Smoke detectors are so very important because there could be a fire while you are asleep and you would never even know there was a fire and this could turn into a very big tragedy. Even if you are awake there could be a fire in a different part of your place and this could alert you to the presence of a fire in your place and you have got to get out right away.

Smoke detectors are a very cheap thing to buy and everyone should be able to afford one for sure and if you can not afford one then ask a church or social agency for help. A lot of the time they will have give aways where they give away smoke detectors for free and you do not even have to pay you would just have to go to the give away and get the amount that you need.

Make sure to follow the directions on the smoke detector as to where to put them in your place. These are very important and very much could save your life so make sure that you have what you need for your place.

       I.            Purpose: The purpose of this lab is to become familiar with the methods of separating mixtures. This experiment separates a mixture of NaCl, NH­4Cl, and SiO2 by using decantation, extraction, and sublimation. Our mixture was unknown sample 3.

    II.            Pre-Lab Questions:

1.      Classify each of the following as a pure substance or a mixture; if a mixture, state whether it is heterogeneous of homogeneous: (a) concrete, (b) tomato juice, (c) marble, (d) seawater, (e) iron.

(a)   concrete – heterogeneous mixture

(b)   tomato juice – homogeneous mixture

(c)    marble – heterogeneous mixture

(d)   seawater – homogeneous mixture

(e)    iron – pure substance

2.      Suggest a way to determine whether a colorless liquid is pure water or a salt solution without tasting it. The solution should be heated so the water can evaporate. If it is a salt solution, the salt will be left behind as a solid when the water evaporates.

3.      What distinguishes a mixture from an impure substance? A mixture is a combination of two or more substances in which each substance retains its own chemical identity and properties. An impure substance is a mixture in which one of the substances is preponderant (the amount of that substance far exceeds the amounts of other substances in the mixture).

4.      Define the process of sublimation. Sublimation is the process in which a solid passes directly to the gaseous state and back to the solid state without the appearance of the liquid state.

5.      How do decantation and filtration differ? Which should be faster? Decantation is the process of separating a liquid from a solid by gently pouring away the liquid. Filtration does this by passing the whole mixture through a porous substance (filter) which allows the liquid to pass through but not the solid. Filtration should be faster.

6.      Why should one never weigh a hot object? A hot object may injure you or damage the balance. Also, since hot objects radiate heat in the form of convection currents, the measurements on the balance will be unstable and inaccurate.

7.      How does this experiment illustrate the principle of conservation of matter? If done correctly, the amount of recovered mass of the sample should equal the initial mass of the sample. This is consistent with the law of conservation of mass – matter is neither created nor destroyed in any physical change or chemical reaction.

8.      A mixture was found to contain 1.05 g of SiO2, 0.69 g of cellulose, and 2.17 g of calcium carbonate. What is the percentage of SiO2 in the mixture? SiO2 accounts for 26.85 % of the mixture. Mass SiO2: 1.05 g. Mass of entire sample: 3.91 g. (1.05 / 3.91) X 100 = 26.85 % SiO2 in mixture.

9.      How could you separate a mixture of zinc chloride and cyclohexane? Zinc chloride is soluble in water, and cyclohexane is immiscible in water. So, if water is added, the cyclohexane will form a separate layer. Simply decant one of them away, and heat the water to leave the solid zinc chloride deposit.

10.  How could you separate zinc chloride from SiO2? Zinc chloride is soluble in water, and SiO2 is not. So, water should be added to the mixture and then decanted. Both mixtures should be heated so the water evaporates. You should be left with dry SiO2 and a solid deposit of zinc chloride.

11.  A student found that her mixture was 13% NH4Cl, 18% NaCl, and 75% SiO2. Assuming her calculations are correct, what did she most likely do incorrectly in her experiment? She most likely did not sufficiently dry the sand and salt in the experiment.

12.  Why is the NaCl extracted with water three times as opposed to only once? To ensure that all the NaCl is dissolved into the water and decanted, so that none is left with the SiO2.

 III.            Materials: Standard laboratory equipment was used during the experiment, such as watch glasses and Bunsen burners. A mixture of NH4Cl, NaCl, and SiO2 (with unknown percent composition of each substance) was used. Evaporating dishes were used to hold the mixture while heating.

