Help! Volunteer Now For A Better Student Later

By Lisa Mcintyre on February 22nd, 2010

• Link to StumbleUpon
• 2 Comments

You are busy.  Between working, taking care of your kids,and managing a household, you have very little time for yourself, let alone time to volunteer.  However, volunteering at your child’s school is an important and necessary step in parenting.  Rather than viewing volunteering at your child’s school as just another thing to add to your already-full plate, view it as an investment.

Educational research shows that parents who volunteer typically have students with high achievement and a positive attitude toward school.  Higher achievement and a healthy attitude toward school are definitely worth a few hours of your time each month.

Parents may not know where to begin when it comes to volunteering.  Typically, schools do a good job communicating ways parents can help at school.  However, if your child’s school is not openly advertising volunteer opportunities, contact your child’s teacher.  I don’t know an elementary or high-school teacher who wouldn’t love to have a parent in to help on certain days.

In the event you cannot take off work, there are ways to volunteer outside of the school day.  Perhaps a teacher could use help organizing a field trip or creating a letter regarding an upcoming fundraising opportunity.  If you are unable to help during the school day, inform a teacher or administrator that you are willing to help in more unconventional ways.

If giving up a few hours mid-day is impossible, consider volunteering at the start or end of your child’s school day.  Anyone who has gone through the pick-up or drop-off chaos at an elementary school knows it’s actually a well-orchestrated dance.  Ensuring a smooth pick up or drop off requires extra eyes to ensure student safety.  Even volunteering for fifteen minutes at the end of each school day will show your child that you see school is important.

Instilling in your child that his or her schooling is important to you – so much so that you volunteer your own time – will pay off in the future too.  High schools typically do not have as many volunteer opportunities for parents.  However, showing your child that it was important from childhood will carry them through high school.  Do not underestimate your power to instill a basic belief in childhood that will last through adulthood.