Families as Teachers

Parents are teachers, too. They are their children's first teachers, and they'll be there long after children leave your program. While all families provide a wealth of stimulation and experiences that encourage learning, families with greater educational and financial resources are often able to do this in ways that seem to fit better with school expectations. Some researchers have demonstrated that lending toys and books to lower-income families, and giving ideas about how to use them with their children, is an effective way of providing similar advantages for all children. Several cautions are in order, however.

First, as we have emphasized in this chapter, it is not the job of early childhood educators to remake parents in their own image. It is more important to recognize that there are many ways that families help children develop the qualities they value. Next, family members may not always approach the tasks sent home by teachers in ways that are likely to enhance children's literacy, particularly if their image of learning includes sitting still, listening, and producing right answers on command (Hearron, 1992). Finally, teachers must be sensitive to the fact that family members may lack literacy skills themselves, and insisting that they read to their children may cause embarrassment or stress. The more you get to know the families in your program, the more you will be able to tailor your suggestions to meet their particular needs and their individual styles of interacting with their children. The goal is to help families take advantage of the learning potential in everyday activities, not to get family members to act more like teachers (Dunst, Hamby, Trivette, Raab, & Bruder, 2000). If you do learn that family members have problems with reading and writing, you can find tactful ways to help them tap into community resources providing literacy training. The public library is a good starting point—and it is free of charge!