DOCUMENT RESUME PS 023 799 ED 390 543 Ghavam, Carolyn C. AUTHOR Parent-Teacher Empowerment: Meeting the Needs of TITLE Underachieving Students. PUB DATE 192] NOTE 25p. Non-Classroom Use (055) Guides PUB TYPE MF01/PC01 Phis Postage. EDRS PRICE Academic Achievement; *Academic Failure; Elementary DESCRIPTORS Secondary Education; Mentors; *Parent Role; Performance Factors; Student Attitudes; Student. Behavior; Student Motivation; Student Needs; Study Skills; *Teacher Role; Teacher Student Relationship; *Underachievement *Parent Empowerment; *Teacher Empowerment IDENTIFIERS ABSTRACT This paper examines the phenomenon of underachievement of students. Underachievement is characterized by a significant discrepancy between the student's performance and potential. After'considering some of the common causes for underachievement and the typical problems of underachievers, the rest of the paper discusses six methods of intervention that can empower elementary and high school teachers and parents to address the problems and needs of underachievers. The first method, "The Power to Stop Accepting Failure," suggests using after-school study sessions and notifying parents of the situation and their role in it. The second, "The Power to Relate Attitudes, Behaviors, and Consequences," seeks to demonstrate to students that consequences are an outcome of their attitudes and behaviors, and therefore under their control. The third method, "The Power to Use Logical, Reasonable, and Consistent Consequences," stresses the importance of delineating the consequences for acceptable and unacceptable behavior related to achievement. The next method, "The Power to Teach Metacognitive Skills," suggests assisting underachievers to organize study time and monitor and evaluate progress. "The Power to be Creative and Use Cooperative Learning" impresses the need for involving students creatively and cooperatively in the learning process. The final method, "The Power to Mentor," emphasizes the need for teachers to assume roles of counselors and mentors to motivate the underachievers. Concluding comments focus on the relationship between academic and social success, and the role of both teachers and parents in dealing with underachievement. (BAC) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made 7.; from the original document. *********************************************************************** 1 U S DEPARTMENT 0, I DU( AnON EDUCATIONAL RESOURCLS INT.ORMATION CENTEN ERIC TMs dor.ument hrs beer !epoam-ed at, received from Me ber:mr, it 0,9ami,thoe rmoe-mtmo clologe, have t.1't'l II .Mr'!,. rprt,n Pp, oduChorn quahty P01.11. Of vimr, of opini,...s nel.0,,r1t.ry Cr) rI 01,RI :1- CD C Cf) Parent-Teacher Empowerment: Meeting LT:1 the Needs of Underachieving Students CAROLYN C. GHAVAM Are you satisfied with the achievement of your students or your children? Do you have a high or even small number of students who are failing each year in your school? Nearly 30 years ago, Fine (1967) reported that 'one of every four youngsters... is in serious trouble - is a year and a half or more.below his(her) grade level, and is losing more ground each time he(she) is promoted.* (p. 11). Today, this statistic is probably much higher because of the cultural diversity in the schools. In order to understand this phenomenon called underachievement, let's look at some of its characteristics and causes. Underachievement Defined Butler-Por (1987) defines underachievement *...as a large discrepancy between the child's school performance and some manifestation of the child's true ability such as teachers' and parents' observations or achievement, creativity, and intelligence measures.* The author further reports that *most (p. 6). studies define underachievers by the large gap between the underachiever's CtZ school performance and potential.' Potential is usually based on IQ (p. 6). PE VIM1'.'.1. '!`r 1 :I 0 BL EN GRANI I MA TE FIW C. \ \Y:).._ CO% C _ Ghck\ick\-(.. BEST COPY AVAILABLE 2 RII,0110 Nil n. 11,411 iliMA1,1,1,1 , , Parent-Teacher Empowerment 2 measures while achievement is based on teacher's grades or achievement tests. But who are these underachievers? Brown (1990) suggests that "the failure to achieve academically at levels commensurate with potential by students who are racially, ethnically, and economically different from mainstreamed Americans is a well-documented reality." (p. 305). While Brown suggests that disadvantaged students tend to be underachievers, Quinn (1991) reports that the problem is not limited to children of lower socioeconomic status or to children living in large urban areas. 