 IV.            Procedure: About 2-3 g of the mixture is placed in an evaporating dish and weighed. The mixture is then heated until white fumes are no longer formed. This is the sublimation of NH4Cl. The evaporating dish is allowed to cool and then weighed. About 25 mL of water is added and then stirred. Another evaporating dish and watch glass is weighed. The liquid is decanted into the second dish. 10 mL of water is added to the first dish and decanted again into the second dish. The process is repeated again to make sure all of the NaCl is separated from the SiO2. The NaCl solution is heated and, near the end, covered with a watch glass.  The wet SiO2 is heated until the sand dries, which is after the lumps break up. The dishes are then allowed to cool to room temperature, and weighed. Finally, masses and percent compositions of each substance are calculated.

    V.            Data: Data is shown in the attached sheet from the lab notebook, and in the tables below.

 VI.            Calculations and Graphs: 

Some equations used in this experiment were:

Percent Component = [(mass component in grams) / (mass sample in grams)] X 100%

Percent Recovery of Matter = [(grams matter recovered) / (grams original sample)] X 100%

Ways these equations were used in the experiment:

To calculate the percent compositions of NH4Cl, NaCl, and SiO2 in the mixture

To calculate the percent of matter recovered after using the separation techniques

VII.            Conclusion: The average results of the two trials shows that the mixture, unknown sample 3, is composed of about 33.14% NH4Cl, 43.67% NaCl, and 26.32% SiO2. However, these results add up to more than 100%. The reasons for this will be discussed in the section “experimental sources of error”. We were able to accurately recover the different substances in the mixture, and separation techniques were learned.

VIII.            Discussion of Theory: The process of separating mixtures into their basic components is the main purpose of this experiment. It goes over how to decant, which is the process of separating a liquid from a solid by pouring the liquid out slowly, without pouring out the solid. It also goes over the usage of sublimation to separate compounds by heating a solid and allowing it to pass directly to the gas phase. Extraction is separating components from a mixture by using a solvent to dissolve a soluble substance and leaving behind an insoluble component. The NH4Cl is sublimed from the mixture. Extraction is used to separate the NaCl and SiO2 by dissolving the NaCl into the water and allowing the SiO2 to fall out of solution. The solution is then decanted. The reason the substances can be separated as such lies in their chemical composition, which causes some to be soluble (or to be able to sublime), while others aren’t.

 IX.            Experimental Sources of Error: The percent compositions of the substances in the mixture added up to more than 100%. There are many possible explanations for this. First, the sand and salt may not have been sufficiently dried. However, this is unlikely as we checked to make sure that would not happen. Another possible explanation is that our fingerprints on the evaporating dish may have added some weight to our calculations, since crucible tongs were not always used when taking the dish to the analytical balance. An explanation for the differences in percent compositions between trials may be that the mixture was not sufficiently mixed before the sample was obtained. There were clumps that may have been from only one substance, which means our sample’s compositions would be different from the actual compositions of the mixture. Finally, human error is always present, as errors in reading of measurement or in technique could have altered the accuracy of our results.

    X.            Questions:

1.      Could the separation in this experiment have been done in a different order? For example, if the mixture were first extracted with water and then the extract and the insoluble residue both heated to dryness, could you determine the amounts of NaCl, NH4Cl, and SiO2 originally present? Why or why not? Not if you are still trying to determine the masses of each substance. NH4Cl is soluble, so if water was added first, decantation would leave SiO2 in one dish and a mixture of water, NH4Cl, and NaCl in another. When this mixture is heated, both water and NH4Cl will evaporate. This means the mass of NH4Cl cannot be measured.

2.      How could you separate barium sulfate, BaSO4, from NH4Cl? Barium sulfate is insoluble in water, while ammonium sulfate is soluble. Water could be added to the mixture, and then it could be decanted. This would separate the substances.

3.      How could you separate barium chloride, BaCl2, from calcium sulfate CaSO4? Barium chloride is soluble in water, while calcium sulfate isn’t. Water could be added to dissolve the barium chloride, and then decanted. Heating the water would leave the solid barium chloride.

