By Maxine J. Wood, Ed.D
“HomeWork: Lessons Learned in the Home for Success in School and Life,” released in May 2023, marked the publication of the second edition of a book fifteen years in the making.
It reflects a composite view of my observations, recommendations and motivations for encouraging parents and parenting adults to give continued, consistent and welcomed attention to their roles as their children ‘s first teachers in the home. Depending on one’s age, ethnicity, experiences and other factors, a number of folks can readily acknowledge having grown up under conditions that reflected their parents, family and other adult’s values. Our advisors, mentors, role models influenced our behaviors, activities and learning, and so it is among today’s children, as they grow.
During almost five decades in public education, pre-K thru 12th grade as a classroom teacher, administrator and an advocate of lifelong learning, I have always given deference to the guidance that parents can have on their children’s learning.
Experiences as a mother and grandmother, and my continued role as mentor and advisor, gives further personal significance to encouraging the positive impact of parents on their children’s behavior in the home, school, community and beyond.
The COVID-19 pandemic suggested a need to revisit the importance of parent influences on children’s learning, with attention being given to character education, behavior and values. Children and youth are appearing more prominently as victims and perpetrators of crime and violence. Currently, the response to the chronic question “Where are the parents?” The answer should be “Here! — present, willing and able.”
“HomeWork” has been developed to revive, inspire and encourage renewed awareness of the significance of parent involvement. HomeWork consists of ten defined lessons focused on life-skills and values: Learning, responsibility, encouragement, persistence, honesty, creativity and talent, cleanliness and respect for self and others, self-motivation and heritage and legacy.
Priority attention is given to “Lesson One: Learning” as a critical area for a good beginning, and to “Lesson Ten: Heritage and Legacy,” with emphasis on recognized family values, remembered and shared over time. This is a valuable opportunity. An enriching process of bringing parents and children together in learning situations can cultivate strong relationships between them.
In his foreword to “HomeWork, 2023 Edition,” researcher at Johns Hopkins University School of Education, Dr. Robert Balfanz states “More than 50 years ago, James Coleman showed that home contributions to students’ learning and achievement were as significant, if not in some circumstances, more significant than what students did at school. More than 100 years ago, John Dewey and others argued that the best teaching and learning environment was one which integrated home and school learning in Community Schools. For millennia societies in Africa and elsewhere have organized education as a communal responsibility, where it takes a village to raise a child. Yet in recent decades, the role of parents as their children’s first educator, beyond the pre-school years, has been downplayed.”
This deficiency and concerns about its effect— particularly on children and youth— is prompting researchers and educators to identify responses and solutions. It is warranted relative to potential suicides, disruptive behavior, bullying and situations in this population. Cultivating an enriched role for parenting adults as their children’s first teachers can contribute to ongoing nurturing relationships and learning. “HomeWork” is a practical resource for educators, teachers and other professionals who support parent’s success in this important role.
When reflecting on personal learning experiences many can recall how and when they were taught some basic, practical information. We know where these experiences occurred— they happened in the home. They were part of family expectations. We were taught how to do numerous things, from the ordinary to the unusual. We might remember being present when a parent or relative prepared a special meal, dish or desert “made in the home” and enjoyed for their qualities and flavors.
Under the guidance of parents, grandparents and other parenting adults, distinctive characteristics learned at home followed us in our behaviors, attitudes, and actions, outside of home and reflected what we had been taught. In some instances, these teachings were as recognizable as the special dishes.
The Ghanaian proverb, “The ruin of a nation begins in the homes of its people,” gives authentic credit to the long-term impact of valuable experiences, activities and events cultivated in the home. A simple, honest analogy of the teaching that parents provide for children, whether compared to a special meal or the development of a child, can have a lasting significance. When people choose to reflect on and share elements of their lives and those that favorably influenced their accomplishments and successes or the ordinary things that they remember fondly or with pride, they think about home.
We are homemade! Whether embellished or critiqued, reflections on our homes and what we learned there – or failed to learn there – should give us pause to encourage others, particularly parents or parenting adults, to give sincere attention to their children as they grow in the home. The foundation they create can be a lifelong recipe for success that is homemade.
