The Home and The School

Student studying at desk

There is a serious question often asked when students struggle, excel, or lack overall interest and dedication to their schoolwork: 

What is their environment at home? 

This is a pretty evident topic that teachers must pay attention to when observing students’ behavior in the classroom. Although it is not necessarily always the case, there often is a correlation between the family or home environment and the students’ academic success. According to the study "Relationship Between Family Environment and Academic Achievement," it was clear that better family environments lead to higher cognitive development of a child, and as the family environment increase. the academic achievement of the student also increases (Khatoon and Sharma, 2021). This is not solely a financial issue within a household but can be the involvement of parents in their child's learning process. For example, do parents push homework and study time before television, video games, and sports, or do they give their child free range to whatever they want to do after school or on weekends. This, along with other things, such as parents helping with homework and studying are important for students' academic success.

Mother helping her children with homework.

Throughout grade school, I was pushed by my parents to prioritize school over all of my other activities that I had going on. I witnessed students whose parents weren't always active in their lives or involved in their academics who struggled in classes and would often come to me for help. These same students would get distracted by their phone before they could fully concentrate on their schoolwork. I strongly believe     that if these students had been in the same environment I had at home, a majority of them could have achieved higher academic success. Today, I see the things my parents instilled in me while living under their roof showing through into my college career and plans as a teacher and parent in the future. I have high hopes that parents of young children and future parents will understand that school does not end when the bell rings in the afternoon and that their involvement can change the path of their child's life.