4.      How could you separate tellurium dioxide, TeO2, from SiO2? Both substances are insoluble in water. Since there is no property that helps separate them, there is no practical way to do so.

5.      How could you separate benzophenone from α-naphthol? Because of their differences in density, the substances will not mix. The top layer can then be skimmed off, separating it from the other substance.

Once the candidate reports for duty organisation has to place him initially in that job for which he/she is selected organisation generally decides the final placement after the critical training is over on the basis of candidates aptitude and performance during the training.

“Placement is determination of the job to which an accepted is to be assigned and his assignment to that Job”

Placement Process-

                                                          Collect details about the employee

                                                            Construct the employees profile

                                               Match between subgroup profile and individual profile

                                                    Compare subgroup profile to job family profile

                                                            Assign the individual to job family

                                 Assign the individual to specific job after further counselling and assignment.

Problems in Placement-

1) Employee Expectations- If employee expects high salary, independent and challenging work and job couldn’t fulfill the expectations of employee this results in misfit.

2) Job Expectations or Description- Sometimes expectations from the employee we more than skills and abilities that also creates the mismatch.

3) Changes in Organisation Structure- Technical changes bring radical change in Job Description and Job Specification this also create misfit.

4) Changes in Organisation Structure- Changes in frequency strategies like mergers and acquisitions down sizing, delaying etc result in misfit between employee and job.

5) Social and Psychological Factors- Involvement in team, mark, group formation at time creates misfit between employee and job.

Essentials for Effective Placement-

1) Job Rotation- Technique of rotating employees among jobs in departments or organisation enable employees to satisfy the aptitude required at challengung job.

2) Team Work- Recent trend of job design is team building. It allows employee to use their skills, knowledge, abilities and minimizes problems on placement.

3) Trainig and Development- Continous training and development helps employee to acquire new skills and knowledge based on redesigned job.

4) Job enrichment- Provides challenging work and DM authorities to employees, oppurtunity to utilizes various skilss of employees and minimizing problems in placement.

4) Relocating the Employees- Company having branches or offices at different place, select the candidate and place him at one branch and initially and shift him at other branch at later stage based on requirement.

Other- i) Nature of competition

ii) Legal Factors

iii) Social cultural Factors

iv) External influences

v) Organisation Impact

vi) Size of Organisation

vii) Type of Personnel

viii) Past Practices

            Industries became necessary and important in America because it was a way to get many workers to make a lot of a certain product for a big profit. Industries were initially founded by rich Boston merchants with the urge to take advantage of a peaceful rural setting as well as the water power of the Merrick River, seeing that all power came from the water flow. As industries rose from these rural areas, so did the population in places such as Manchester, which was the capital of cotton at the time. People from England and many other areas knew and marveled at the well-off industrial system which enhanced technology to an advanced level and produced large amounts of products for a large profit. Although the industrial system seemed flawless and perfect, there were many problems within the factory such as the conditions the workers had to face. The factories were cramped, dark, very cold or very hot, disease-infested, and loud. The conditions were terrible and thus caused many to disapprove of the factories and industrial system as a whole.

            To avoid mobs and protests from the workers in the factories and people who generally thought industries were wrong as a whole, certain plans and actions had begun. For example, many advocates of manufactures saw the misery and poverty of the English factory workers and, deciding that the American workers would not take a similar course, instituting a strict system of moral supervision and locating all factories on the countryside.

ONLY HALF IN CASE SOMEONE FELT LIKE CHEATING

First of all, I would develop a power point presentation; which would discuss the facets of the new facility.  I would gather the information that I needed and plug it into the power point using visuals; which would keep the audience’s attention.  Visuals such as pictures which depict a juvenile facility; would aide in keeping the attention of the listener; as well as guiding the listener to what I am talking about.  Using captured visuals aide the speaker in the portraying of a subject; while enhancing a possible discussion, and the presentation on a subject.

In the presentation I would include crime rate statistics involving juvenile offenders; as well as the affect a new juvenile facility would have on the community.  I would discuss the positives that a juvenile facility has to offer and the alternatives to such a facility.  I would impose my knowledge of the needs within this community I am speaking to; as well as the breakdown of services within this community.  By gathering known community data and bringing together the components of the community; the audience would be drawn in to the invitation of such a facility.  Keeping this audience’s attention can be done by attributing the relationships and the needs which are apparent in all communities.

