Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/places-for-childhoods-include-parents-too/5009011/
I intended to write a column on environments that support parent involvement. In the process, I became preoccupied with more basic issues - the emotions and perceptions that guide the reality of parent "involvement.""Parents are welcome at any time." In a good child care center, this is the right thing to say, the politically correct policy - valuing parent presence in the center. "We believe in partnerships with parents." Equally important, equally correct - implying a belief in some parent power. But do we believe it, really? Do we ALL believe it, all the time? And do our practices and environment back up our ideology?
Parent Involvement
Parent involvement is an all-purpose term that encompasses parent boards, volunteering, parent education, fund raising, and the daily exchanges of information. One center's parent involvement places parent action and presence safely on the perimeter - board meetings, special events, and donations; another center has parents intimately involved in center life and decision making around their own child.
What is parent involvement in child care? In discussions with teachers, there is general agreement that it includes much information sharing, parent support by good child rearing and cooperation, some volunteering, ...