Do you think that a parent's education level determines how their children turn out?

Question

What I mean is, I have seen "parents", even on Y!A who can't spell or properly use grammar and who seem uneducated (or at least, undereducated). Do you feel that children learn more from their parents or more from school? If a child goes to a decent school, but comes home to uneducated parents, which has more influence?(Please explain. No "yes" or "no" answers just to get points.)

Answer 1

For the most part, children learn only academics from their classes at school. Everything else about living life is learned from their parents, and the people their parents allow in their lives. While children may struggle with school if their parents are not academically smart, they could still end up getting good grades and graduating, especially if their parents value their children's education. However, if parents do not know how to live life well, and do not understand or hold good life values, it is likely their children will also fail in life, no matter what their children learned at school, or what school their children attended. In short, the life values of parents have more effect on the outcome of their children's lives than what degree they hold or don't hold.

Answer 2

So you say some parents on Y!A can't spell? This is the internet? Where spelling doesn't matter and no one grades you on it... They could be successful people or people with PhDs but still spell horribly out of their own convenience.

I think children learn far more from school than their parents. If a child's parents are undereducated, to a child educated even in the public school systems, the parents are going to seem like aliens from another planet to the child. The child may even be disappointed in his parents and shut them out. ("why listen to them when I already know everything they know?") And if the parents are not educated, how can the child possibly learn anything useful or gain any insight from them? They're either probably don't know, not understand, or repeat something what little they do know that the child already knows or already knows is not fact-based true. To uneducated parents, they can only go so far as to be able to teach and help the child. So essentially the child has to do it on her own and thus, learn what her parents didn't. The expeirience of the knowledge and insight of the child, and the ability to reason and think critically are all skills formed by schooling and daily interaction. For instance, if the parents didn't speak English and the child has to learn on his own, of course the child has to learn it from school and peers. And then be able to use that knowledge and apply it to life, such as being able to read and read the newspaper to gain further knowledge and insight.

The parents couldn't teach them advanced algebra or the events of American history and how that affects the world we live in today, the schools do. For the child coming home to uneducated parents, the parents might just be seen as a burden to the child of their simpleness, lack of understanding. Of course, many uneducated parents are overzealous in pushing their kids to do well in school. So what? Whether the child does well is up to the CHILD only. The parents just create unnecessary stress and pressure that could be doing more harm than good that could well escalate into conflict and family troubles. And just obsessing over academia and nothing else because of what they weren't able to acheive or culture-based doesn't help at all. That's a narrow-minded view of putting the burden that was theirs to bear upon their children. Life is short, live it happily and to its fullest. Acedemia is important, but not as important as living a full life.

Answer 3

Not necessarily. I think it could have an influence but if you think about back in the "good old days" you'll see a different point of view. A lot of immigrants came to North America and couldn't read or write. Did that stop their children from learning and becoming a success? No. A lot of those children did very well and learned in this new land.

They went on to have children that went to college and university, etc.

I think being lazy and/or not caring has more of an affect then education. If the parents don't care why should the kids? If the parents are trying to educate themselves or trying to help the kids learn more then they themselves know, then I think that the level of education can be of no consequence whatsoever.

Answer 4

This is an extremely complicated question. It depends on a number of factors, the child's personality being the most important. If a child comes home to uneducated parents, they can decide to become like that, or to take the measures necessary to better themselves. If they are attending a decent school, and have access to tutors and the like, then I would imagine that the child can turn out to become an educated adult. But if the child decides that their parents made it in life without an education, and they can do the same, then the child may decide that an education is not important.

Answer 5

Actually studies have been proven that the farther along the parent is and the importance placed on an education both have an affect on how educated the child becomes.

Just like how girls are more likely to have children at the same time their parents had children.

I think if the parents lazy and doesn't care than it doesn't matter how bright the child is, they will grow up being lazy and not caring. Parents that demand the child get an education, even if they weren't able to make it through high school, are probably more likely to have children who feel education is important.

Answer 6

I think it is really up to the child's personal goals and ambitions. If they want to learn something, they can if they set their mind to it, even if their parents and the school system both fail at it.

Having undereducated parents does put a child at a disadvantage, but if they want something bad enough, they can rise above it. Sure, it is hard when a child has to study for a spelling test, and their parents can't even pronounce the words on the paper... and it seems to be common practice these days that no one, teacher nor parent, seem to really correct a child's school paper for spelling and grammar. Even with spell check, it only can do so much.

Answer 7

Yes, I think a parent's education level determines how their children turn out. Both of my parents are immigrants from SE-Asia. They have had very little education since they came to the US. Even though I learned mainly from school, having uneducated parents has helped motivate me to work harder. For me, having uneducated parents has had more influence on my learning experiences.

Answer 8

I think that (even though I'm not a parent) that yes some people DO take after their parents and they end up kinda stupid. However, thats not the case with others. Some kids notice how much of a struggle their parents are going through because of their "undereducation" and they try harder so they dont have to live the same life. but thats just my opinion!
=)

Answer 9

I think so, knowing that I don't even go to school (i'm homeschooled) i depend on my parents, and my texts to get the education I need. If my parents aren't that smart, then I'm not gonna be very smart either because they're the ones who buy my texts and give me assignments, challenge me to go farther, explain why some things work the way they do. Not all of this you can get from a few teachers or even books.
This isn't entirely true. I know kids who are super geniuses and their parents are... well y'know, and i also know kids who aren't very smart at all and their /parents/ are the super geniuses. I do believe that on a basic level, this theory is truth. If my mom didn't teach me what she knows i would have made a million avoidable mistakes by now, haha.

Answer 10

I think it's a big factor. Children copy their parents so if the parents don't think spelling or using proper grammar or having an education is important, their children will most likely adopt the same views. I'm sure there will be a few exceptions, but over all the children will end up like their parents.