Listing the strengths of the proposed juvenile facility along with the fallacies of which a community may be subject to; would create an educational process on the subject.  Educating the community within the Rotary club will be an asset to deter any negatives; of which have been portrayed in the past regarding such a facility.

Within the time frame of 20-30 minutes, I would have a time set aside for questions and answers in which the audience has regarding the topic of a juvenile facility.

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Take a look at this persons face:

Image via Wikipedia

Well, why does your face look like that? The answer seems simple: It’s just like that. No reason.

Wrong!

According to common sense, there is a good reason for all this. If you think about it, there are logical explanations. 

1. Hair – Hair is most likely to be on the top of the head to absorb moisture such as rain. if we had no hair, rain might fall right onto our heads, which would hurt! Also, hair helps keep our heads warm, to protect the brain, and stop us from looking creepy (only waxy and shiny bald heads are creepy. natural bald heads are fine).
2. Eyebrows – Well, this is obvious! These stop water from dripping into our eyes. If they were below the eyes, it would be useless to have them, although this position is already taken by the mustache. Eyebrows cause the water to go around the eyes, or drip down in front. If you stand in the rain, you will barely ever get water in your eyes (provided you don’t look up).
   

   Image via Wikipedia

3. Eyes – These allow us to see, and if they were any lower than where they are, people would bump their heads into things a lot more. The reason eyes are far apart from each other is so our brains can produce a 3-D image for us. If we had just 1 eye, we could not tell distance. Try covering one eye, then touch here with the index finger on your other hand. You will find that you hit the surface of the screen earlier or later than when you expected. Another method is to try to go as close to the word as you can without touching it. Chances are, you either touch it, or are very far away from it.
   

   Image via Wikipedia

4. Nose and Mouth – I have put these two together because my explanation involves both at once. If you had your nose below your mouth, you would probably drool on it and it would get very dirty (touching your tongue to your nose would be a lot easier though). When your nose is above your mouth, the scent of the food being eaten can float up through the nostrils, then your nose would help you enjoy the flavor of your food. If you try to eat something with your nose pegged or blocked, you will taste less. If you smell a food without eating it, you can tell what it is, because it smells almost the same as it tastes.
5. Mustache and chin – The mustache helps keep your head warm, and is also a great pain to have to shave and clean. The chin is just the downside of having a jaw. If the mouth opens, the chin goes down. When it closes, the chin goes up.

It was shocking to me, that the woman I thought I would spend my whole life with suddenly wanted “space”. My son was about to turn 4 years old, and my daughter had just turned 2. Our perfect family was about to be torn in half.

That was almost 2 1/2 years ago, a rough 2 1/2 years as I transitioned from being a married father of 2 to being a divorced, part-time single parent. My children spend about half of their time with their mom, and half with me. In our state this is called shared placement, a situation that many states don’t allow. Over the last 2 years, I have faced many challenges in raising my kids as a single dad, and I have also gotten a lot of support.

Challenge #1: Mom

The fact is that most moms go into divorce believing that dad will only want to see the kids every other weekend, really wants to be single and childless, and could only want to see the kids more out of a secret desire to reduce his child support obligation. These are of course false beliefs, but ones moms cling to.

During the first 2 months that I was separated from my soon-to-be ex-wife, I lived in a studio apartment and never had the kids overnight. While I tried to spend a few hours with my kids everyday, it just didn’t feel normal at all, for me or for them. It was summer, and I would stop over, pick them up, and take them to a playground for a few hours. While it was fun for a while, it also got old, and became a routine. My kids weren’t looking forward to seeing me very much, and I wasn’t looking forward to the visits. I also dreaded the routine of checking my watch, regularly monitoring how much time I had left before I had to bring them back to mom. We rarely had mealtimes together, I never got to tuck them into bed, and over all it just wasn’t normal life.

