Now that I am a parent and I have a child in school, I finally realize the effect of some of the things my parents did for me.  Without parent involvement, there would be no memories of field trips, bake sales, hot lunches, after school events, and even band trips to cherish.

Sadly, I see the lack of parent involvement in schools increasing.  Sure, the same parents come out to help with field trips or hot lunches is good, but what about all the other parents in the class.  For example, at the start of the school year, only four parents out of the seventeen in my son’s class signed up to help.  I realize that some of them cannot come because of work, but you would think could make the time to help once in awhile.

If you really want your child to succeed, parent involvement in education is critical.  Now this can be helping out at the school (as above), being on a parent committee, attending school meetings, attending parent teacher interviews, and even just taking the time to help your child learn at home.  I see my son having a big edge over some of his classmates that do not have help at home - and quite a few of them struggle because their parents don’t take the time to value their learning.

So, if you are a parent, get involved.  By taking the time to show that you care, your child and the other children will benefit with a better level of education.