Waiting for Supermom

How much do parents really matter to a child's achievement in school?  As I pore over essay responses submitted by prospective Newark Legacy teachers, I’m struck by the large numbers of applicants who, in their responses to our questions, cite parental factors as more relevant than teacher actions to students’ success.  When I read these kinds of answers, I typically veer in the opposite direction, without giving these candidates much further consideration.  Dismissive?  Perhaps, but good teaching matters tremendously, so if teachers don't believe in their own power, then I can't believe in them.    


A profile of three scholars at the school I lead - scholars who like 90% of our population live in homes with a single mother - provides a quick snapshot of the great outcomes that good teaching, and a learning-focused school community can yield.  Their stories should convince us all that great potential lies dormant in each child, regardless of the parents responsible for ushering them into the world.

A strong-willed boy with a winning smile, Jared* is an eight-year-old 2^nd grader in a class of 30 students and 2 teachers.  Though lacking a high school diploma, Jared’s mother is a bright woman, who has battled drug addiction and mental illness for several years.  She was drug-addicted at the time that Jared was born.  Jared’s father has been in and out of jail three times over the course of the past year and a half.  

Shayna*, a kindergartner we serve, has moved 4 times since the school year began.  In October, Shayna’s mother enrolled in community college, and has since stated that her own homework is more of a priority than her daughter’s.  Shayna’s mother now routinely sends Shayna to school without making sure that she has completed her homework.  We have also recently become aware that Shayna’s mother is in an intimate relationship where she has repeatedly been the victim of domestic violence. 

Finally, there’s first grader Leighton*.  Leighton’s mother enrolled him in our school about a week before the end of the last school year, amid pleas for me to overlook the fact that she had been combative with the principal of her son’s former school and as a result, she was forcibly removed from the school's premises by law enforcement and was later permanently banned from the building.  Leighton’s mother has neither a high school diploma nor a GED, and has not been gainfully employed in several years.  Barely able to read, Leighton’s eyes bulged in terror when we talked about all of the literacy activities he would have a chance to do in his 1^st grade class.

The circumstances of all these children beg the obvious question – are they, or are they not succeeding in school?  I'm happy to report that the answer is a resounding yes.  Jared has been the highest-achieving mathematics student in 2^nd grade, and a self-appointed peer counselor, often volunteering to “have a talk” with classmates who are having a hard time managing their anger.  Before Jared’s teacher began having lunch with him once per week, he had a frighteningly short fuse and had instigated several fights.   However, in a classroom environment defined by lots of nurturance and high expectations, Jared is thriving.  To look at Shayna’s profile is to view another example of success.  With three months remaining in the school year, Shayna has already made one and a half years growth in reading.  She doesn’t miss out on the extra practice that comes from doing homework because all Newark Legacy students who do not complete their homework at night are required to complete it the next day in lieu of recess.  As such, this is how Shayna occupies her recess time 2-3 days a week.  She's sometimes disappointed, but she understands that we care about her enough to support her academic success, by any means necessary.

Finally, Leighton, our most academically challenged scholar, has made tremendous progress.  After receiving one-on-one teaching  for 30 minutes a day, and more than 50 hours of supplemental literacy instruction in our school's after school academic support program, Leighton reads willingly, selecting books from the “G” bin in his classroom library - the level at which he can read with ease.  Leighton has become equally enthusiastic about participating in class, recently offering “hypernification”, as the answer to a question about figurative language.  Even though we chuckled privately, knowing that we’d never heard of such a word, Leighton’s 70% test grade convinced his teacher and I that he really does understand figurative language, and has a notion of what the words “hyperbole” and “personification” actually mean. 

While there are always a few students whose family circumstances consume them to such an extent that it severely compromises their ability to learn, the reality is that most students are like Jared, Shayna, and Leighton - proof points that even with less than enviable parental circumstances and a relative lack of parental support, children can and do excel.  Teachers who spend more time thinking about the influence of parents and less time thinking about the potential of their own clout, will have a hard time leading disadvantaged students to success.  Teachers don’t earn their credentials so that they can focus on external drivers affecting a student’s learning.  Rather, they become educators so that they can channel their energies on the internal factors within a classroom and a school that can be manipulated to lead to student success.

Teachers must deeply believe in the magnitude of their own power to change every single one of their students’ lives, and they must be willing to work very, very hard to make this change happen.  Otherwise, the schooldays of their students may well be defined by lowered expectations and inadequate rigor, paving the way for failure to rear its ugly head.  

*In the interest of confidentiality and respect, the names of each scholar, and some of their identifying characteristics, have been changed.