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Show Parents play vital s role in education . .! Parents and community members i.; c must play a greater role in edu- v -i cation if schools are to improve, ac- :or cording to a report from the -' National Governors Association (NGA). The information was com-piled com-piled by the National Association of Secondary School Principals and released by the Davis County Prin- cipals, who are organization members. i j Governors who have developed : national goals for education with 1 President Bush for the first time in j American history believe that various segments of society must come together to improve schools. i t i j "The challenge is simply too big to be addressed exclusively by our ! education system,' according to an j 9( early draft of an NGA report to implement the education goals. "We cannot ask the schools to pi compensate entirely for deficiencies ! " ' elsewhere in society. ' 4 ! j "As long as 23 percent of six- l year-olds live in poverty, as long as I seven percent of all live births are " low-birth-weight babies, 23 percent of children live in single-parent families, 12 percent of births are to :f-- teen-age mothers, and 20 percent of i( all high school seniors have used an ; illicit drug in the last month, no ! school in America will be able to j address the enormous challenge,' i according to the draft document. : While parents have greater :,: responsibilities today than ever 1 before, it's essential that they sup- ; port their child's education, accor- ding to Dr. Timothy J. Dyer, 1 NASSP executive director. :; "Certainly, time demands on parents are immense, but their influence in-fluence on student attitudes also can be immense," Dyer said. "It's essential that parents emphasize the importance of an education to their youngsters. That message can be delivered in only a few minutes a day. "Parents need to become involved in-volved in learning at an early age with students. Reading with children for a few minutes each day when they are very young will pay dividends throughout their lives." Dyer urged parents to continue to be involved as youngsters progress through school. "Students should understand that studying is an investment in their future," he explained. "That's an important message to share. The amount of time students spend reading or doing their homework ,will determine their quality of life as an adult." Dyer suggested additional ways parents can help their students: Know the principal and teachers where your children attend school. Check with them in an un-threatening un-threatening manner regarding problems prob-lems or rumors. Ensure that interruptions to your youngster's classschool time are kept to a minimum. Compliment your youngsters when they achieve successes in school. Recognition and moral support sup-port pay dividends. Make sure that your youngsters have an appropriate place to study and that they complete homework assignments. Limit the viewing of television on school nights. |