You Are The Most Important Teacher
Parents are a child's first and most influential teachers. Family members are essential in supporting learning at home, at school, and in the community. Just look at the amount of time a child spends at home vs. at school.
Ever wonder who is your child’s most influential teacher? This graph should answer that question. Parents play specific roles in children's literacy development, including:
- creating a literacy-rich environment
- sharing reading and writing activities
- acting as reading models
- demonstrating attitudes toward education
A strong educational environment at home is a major factor in reinforcing the home-school connection and helping children learn to read.
The following is reported by the Carnegie Foundation in a study on adolescent literacy:
“Children and adolescents typically model their own behavior on that of their parents and community-members, so if they see family- or community-members reading; succeeding by virtue of reading and complex thinking; or valuing school, literacy, higher education, and the opportunities that can be opened by complex reasoning, they are far more likely to value “reading to learn.”
In fact, a recent Time Magazine/SRBI Poll reported that over half of all high school graduates attribute their graduation from high school to their family’s involvement and encouragement….
Parents who want their children to do well in school must remain involved in their education through the middle and high school years.... Parents who participate in the school feel useful, develop confidence in their relations with school staff, and are more likely to attend school activities, which signal to young adolescents the importance of education.” (http://www.carnegie.org/literacy/family.html)
If you are interested in learning more about why family matters in literacy, this site has information for families and suggested readings. http://www.famlit.org/