IPS B.S. has been reading articles on how to get parents more involved in their childrens' education. What are you doing to keep parents involved? What works best? What doesn't work at all?
I'm in secondary ed, so I tend to focus more on connecting with the student than parents. I know it's a lot different with elementary. But the big thing I do is just try to be very receptive to parental input when it is offered, even negatively, because I think many parents don't think we actually value what they think. The other thing I do I learned from a veteran teacher my first year teaching. When I call a parent, I always approach the conversation as if this is the best parent in the world and we're discussing my favorite student, and if we could just get over this one little hurdle, all would be right with the world.
When I call a parent, I always approach the conversation as if this is the best parent in the world and we're discussing my favorite student, and if we could just get over this one little hurdle, all would be right with the world.
It can only be done in early elementary. By the time 4th grade roles around if they aren't involved then it's too late. Plus as long as the DOE and the Feds talk about the "School's responsibility" without mentioning the students or the homes then it sends the message that it REALLY is all the school's responsibility.
I don't. I'm serious. Most of the time, they resent it, and so do I. If I have behavior problems, I'll talk to parents (like the above poster, I'm all, "he's such a great kid..." but as far as trying to get parents to really be involved in their kids' education, I don't. I find it messes me up more than it helps me. Involved parents will teach their kids to do things differently than the way I've taught them, or they'll "help" with a project to the point that it no longer demonstrates the knowledge or ability of the student. Or they'll give me 57 ways I could improve on a project. Uninvolved parents will sign off on things that weren't done and make up excuses and teach their children to lie and CYA rather than do what needs to be done. I'm better off if I just keep the school work in class and keep the parents at home. Does that make me selfish? LOL
Many times we only hear from upset or angry parents. I have learned to let them vent and talk about their complaints. Then when it is over, we move on to what we together can do to improve the education of their child. I am in a high school and this works well. Parents want to be respected and want to know that their side of the story is being heard. All of us want the young man/woman to graduate and possess job skills.
There are of course exceptions to any rule but generally any school, public or private or in between, is only as good as it's parents. This is true regardless of the quality of the teaching staff, the adequacy of the building or the size of the budget. Too few parents realize that the primary responsibility for their child's education falls on them, not the school. Getting parents involved is a daunting task for any teacher. Often it is not possible. There is no magic bullet to accomplish this. What works will likely be different for each parent. The only right answer is to keep trying. A child with poor parents deserves no less effort than a child with excellent parents, regardless of the outcome.
Selfish, maybe not. Ignorant, for sure. As a responsible teacher you would welcome the involvement of any parent who is willing to make an effort. Your attitude is part of the reason why parents prefer to stay away--they know that are not wanted. Learning for children is a partnership that educators have to be willing to cultivate. Never said it was easy, but to turn your back on the notion is inappropriate. Yes, I am a teacher.
Take some time during the summer and read Cora Daniels' book, "Ghettonation", and you'll have a better understanding of the big picture. For those unfamiliar with Daniels' work, she is an African-American journalist and a professor at NYU.
I'm glad Cora Daniels doesn't teach children in urban schools. I hope there aren't many fans of her book here either. To me, teachers who believe that black people and/or their culture are the problem with education are a larger problem than parents. If you can't teach children from other cultures, that is your weakness not theirs. Imagine if some rich, prim, New England prep school teacher taught a class of people like you and continually acted better than you and implied if you had better parents you would live more like him and speak more like him, and if you only appreciated his superiority, you would work harder in his class. That's the deal with "ghetto" cultures (as well as "hillbilly pride," and western Native American criminal cultures for that matter).
You are sort of missing the point..."black people and/or their culture are the problem with education are a larger problem than parents"
Our culture is the reason why we have a problem with parents. Our culture is education is not important. Our culture is TV is more important than our child's education.
I disagree. I think you are missing the point. Our job is to educate children of all cultures. If we can only educate children whose parents are strongly pushing them academically, then public education is an enormous failure, and taxpayers are being lied to. Instead of using their culture against them, why not use it to make education relevant to how they live?
I completely agree with relevancy. I know a speech teacher (not in IPS), and at the beginning of each semester, she plays a video of two rappers in televised interviews. I forget who the first one is, but kids know who he is, and he's disrespectful and sounds like an idiot. The second one is Wil Smith, who comes across as very down-to-earth and "cool", but quite intelligent and well-spoken. She does things like that throughout the semester. She predictably has great success with her students. Students who fail all of their other classes will get As and Bs in speech. I am still in college to be a teacher, but that's the kind of teacher I want to be.
