Depending on your philosophy, there are many ways you could distributed the percentage of responsibility of making sure a student is learning what they should be. Also, a great deal of it depends on the individual student. To make things simple, let us look at your “typical student.” I believe the percentages should be distributed as followed:
Student 50%
Teacher 30%
Parents 20%
Let’s look at these individually. Obviously, the student is going to have a majority of the responsibility for their growth as a student and a person. If they don’t make the dedication to do the work, the help of the parents and teachers won’t be much help in the long run. This is easier for some students than it is for others. A perfect example would be my brother and me. I would do school work no problem and not really complain about it. My brother, on the other hand, refused to do any work and became a pain to both my parents and the teachers.
Next, the teachers share the 2nd largest about of the responsibility. These are the people that spend a lot of time with the students and their job is to engage the students and keep them interested in the material being provided. If they are interested in what is being taught, they will be more likely to learn and participate more. Also, it is the teacher’s responsibility to get a hold of the parents if they have any concern for the student so the parents can know that they need to take more control in making sure the student is getting done what they need to.
Finally, the parents and the role they play. While they may not have as large of a role, it is just as important. Their job is to keep the student in line by making sure they do their homework and give it their best effort. The more hands on a student’s parents are, the better off a student will be in the long run because they know that their parents are interested in their child doing the best they possibly can. My mother did a great job of this. Any time I needed help, she was right there to guide me along my way.
Chance, I agree that the student has the most responsibility when it comes to their learning potential. The example you gave comparing yourself and your brother was great. Everyone learns differently and some students need more help from teachers and parents, while other are more independent learners. I agree that teachers would have the 2nd largest role because they are the actual people teaching the lessons that students are to learn. Parents I think play a big part of a young child's learning and take less of a role in the later stages of life.
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