Once I made the decision to file for divorce, I quickly worked to get a bigger apartment and some bedroom furniture for the kids. After pushing past a lot of resistance from mom, my kids had their first weekend at my place. Many things I had greatly missed were suddenly back. Saturday morning we lounged in our pajamas in the living room, sharing waffles. I let the kids play in their new bedroom for a while, then spent some time playing games with them. I made pizza for lunch, a favorite for all of us. I could go on, but the gist is we spent the entire weekend together on our terms. Most importantly, I never had to look at my watch and calculate how long until I had to shuttle them back to mom’s—we didn’t have to worry about time anymore.

Even though the schedule is much better for the kids, and they are doing much better now that they have a dad who is a meaningful part of their lives, mom is still the source of a lot of resistance. The attacks continue, in subtle ways designed to cast doubt on my ability to raise our kids. If she had her way, I would only see the kids every other weekend, and her thoughts are not atypical of other moms. For this reason, moms are typically the number one obstacle to raising kids as a single father.

In my next installment, I plan to address another challenge single dads face in raising their children.

To read part 2 of this series, click here [Challenges in Raising Children as a Divorced Father, Part 2]

The distinctive features of Iberian societies became part of their American culture. They were heavily urban; many peasants lived in small centers. Commoners coming to America sought to become nobles holding Indian-worked estates. Strong patriarchal ideas were reflected in the family life, which was based on encomiendas, large estates worked by Indians. The Iberian tradition of slavery came to the New World. Political centralization in Portugal and Castile depended on a professional bureaucracy of trained lawyers and judges. Religion and the Catholic Church were closely linked to the state. The merchants of Portugal and Spain had extensive experience with the slave trade and plantation agriculture on the earlier colonized Atlantic islands.

What model for American colonization was established in the Caribbean?

The Caribbean “crucible” was a model for Spanish actions in Latin America. Columbus and his successors established colonies. The Indians of the islands were distributed among Spaniards as laborers to form encomiendas. European pressures and diseases quickly destroyed native populations and turned the islands into colonial backwaters. The Spaniards had established Iberian-style cities but had to adapt them to New World conditions. They were laid out in a grid plan with a central plaza for state and church buildings. Royal administration followed the removal of Columbus and his family from control. Professional magistrates staffed the administrative structure; laws incorporated Spanish and American experience. The church joined in the process, building cathedrals and universities. During the early sixteenth century, Spanish women and African slaves joined the earlier arrivals, marking the shift from conquest to settlement. Ranches and sugar plantations replaced gold searching. By this time, most of the Indians had died or been killed. Some clerics and administrators attempted to end abuses; Bartolomé de las Casas began the struggle for justice for Indians. By the 1520s and 1530s, the elements of the Latin American colonial system were in place.

What was the nature of the exploitation of Indians in the Americas?

The Spanish maintained Indian institutions that served their goals. In Mexico and Peru, the traditional nobility, under Spanish authority, presided over taxation and labor demands. Enslavement of Indians, except in warfare, was prohibited by the middle of the sixteenth century. In place of slavery, the government awarded encomiendas (land grants) to conquerors who used their Indians as a source of labor and taxes. The harshness of encomiendas contributed to Indian population decline. From the 1540s, the crown, not wanting a new American nobility to develop, began to modify the system. Most encomiendas disappeared by the 1620s. Colonists henceforth sought grants of land, not labor. The state continued to extract labor and taxes from Indians, who worked in mines and other state projects. Many Indians, to escape forced labor, fled their villages to work for wages from landowners or urban employers. Despite the disruptions, Indian culture remained resilient and modified Spanish forms to Indian ways.

Discuss the nature of the Spanish system of government in the American colonies.

Sovereignty over the Spanish empire was from the king, based on a papal grant awarding the Indies to Castile in return for its bringing the lands into the Christian community. The Treaty of Tordesillas (1494) between Spain and Portugal regularized their conflicting claims by drawing a north-south line around the earth; the eastern regions belonged to Portugal, the western to Spain. All of the Americas, except Brazil, went to Spain. Indians and many Europeans did not accept the decisions. The Spanish empire became a bureaucratic system built on a juridical core of lawyers who had both legislative and administrative authority. The king ruled from Spain through the Council of Indies; in the Americas there were viceroyalties based in Mexico City and Lima. The viceroys, high-ranking nobles, represented the king and had extensive legislative, military, and judicial powers. The viceroyalties were divided into ten divisions run by royal magistrates. At the local level, other magistrates, often accused of corruption, managed tax and labor service regulations. The clergy performed both secular and religious functions. They converted Indians and established Christian villages. Some defended Indian rights and studied their culture. In core areas, the formal institutional structure of the church eventually prevailed; since the state nominated church officials, they tended to support state policies. The church profoundly influenced colonial cultural and intellectual life through architecture, printing, schools, and universities. The Inquisition controlled morality and orthodoxy.

