Please try not to make parents feel judged
Parent Involvement Looks Different for Many Families
- I could never be that parent who attended meetings at school, but I made sure my daughter’s homework was done. We studied and worked on projects together, and I read to her and with her all the time.
- I couldn’t join the PTA, but I made sure my daughter was healthy, loved, and looked after by responsible, caring, and trustworthy caregivers. As a bonus, Samantha learned to speak fluent Spanish by the age of three from a phenomenal Colombian woman named Amparo. Samantha sounded like a Colombianita (little Colombian girl). I laughed one day when Amparo’s young son was annoying her, and I heard my three-year-old, New-Yorican daughter say to him (with the thickest Colombian accent): “Deja de molestar me, hombre!” Translation: “Stop bothering me, sir!” It was just as funny to have her correct my Spanish!
- I couldn’t volunteer to chaperon class field trips, but I took her on day trips to New York City. That is, we took the seven train from Queens to Manhattan! We were Queens’ girls, but we visited museums, the Statue of Liberty, FAO Shwartz (just browsed – but still had fun), Central Park, and other great places together.
- I couldn’t donate money, or buy any of the items that Samantha’s teachers requested, but she was always well-prepared for school with the supplies needed.