or credit. It's about quality teaching, professional development, safe facilities, community support and parental engagement."
Kenny Lee, Iroquois Community Unit School District 9, said finger pointing has always been a part of public education. And during the years, the blame seems to shift from one group to another. Blaming one segment of the education system, however, does little good in getting problems resolved, he said.
"Instead of blaming we have to work together and find solutions. Why is an individual student struggling? We have to look at that," Lee said. "There is no way we can point a finger in one direction and say 'This is why schools are struggling.'"
Cavendar remains optimistic.
"I'm hopeful for public education. You always get what you give," Cavendar said. "If parents or the students don't give 100 percent, they're not going to get it."
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Source: Kankakee Daily Journal - http://goo.gl/mijpQ