How did the discovery of gold and diamonds change the economic organization of Brazil?

Between 1580 and 1640, Portugal and Brazil shared the same monarch, the Habsburg ruler of Spain. During the seventeenth-century struggles between Spain and Holland, the Dutch occupied part of Brazil until expelled in 1654. Meanwhile, the Dutch, English, and French had established sugar plantation colonies in the Caribbean. The resulting competition lowered sugar prices and raised the cost of slaves. Brazil lost its position as predominant sugar producer, but exploring backwoodsmen (Paulistas) discovered gold in the Minas Gerais region in 1695. People rushed to the mines and formed new settlements. Mines were worked by slaves. Government controls followed to tightly manage a production that peaked between 1735 and 1760. Brazil then was the greatest source of gold in the Western world. The gold, and later diamond, discoveries opened the interior to settlement, devastated Indian populations, and weakened coastal agriculture. The government managed to reinvigorate coastal agriculture and control the slave trade, while the mines stimulated new ventures in farming and ranching. Rio de Janeiro, nearer to the mines, became a major port and the capital in 1763. A societal hierarchy based on color remained in force. The gold and diamonds did not contribute much to Portuguese economic development. The resources gained allowed Portugal to import manufactured goods instead of creating its own industries.

Describe the social hierarchy of the American colonies

The key to societal development was miscegenation, basically intermarrying. Indian women suffered sexual exploitation from Europeans, and the crown sponsored marriages in a society where there were few European women. The result was mestizo population possessing higher status than Indians. A similar process occurred in colonies with large African slave populations. American realities had created new social distinctions based on race and place of birth. Europeans were always at the top; African slaves and Indians occupied the bottom. Mestizos filled the intermediate categories. Restrictions were placed on mixed-origin people, but social mobility was not halted. Over time, distinctions grew between Spaniards born in Spain (peninsulares) and the New World (Creoles). The latter dominated local economies and developed a strong sense of identity that later contributed to independence movements. Society as a whole remained subject to Iberian patriarchal forms. Women were under male authority; upper-class women were confined to household occupations, but many from the lower class participated in the economy.

What was the nature of the eighteenth century reforms in Portuguese and Spanish colonies?

The large colonies of Portugal and Spain provided an important place in the expanding world economy. By the eighteenth century, weakened internal situations allowed European rivals to benefit directly from Iberian colonial trade. Portugal and Spain had transferred their cultures to the Americas, recreating there a version of Iberian life modified by local influence. Surviving Indian populations adapted to the colonial situation and a distinctive multiethnic and multiracial society emerged that mixed the cultures of all participants. Where slavery prevailed, African cultures played a major role. Latin American civilization was distinct from the West, but related to it. In world markets, Latin American products remained in demand, maintaining a society with its economic life dependent on outside factors.

The rationale behind choosing this issue is that on my school experience and nursery placement I have had very contrasting experiences which convinced me just how influential a parent’s input can be to further the education of our children.

It is no wonder that parent involvement with schools has become a major educational issue. This is an area of increasing concern about the quality of education in this country. When reflecting on my personal experiences in school it is perfectly clear that parents heavily influence their children’s education.

One of the simplest things which parents can have an affect on is absenteeism and tardiness. Something as simple as ensuring their children are ready on time for school is often not done. In my primary 7 placement and my primary 2 placement in particular the amount of time children were late or absent from school really shocked me.

An example was a girl who was late every day for a whole week then missed two days off the following week as she said herself her mum slept in and was too tired to take her to school. On speaking to the class teacher she informed me that the mother had been approached about the issue but was not very co-operative. This then, meant that the child has missed out on some important work which is not always that easy to catch up on. The girl was in the top group in the class but the teacher said that her absenteeism and tardiness would result in her not achieving her potential.