'On the contrary,' he says, 'the problem is national and cuts across racial, ethnic, and geographical lines.' (p. 74). Because underachievers come from diverse backgrounds and cultural ecologies, let's explore the commonalities that characterize them as underachievers. Causal Factors of Underachievement There are many factors that cause underachievement. Brown (1990) and Kelly and Kelly (1991) believe that the causes of underachievement include a lack of achievement motivation and parental support. Brown (1990) further states that single-parent households, teen pregnancies, poor self-concept, and truancy cause underachievement. These findings suggest the need to intervene in the familial setting by counseling and motivating parents to help Parent-Teacher Empowerment 3 their children academically succeed. They also imply the need for a curriculum that will build the self-esteem and confidence of underachievers. Raph et al. (1966) argued that causative factors of underachievement included home and family relationships, socioeconomic backgrounds, educationl and cultural levels of families, and achievement motivation. This indicates the need for schools and teachers to do more than perfunctory activities with families. We must get more involved with the problems that families are experiencing in helping their children excel in school. And families of gifted students are also experiencing difficulty. Grau (1985) attributed academic failure of gifted underachievers to poor childrearing practices, poor family The message is clear interactions, social immaturity, and poor decision making. that we must work more closely with families of underachieving students. In addition to the many causes of underachievement, parents and teachers face many problems when dealing with underachievers. Characteristic problems of underachievers include: a short attention span, boredom, restlessness, defensiveness, immature value orientations, negativistic attitude, poor study habits, poor metacognitive abilities, rebellion, and poor self-confidence. (Fine The research is replete 1967, Butler-Por 1987, Biehler and Snowman 1990). on the causes and characteristics of underachieving students and it supports the need to intervene in the home and the school. Parent-Teacher Empowerment 4 Since educators are primarily responsible for getting underachievers to achieve, there is a need to know some interventions that may help them to address this national crisis. Teachers have the power to work miracles in the lives of the students they serve, but it may call for a change in attitude, perspective, and instructional practices. We need to see ourselves as capable of making a difference - capable of making a miracle in a student's life. The suggestions in this presentation are generic for elementary and high school teachers. They call for teachers to become more involved with the affective and psychosocial needs of their students in the home and in the classroom. They call for teachers to take on some of the roles of counseling parents and using their background in child development to support parents in a quest to turn underachievement into achieveMent. Since underachievers experience social, emotional, and academic problems, teachers and parents must devise methods that address these needs. The Power to Stop Accepting Failure All too often, the scenario goes like this: a student gets a D or an F; the teacher records the grade; the teacher then moves on to the next academic Parent-Teacher Empowerment 5 objective. No intervention occurs to see if the student, given more time and different activities, can master the concept(s). This is helping students to accept failure. And a C or B can be less than best effort. Teachers must take the time to get students to reach beyond the ordinary and mediocre. Many times teachers don't feel that they have time to reteach a concept but reteaching may be called for if we truly want all students to reach their optimal potential. After-school study sessions may work wonders for the teacher with little class time to spare to work with underachievers. It will enable the teacher to tune in on weaknesses, such as, reading, writing, study strategies, and study habits. All of these can be discussed in one-on-one counseling sessions. Such sessions will send a clear message to the student that you care and have high academic expectations for them - that you refuse to ignore their lack of achievement. After-school study sessions can greatly improve teacher-student rapport and motivate the student to try harder. And sessions should be therapeutic and not punitive in nature. Sessions should simply be to help the student do his/her best. Parent notification of less than best performance is another way to stop accepting failure. Once a month notification loses too much valuablA time that could have been spent on remediation. Parents should be telephoned or sent progress reports at least twice a month. Ideally, parents would be notified as 6 Parent-Teacher Empowerment 6 soon as a student makes a less than best performance grade so that they could begin immediately to work on the related skill or concept. But parents won't know what to do unless the teacher tells them. Remedial work, extra practice assignments, or worksheets can be sent along with the progress reports. The progress reports should be signed by the parent and followed up with a telephone call. Unless teachers have a large