Lesson 4: Class Culture

Helicopter Parents

Parental involvement in the instruction and maintenance of heritage languages with students at the elementary and secondary levels has long been considered a positive factor in student achievements and community building. This picture often changes drastically when it comes to the college classroom—such parents, now with adult children, are often grouped in the unflattering category of "helicopter parents."

The term "helicopter parent," typically associated with baby-boomers who do not see why they should change their pattern of interaction with their children and their schooling environment just because these children have left home and gone to college, refers to parents who hover over their children to protect them and swoop down as soon as they perceive a crisis. They contact instructors and administrators, seek help, offer advice, and, at times, demand immediate answers to their questions—satisfactory answers, that is. Over 70% of institutions of higher education in the U.S. now have special offices that communicate with parents in a variety of manners that range from providing "orientation bouncers" to involving parents in campus life and providing them with information on a regular basis.

Does your institution have an office that works with parents?

Language classes offer a unique venue for parents of heritage learners to get involved in positive ways: hosting events, participating in extracurricular activities, or presenting cultural topics to the class in person, in writing, via podcast, etc. This, of course, is a very delicate issue because:

  • Students, craving independence, may resent such involvement on the part of their parents.
  • Students' privacy must be strictly maintained, which may become difficult with their parents in close contact.
  • Parents may cross the fine line between involvement and attempting to influence the way a class is structured.

All this must be carefully negotiated before an invitation is extended to parents. If done correctly, the interaction may go a long way in signaling respect for a heritage culture and setting a positive tone in the classroom, but be on the lookout for parents who:

  • call or e-mail the instructor too frequently
  • may have excessive involvement in students' homework
  • challenge the authority of the instructor or interfering with his decision making
  • make their children uncomfortable in front of their peers
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