This was in stark contrast to my nursery placement where the children’s parents could not be any more supportive and co-operative with the nursery staff. They were constantly in the nursery having a chat with the staff at the end of the day whereas in my school placements the children were often quite lucky to be picked up on time.

In nursery the parents were continuously involved with the nursery and helped with things such as the library and outings. They always appeared so willing and enthusiastic to help whenever the opportunity to arrive. I felt this really was reflected in the children’s attitudes toward school and their achievement. It is widely known that parents help can form their children’s attitudes. This then means that if a parent has a negative view of school then this could influence the child also.

Research overwhelmingly demonstrates that parent involvement in children’s learning is positively related to achievement. (Brian, 1994). It has been shown that the deeper the parents’ involvement in their children’s learning, the more beneficial the effects are on their children.

Looking more closely at the research, there are strong indications that the most effective forms of parent involvement are those which engage parents in working directly with their children on learning activities at home. (Henderson & Berla, 1994). Programs which involve parents in reading with their children, supporting their work on homework assignments, or tutoring them using materials and instructions provided by teachers, show particularly impressive results according to Henderson & Berla (1994).

Along similar lines, Walberg, Bole & Waxman (1990) have found that the more active forms of parent involvement produce greater achievement benefits than the more passive ones. That is, if parents receive more phone calls, read and sign written communications from the school, and perhaps attend and listen during parent-teacher conferences, greater achievement benefits accrue than would be the case with no parent involvement at all.

However, Lubeck (1996) has noted that considerably greater achievement benefits are noted when parent involvement is active and when parents work with their children at home. Certainly, but also when they attend and actively support school activities and when they help out in classrooms or on field trips and so on.

I have found this to be the case in my experiences as in my nursery placement the staff actively sought out parents and asked them to help with such things making them feel important and more involved with their child’s education. This being in contrast to the last school I was in where a letter was more likely to be sent out to parents which can be misconstrued as impersonal.

The research also shows that the earlier in a child’s educational process parent involvement begins, the more powerful the effects will be. Comer, Haynes, Joyner, & Ben-Avie (1996) point out the critical role of the home and family environment in determining children’s school success, and it appears that the earlier this influence is harnessed, the greater the likelihood of higher pupil achievement.

Early childhood programs with strong parent involvement components have amply demonstrated the effectiveness of this approach according to Burman (1994). I would certainly agree as I experienced a parent who believed that the early stages was not as important as the later stages in school. This can then go back to what I have mentioned about a child having the same perceptions as their parents which means it can lead to a negative view of education in the child’s eyes.

According to Black (1989), parental involvement can sometimes turn into interference. She suggests that schools need to build both bridges and buffers for parent involvement. Bridges need to be built so that parents can help their children succeed in school, but buffers need to be in place to allow teachers and administrators to do their jobs and exercise their professional expertise. In other words, there should be mutual trust between parents and the school so that both parties can work with, not against each other.

Trying to understand the relations between social class and home school relations, Lareau (1989) applied the notion of cultural capital in an examination of the interactions between the parents and the school in working class and middle class white communities. She found that the family-school relationships are shaped by social class, with quite different forms of interaction. She found working class parents tend to have a relationship of separateness with the school.

In contrast, the middle class parents are connected to the school in ways that allow them to assert their agendas on the schools. They advocate for their children , shaping these opportunities their children had by using personal and institutional resources.

For Lareau (1989), parents with varying resources available to support their children’s education can include educational competence, relative class position, income and material resources and social networks, which provide them with leverage to use to advance their children’s school careers in ways that were not available to working class families. However I do not fully agree with this as I have come across parents who have the means to financially support their children but yet just do not have enough interest in their education to put their money to good use.

Highlighting both the cultural and individual aspects of these relations, Lareau (1989) notes also that within social class, individuals vary in the degree to which they activate cultural capital. Within upper middle class families she found there were differences in the degree to which parents intervened in the educational system.