number of underachievers in their class(es), they should not have too many telephone calls to make. The personal touch will go a long way toward increasing credibility as a caring professional. lt can be used to encourage parents to also stop accepting failure. Parents can take an active interest in the academic activities of the underachiever. Some parents must be encouraged to praise the accomplishments of the studnnt rather than always criticizing the failures. Progress reports that tell parents about good conduct, social and academic goals, as well as, grades give parents things to praise. Some parents have given up on the student. They should be encouraged to set high expectations around the house for homework, studying in general, and for chores. Let them know that students can review classwork daily even when there is no homework. Let parents know that they can expect the student to explain study notes to them at least twice a week. Most importantly, tell parents that their youngster has "great potential* Parent-Teacher Empowerment 7 becautie if you believe it, the parents will believe it. If the parents believe it, it may spiA over to the student. These suggestions will help the student with low achievement motivation and poor self-concept. The Power to Relate Attitudes, Behaviors arid Consequences Underachievers are known to have negativistic, self-deprecating attitudes and behaviors. Some do not respect authority. (Eg., Fine, 1967). One of the areas that needs teacher and parent intervention then is attitudes and behaviors. Students need to know that Attitudes + Eiehaviors = Qonsequences and they are responsible for those consequences. Class discussions on attitudes and related behaviors can grab the underachiever's interest if they focus on real-life, immediate concerns, e.g., teen pregnancy, drug and alcohol abuse, dating, job seeking, interview skiils, etc. As a starter, the class can divide into groups of four or five or simply brainstorm appropriate topics. Discussion can focus on the importance of having positive and optimistic attitudes and behaviors; when caution is warranted; how attitudes cause behaviors; and, how behaviors cause certain outcomes or consequences. Students must be shown that they have control over outcomes. Role-playing various problematic situations or relevant issues is another way to modify and heighten certain attitudes and behaviors. Often, Parent-Teacher Empowerment 8 underachievers have an "I can't" or "I won't" attitude. Discuss the reality of these attitudes, how they hinder growth and maturity. Put the students into reality-based situations during class time and get them to try an I can" and an will" attitude to see how it feels. Some students are afraid of failure or success. To get at the fears, discuss the relationship between effort and outcome. Let them know that they are in the driver's seat. No one can drive their car except themselves. Ask them, 'Do you really want to keep having accidents? ' Tell them, 'Every time you get a failing grade, it's saying that you don't know how to drive your own car. It's like running into a brick wall again and again.' Explore more situations like this one through situational analyses and group c..!:e-ussions. Motivate the entire class to give their best effort and to strive for academic competence. This will help the student who is afraid of getting good grades because other students might shy away from him/her. In motivating students, we must set the climate as a 'mistake-making environment'. Let students know that mistakes mean growth because the minute you admit that you don't understand something or get an incorrect answer, you're on the rode to getting the correct answer. Parents need to work on attitudes and behaviors, too. Teachers can encourage parents to be more authoritative, warm, friendly, and to explain the Parent-Teacher Empowerment 9 reasons behind the rules to the student. Students need to be shown respect if the parents expect them to give it. Parents may need to realize this. Parents can also be encouraged to clarify each family member's role and responsibility during a family meeting. This would be a good time to discuss expectations for wanting to help around the house and for wanting to achieve. it's also a good time to impress upon the student that their behavior needs to be positive and supportive - not antagonistic or hostile. Parents can also discuss the effects that certain negativistic attitudes and behaviors have on the entire family and achievement. As parents and teachers help underachievers to adopt more positive and healthy attitudes and behaviors, the student can experience more positive and healthy consequences. Showing the relationship between attitudes, behaviors and consequences in situational analyses, role-playing, and family and class discussions will give underachievers a support system through which the student can affect changes. These suggestions will help the student with negativistic, self-deprecating attitudes and behaviors. 1 0