pdf, 2.0mb - Public Schools of North Carolina

FAMILY INVOLVEMENT IN EDUCATION
Members of the State Advisory Council on Indian Education interviewed 21 parents and
grandparents of school-aged children about their involvement in their children’s education
(See Appendix E). Because the family members interviewed for this report share some key
characteristics – they are involved in their children’s education already and they describe
having a good relationship with their schools – the Council is not able to draw conclusions
about parent involvement across all American Indian families. However, this report does
some diversity in viewpoints. Our interviewees are a varied group in terms of occupation,
socio-economic background and education levels.
Generally, the parents and grandparents interviewed felt their role was to support their child
and their school’s educational objectives. They are united in their strong belief that education
is the primary tool for success in life. While they talked about education as a means to a
better standard of living, they also talked about education as providing their children with the
flexibility to understand how to be successful in a changing world. Parents felt that their
child’s exposure to and understanding of American Indian culture came from the home and
the tribal environment and not from the school. Overall, the parents who were interviewed
by the Council are very attuned to their role in and responsibility for teaching their children
about their culture and heritage as American Indians. They access community and tribal
resources in educating their children and many talk about this education as an integral part
of their family lives. Families were also keenly aware of the cultural dualities their children
face in public schools and the additional challenge their children confront in reconciling the
mainstream culture of their schools with their own identities as American Indians.
The interviews produced the following additional findings:
• Parents are concerned about both teachers’ and administrators’ levels of awareness
regarding their children’s cultural diversity. Many parents address their concerns
directly by talking to their child’s teacher about stereotypes that American Indians
encounter. They also try to provide teachers with additional information or
resources about American Indians in North Carolina and to promote increased
awareness about stereotypes and common misconceptions about modern
American Indians.
• In addition, parents would like to see more active attention given to North Carolina
Indians in social studies and history curriculums and textbooks. They are concerned
about the damaging effects that un-informed comments like, “You can’t be an
Indian, they’re all dead,” “you don’t wear a feather in your hair,” or “you don’t
have black hair,” can cause for their own children who are struggling to understand
their heritage and identity in a mainstream culture that already sets them apart as
different or “minority.” Non-Indian children must be exposed to accurate information
about North Carolina’s American Indians – both historically and in a modern
context – in order to eliminate these harmful stereotypes.
• The family members interviewed were very focused on encouraging their children
to be involved in school activities. One grandmother, who had worked with
American Indian children for years, provided an interesting context for this: she felt
that American Indian children often thought school activities weren’t really meant
“for them.” It may be that schools can promote higher levels of involvement and
school engagement among American Indian students if they deliberately recruit
and invite American Indian students to join school-sponsored programs and
activities. This recruitment might be done through tribal centers and organizations,
cultural centers, Indian Education Programs, and local churches.
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