School and Community Week 2

Relationships amongst parents and teachers is something that confuses me and that I think has evolved. I am 28 years old therefore, am not to long removed from elementary school or high school (am getting older though). When I was in school in Fort Worth ISD through primary grades PTA was always a active thing. I remember my mother going to PTA meetings. It is my belief now that this doesn't happen. At our school now we have 74 PTA members. We have 620 students. I understand that there are siblings, however, it seems as though PTA has become a thing of the past. This scares me. As teachers we can only teach our students so much in the 6 hours that we have them. Those successful students are the once that have some sort of reinforcement at home. Why is this becoming common? Well I have my thoughts, and perceptions. 1. More family members work now and siblings are raising siblings. 2. Demographics in the state are changing. 3. Families are becoming more transient. 4. Finally it is my opinion that education isn't valued you the way it once was. It is now solely the teachers responsibility to educate the students. Yes it is our responsibility. However, it is also the parents responsibility to help talk about what is being taught and to help reinforce what is being taught at school.