Parents as Teachers

Photo by Vivek Kumar on Unsplash

One of the dilemmas I faced when I taught teen moms was how to best balance facilitating their learning of academic principles and honoring their need to learn how to be mothers. Not surprisingly, girls were often distracted in the classroom by whatever was going on with their babies in childcare or with their bodies if they hadn’t yet given birth. Fortunately, childcare staff did an excellent job of modeling parenting behaviors, and the nonprofit agency that provided onsite social services for our students integrated community resources whenever possible.

Some activities, like classes for our students and their babies’ dads or other family members, were held in the evenings. Childcare was offered during those events so that the parents could focus on class content. But sometimes, the classes included the whole family: grandparents, aunts, friends, etc. Anyone who loved the child was encouraged to participate.

There were many community organizations who partnered with us during the school day. One of the most popular was Parents as Teachers (PAT), an international nonprofit organization that operates in seven countries, and all 50 U.S. states. Services are provided through Parent Educators who offer personal visits, group connections, access to community resources, and screenings for children and caregiver.

The Parent Educator we worked with at the Margaret Hudson Program in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, where I taught, was Miss Carman. Everyone loved Miss Carman! She had a joyful attitude toward the babies and their mothers. She also had a playful and creative spirit that enchanted the babies.

One of the kids’ favorite activities was petting or feeding animals in Miss Carman’s Traveling Barnyard. A couple of times during the school year, Miss Carman would arrive in her jeans, boots, and cowboy hat with a trailer full of lambs, chickens, bunnies, and other barnyard animals. She’d set up a portable fence on the school lawn and invite the children to feel the soft bunny ears or feed the chickens. Squeals of laughter filled the school on those days.

Miss Carman did a lot more, however. Most of her time spent with the girls and babies was spent outside the classroom, so I wasn’t fully aware of what they did together. When researching PAT mission on their website, I was surprised to learn the breadth of their goals.

Parents as Teachers began delivering services to families in 1984, based on a model that has since demonstrated solid results in the form of effective support for a healthy learning environment for children. Their goals include teaching parents about childhood development, early detection of developmental delays, improving family health and well-being, improving the family’s economic well-being, and strengthening connections to the community.

The foremost PAT principle is that parents are their children’s first and best teachers.

To meet their goals, PAT affiliates may meet one-on-one with families or via virtual meetings in cases where in-home visits aren’t possible. Their focus is on ensuring children develop appropriately and are prepared to learn. All programs are designed in conjunction with research in early childhood developmental best practices.

The foremost PAT principle is that parents are their children’s first and best teachers. Parent educators spend time with parents and children together to model parenting techniques. They also meet with parents alone to provide feedback on observed interactions, but supporting parents in their role as teachers may require additional activities.

According to their website, PAT worked with 222,549 children and 186,499 parents globally in the 2022-23 school year. They made almost 1.8 million visits and performed 206,552 screenings. Affiliates are offered extensive training and robust support in acquiring the required skills. Their global vision is that “all children will develop, learn and grow to realize their full potential.”

I wasn’t aware of the range of objectives Miss Carman was charged with meeting when she arrived at MHP with her trailer full of barn animals. All I knew was that she delighted everyone on campus with her enthusiastic play with our students and their babies. After learning more about Parents as Teachers, I’m much more impressed with the value she brought to the teen moms we served.