Alonzo Mitz…
“I think it’s a little bit of both. Kids who come from broken homes go to school to try and express themselves for the most part but once they get to school and have a teacher, a strong teacher, that will work with them, kind of straightens them out. I think that works, but we don’t have a lot of strong teachers. That’s why I say it’s the parent and the teacher, it depends who the teachers are and what they’re doing at home as well.”
Clarissa Knight…
“I would say its primarily up to the parents as far as children and their education. It’s up to the parents to raise their children to want to be educated and successful outside whatever learning environment that they choose to place their children.”
Jazz…
“I think that it has to be a partnership. I think the teachers should be working with parents and visa versa. I don’t think that one should wait on the other to reach out. But I think it’s pretty narrowly the parents responsibility and if there is something that the parents feel is lacking then they should be reaching out to the teachers as well. But I think that it ultimately falls on the parent.”
Ayana Henley…
“Ultimately, I think the parent has the responsibility, although the parent and teacher need to work hand in hand. I feel the parent has the ultimate responsibility because education starts at home. We are the ultimate teachers of our children and therefore that should spread out throughout the community. Whatever we’re instilling in our children at home, maybe we can influence our teachers and in that way keep the educational process going.”
Sista Yolanda Theodore…
“It can’t be either/or, it has to be a combination of both due to the fact our children spend up to six to eight hours in school and they are in the households before they even attend school. So, parents are the first primary teachers of children, but once they go to school it will take a combination of the parent and teacher correlating and talking together. If they can do that then that child can stay on track towards graduation or college or whatever their plans may be.”
Brook Riggio…
“I think it is shared between parents and teachers. Both have a key role to play. Teachers spend so much time out of the day with students that they will influence students immensely no matter what. So there comes a huge responsibility with that as well as trusting your children to teachers for that time period. At the same time, parents have to provide supplementary role models to give them all the other factors that they need to succeed. They need a loving and supporting environment at home to give them the encouragement they’ll need and the values instilled, especially at the early stages.”
Photos by Aaron Allen