Perhaps one of the most important findings of the research, however, is that parents of disadvantaged and minority children can and do make a positive contribution to their children’s achievement in school if they receive adequate encouragement. I feel this reflects my earlier point that it is the parents’ attitude that can often be at the root of the problem. Even more significant , the research dispels a popular myth by revealing, as noted that parents can make a difference regardless of their own levels of education.

Children reap benefits when fathers as well as mothers are highly involved in their children’s school. (Nord, 1997). There may also be certain aspects of children’s school performance and certain staged in school life where fathers’ involvement is particularly important.

Research has found that children are more likely to achieve better results when their fathers are highly involved in their schools. I found in my nursery placement that many of the fathers were very involved in the children’s education and perhaps this could be a partial reason in the achievements of the nursery. Nord (1998) suggests that schools can increase parent involvement by doing more to build relationships with fathers as well as mothers.

Pupils are not the only ones who benefit from parent involvement I would say. Teachers may discover that after increased involvement in the classroom, parents have a very new respect for the role teachers play and the impact they have on learning opportunities. (Willis, 1997).

Investigators have identified lack of planning and lack of mutual understanding as the two greatest barriers to effective parent involvement. (Lubeck, 1996). School staff wishing to institute effective programs will need to be both open minded and well organized in their approach to engaging parent participation.

Several other obstacles block the path of successful school-family partnerships. For example, on speaking with some parents on my nursery placement I have found that some parents may be intimidated by teachers and view them as “experts” who have no need for parental input. Other parents lack confidence when it comes to helping their children academically. In addition, parents whose own school experience during childhood was unpleasant or unsuccessful may still view school-based education in a negative light as I have mentioned. Parents themselves may be uneasy about the extent of their involvement in schools.

School personnel have their own misconceptions. Teachers may feel their turf is being invaded and fear that parents are trying to undermine their authority. Schools may communicate to parents either subtly or more overtly that their teacher knows best thereby discouraging parents from raising questions or concerns about the education their children are receiving. In addition, some teachers prejudice certain parents as unwilling or unable to help their children academically which I have found as hearing conversations in the staffroom has seen that some teachers don’t get on with some parents whatsoever.

As the benefits of parent involvement become more evident, educators are increasingly committed to overcoming barriers and areas of misunderstanding that can arise among both parents and school personnel. On a practical level, there are steps schools can take to facilitate parental involvement. (Yap & Enoki, 1999) say that say that partnerships must be a priority for both teachers and parents and must be carefully planned.

Teachers should also communicate with parents not just when students misbehave, but when they are doing well to give positive feedback. Communication should be regular as well as personal, just like my nursery placement where letters, newsletters, phone calls, news boards, pictures, videos and so on were all commonplace which can be seen in appendix 1 – the policy on parental partnerships.

Another important step schools can take to increase parental involvement is by a regular schedule of activities and programs that are stimulating, informative and enjoyable. Parents are particularly interested in programs in which their children participate or perform such as science fairs, musical concerts or plays. Activities which involve food are among the most successful: inviting parents into the school to help staff prepare food for an event gives different adult members of the school community an opportunity to get know each other in a relaxed, informal way.

One particular useful means of making parents feel like full participants in the operation of the school, I feel is the establishment of an area within the school building itself where parents meet, relax and avail themselves of school resources.

This initiative was used in one of my school placements and they had a parents room where it was a place for co-ordinating parent meetings and events, as well as providing information on continuing education, on employment opportunities, and about other resources available in the community. However during my time there it was not used and I felt it was not utilized as fully as it could be as it had the potential to be a great success in building partnerships with parents.

At local level the further development of school-family links seems like a good investment for schools and local education authorities to make. However given the constraints under which schools operate, these links will need leadership and resources from the local education authorities, from central government and from other agencies. Given that there is no guarantee of particular approaches working in every situation, they will also need careful local monitoring.

So overall in my opinion parents have a major influence on children’s learning success in school. I have studied the research which indicates that parent involvement does increase academic achievement, improves their behavior and motivation, reduces absenteeism and fosters a positive attitude overall. This has certainly been the case in my experiences as there is such a clear divide between schools where parents are involved and those who have poor links. So I strongly believe that more should be done on both the school and the parents parts to try to achieve positive links so that the children are the ones that reap the benefits.