Parents, more than anyone else, you determine your child’s success or failure in school. Besides your genetic contribution, you influence the physical development, attitude, and academic preparation and performance of your child. You are your child’s first teacher. What you teach — or fail to teach — will determine in large part what and how much your child learns.
Having taught, I’ve seen first hand the influence of parents in their child’s education. Being married to a teacher, I am quite aware of the frustrations she and other teachers experience in dealing with some kids and their parents. Kids who don’t value education often have parents who don’t value education. As the saying goes, the acorn doesn’t fall far from the tree.
When I taught, I had approximately 120 kids in my classroom or shop during the course of a day. When we had parent-teacher conferences or open houses, I did well to see 17 parents. Most of the parents I saw, I didn’t need to see. Their kids were making A’s and B’s and were well-behaved.
The parents I really wanted to see rarely came. Their kids were making D’s and F’s and displayed bad attitudes and behavior. Good or bad, the kids reflect the values of the parents.
The attitudes of parents have changed greatly since I was a child. I was a well-behaved kid. My parents emphasized the importance of getting an education. I didn’t dare get in trouble at school, but occasionally I did. The first words out of my dad’s mouth were always, “What were you doing?” He assumed the teacher was right, and I usually ended up with more discipline. Many other people my age have similar recollections.
The two most common responses I heard when teaching were, “My kid wouldn’t do that” and “Why are you picking on my kid?” 
My answers to those two reactions were, “You don’t know your kid,” and “Because he’s the one drawing the most attention to himself.”
Parents need to get in touch with reality. Your kids aren’t perfect. They do misbehave sometimes. And, the teacher’s not the enemy.  When the teacher identifies a problem, you would probably do well to give heed to what she is telling you and work with the teacher.
Parents, if you want your child to do well in school, you need to demonstrate a value for education. Talk about education in positive terms. Identify how it shapes one’s future opportunities. Show that you think education is important. Provide a place for your child to study. Monitor their homework and ensure they do it. Help when you can, but don’t do their work for them. Ask questions. Offer suggestions. Make resources available. Confer with the teacher when needed or the opportunity is provided. Be involved in your child’s education.
Your involvement in your child’s education should begin long before they start school. When they are babies, read to them, talk to them, provide new experiences for them, play educational games with them, involve them in chores. 
Unless a child is mentally deficient, it’s a clear indication of parental neglect when a child arrives in kindergarten not knowing their numbers or alphabet, unable to speak in complete sentences or listen, not knowing right from left, and unable to follow simple instructions. These kids simply are not prepared for school. Their parents have not done their jobs.
I am a firm believer that much that is labeled ADHD is a simple lack of parental instruction and discipline.  The kids are over-stimulated by electronic media, but have never learned to control their behavior through purposeful interaction with adults.  They’ve never learned to sit still, listen, or perform a task to completion. Those are things that should have been taught in the home.
Parents, it’s time you started doing your job. Quit expecting the teacher to do your job for you. The teacher has to work with what you give her. By the time your child reaches public education he or she has already had five years of learning.  You have already either prepared your child for success or failure.
William Catts, a resident of Waynesville since 1995, is also a retired U.S. Air Force veteran, a member of several local veterans’ organizations, and is heavily involved in Habitat for Humanity. His wife, Annette, teaches second grade at Pick Elementary on Fort Leonard Wood. Their two sons currently serve in the Air Force.