All of the participants believed that the inconsistency of parental involvement, which is the third theme, hinders them from appropriately managing student behavior. Participant 1 stated,
I may be able to talk with them about some strategy that will help with their child. They [parents] may be able to give you some insight that you didn’t know about but which is very helpful. But in the end, I think as the teacher, you are
responsible for that classroom, and you need to be creative and come up with something. You can’t rely on them to manage your class for you.
Participants at the school wanted parents to be involved in all activities at the school, such as parent teacher conferences, school plays, sports, parties, and talent shows. Participants wanted parents to punish their children when it was necessary. In addition, participants thought that parents should support the consequences given to their children and remind their children of the teachers’ rules.
They [students] misbehave because of lack of parental involvement. They know that their parents are not going to do anything. They know their parents are not going to come out, so what does it matter? What if they [students] cut up? They get a spanking at school, and they have to go home to OSS? Their moms are at work or may not be at work but they get to walk the streets all day and get to hang out with other kids that have dropped out of school. You know that is fun for them. They know that there is not going to be any discipline at home.
Participant 3 stated,
Parents can be the biggest assets or the biggest hindrance to managing student behaviors. You know, parents seem to be from one extreme to another… They should tell their kids to quit the behavior or you know you will have consequences at home.
Participant 4 stated,
They [parents] should tell their kids to quit the behavior or you know you will have consequences at home. I don’t think that happens as much nowadays or it’s to an extreme. A lot of times I have called parents and they would say, “I am going to beat that child tonight,” and I would say, “Please don’t do that. It’s not a beatable offense.” But you know, it seems to be one extreme to another. And I am not so much sure that that happens so much now. And a lot of times the parents would say that I will take care of it and the behavior never changes and you can’t
get in touch with the parent at all. You call and call and the phone been disconnected and there is no phone number or whatever and it’s just not there. Participant 5 stated,
The worst thing a parent can do is undercut a teacher’s authority, and it happens all too often. I hear a lot of, “you won’t call my mama” and “my mama is going to do this or that.” I will be happy to talk to your mama, but the reason for having a structured environment is so students can learn safely. Alright if you [parent] are giving your kid the message that he or she doesn’t have to respect me, then I will have a problem when I have an emergency situation. The kid doesn’t stop or listen to me because mama or daddy has given them the idea that they don’t have to listen to me.
Participant 6 stated,
There is nothing I can do with your child if you can’t control your child yourself. This is your job. It is my job to help and mold and do anything else, but you are the parent and if you can’t do it, you can’t expect for somebody else to do it. Participant 7 stated,
I believe that a student, in their early developmental, in their early education that that child was shown how they should behave in that class, home training. You know home training is the key. It starts at home. I want to make it real clear that I am saying some parents do teach their kids at home and then the child does get in the environment and cut up.
The participants indicated that they are ultimately responsible for management of their classrooms. They felt like when control is lost because of one or two students, parents should support the teachers.
Participant 8 stated,
Most of the ones [parents] that I have called on the phone, the students do what they are supposed to do. They support the teacher, and the students tend to do better. There are a few odd ones in there that it doesn’t matter what the mama does or what the daddy does they are going to come and show out anyway. Most of my students, the ones who are not misbehaving, it seems to be a lot of parent involvement and influence from the parents about what they are supposed to do when they come to school.
Participant #9 said,
I think the role of the parent is to be involved and [they] have to be supportive of the teacher and the school.
Classroom Observations
During the observations, I did not see any participant come in contact with parents. I did not hear participants use parents’ names as a motivational tool or scare tactic to get students back on task. I did observe students causing interruption during classroom lectures. I did observe students off task and students soliciting other students into side conversations.
Theme 4: Inconsistent Administrators