Journal Review

Journal Review: Parents of Children with

Learning Disabilities

Bryan Card

Liberty University

Parental involvement in a student’s education is paramount to the success of the student. Staples & Diliberto’s (2010) article Guidelines for Successful Parent Involvement is a great source for developing parental involvement in their child’s education. There are two important steps that the teacher must take in order to successfully integrate the parents into the classroom: building parent rapport and developing a communication system. “Building positive parent and teacher relationships is time consuming; however, it is essential for the optimal success of the child” (Staples et al. 2010. p. 63).

According to the article, the rapport stage begins before the first day of school, and the teacher must set an open door policy for the parents. This allows the parents to feel comfortable with interacting with the teacher. It can be challenging and sometimes intimidating for parents to walk into their child’s classroom, because it is such a complex atmosphere. However, this open door policy sets the stage for open communication that is essential in the student’s education. A positive communication system bridges the gap between home and school, while allowing the parent and teacher to know levels of performance at home and school (Staples et al. p. 60). It in essence keeps the parent and teacher on the same page. The article states a minimum of weekly, monthly and quarterly forms of communication is needed. Parent-teacher conferences and home visits may also be required in order to fully immerse the parent into the educational progress of the student.

This article presents a good way to bring parents in on their child’s education. Though it seems easy to build rapport and set open communication, it is time consuming. Detailed planning is needed on both parts in order for this process to work, and sometimes the time needed is not given. Teachers have to be able to...