I don't think it's either/or. It's both. If you don't teach children from where they stand, they will never have the tools to adapt to a new culture. That's the case regardless of the starting point and regardless of what the "target" culture is. People don't learn that which is meaningless to them. Even if everybody and their brother is telling them it is important. We learn what we can adapt into our understanding of the world. The rest we discard. If we want kids to learn, we have to make it relevant. As college graduates, teachers tend to see many school lessons in terms of academic importance. "You'll need this information for further schooling." But we disengage many of our students when we teach that way. We need to make sure these kids understand that what we teach has relevance to their life even if they never stepped foot in another classroom.
Just read this online, and thought it was appropriate for this discussion. I encourage you to read this very inspiring article. I think it proves the potential for success in ANY population. IPS sells kids short. (Note only 4% of these students were reading at grade level as freshmen.)
That is a nice article. I bet that Administration is more hands-on and supportive in this school. It's amazing what can be done when teacher morale is up.
Really, we have many parents who can't get to functions. Let's start doing what big districts around the country do: provide dinner, transportation, and child care so that parents can come and feel welcome at schools. It doesn't cost much to make spaghetti and garlic bread, but it buys a lot of good faith and trust.
Any person who may come across this and read it whether they work for IPS or notwould think what a bunch of idiots.90% of everything on here is garbage.
Parent meetings do not work
ReplyDeleteFeeding families brings them in. I've been in different schools over the years, free food always worked.
I'm in secondary ed, so I tend to focus more on connecting with the student than parents. I know it's a lot different with elementary. But the big thing I do is just try to be very receptive to parental input when it is offered, even negatively, because I think many parents don't think we actually value what they think. The other thing I do I learned from a veteran teacher my first year teaching. When I call a parent, I always approach the conversation as if this is the best parent in the world and we're discussing my favorite student, and if we could just get over this one little hurdle, all would be right with the world.
ReplyDeleteWhen I call a parent, I always approach the conversation as if this is the best parent in the world and we're discussing my favorite student, and if we could just get over this one little hurdle, all would be right with the world.
ReplyDeleteThat is great, nice effort.
It can only be done in early elementary. By the time 4th grade roles around if they aren't involved then it's too late. Plus as long as the DOE and the Feds talk about the "School's responsibility" without mentioning the students or the homes then it sends the message that it REALLY is all the school's responsibility.
ReplyDeleteThe DOE and feds don't have jurisdiction over homes, just schools. That's why they focus their attention there.
ReplyDeleteAs far as getting parental involvement, I don't imagine there is a one-size-fits-all answer. It depends on the parents and what you want them to do.
Food brings them.
ReplyDeleteI don't. I'm serious. Most of the time, they resent it, and so do I. If I have behavior problems, I'll talk to parents (like the above poster, I'm all, "he's such a great kid..." but as far as trying to get parents to really be involved in their kids' education, I don't. I find it messes me up more than it helps me. Involved parents will teach their kids to do things differently than the way I've taught them, or they'll "help" with a project to the point that it no longer demonstrates the knowledge or ability of the student. Or they'll give me 57 ways I could improve on a project. Uninvolved parents will sign off on things that weren't done and make up excuses and teach their children to lie and CYA rather than do what needs to be done. I'm better off if I just keep the school work in class and keep the parents at home. Does that make me selfish? LOL
ReplyDeleteMany times we only hear from upset or angry parents. I have learned to let them vent and talk about their complaints. Then when it is over, we move on to what we together can do to improve the education of their child. I am in a high school and this works well. Parents want to be respected and want to know that their side of the story is being heard. All of us want the young man/woman to graduate and possess job skills.
ReplyDeleteThere are of course exceptions to any rule but generally any school, public or private or in between, is only as good as it's parents. This is true regardless of the quality of the teaching staff, the adequacy of the building or the size of the budget. Too few parents realize that the primary responsibility for their child's education falls on them, not the school. Getting parents involved is a daunting task for any teacher. Often it is not possible. There is no magic bullet to accomplish this. What works will likely be different for each parent. The only right answer is to keep trying. A child with poor parents deserves no less effort than a child with excellent parents, regardless of the outcome.
ReplyDelete"Does that make me selfish?"
ReplyDeleteSelfish, maybe not. Ignorant, for sure. As a responsible teacher you would welcome the involvement of any parent who is willing to make an effort. Your attitude is part of the reason why parents prefer to stay away--they know that are not wanted. Learning for children is a partnership that educators have to be willing to cultivate. Never said it was easy, but to turn your back on the notion is inappropriate. Yes, I am a teacher.
Take some time during the summer and read Cora Daniels' book, "Ghettonation", and you'll have a better understanding of the big picture. For those unfamiliar with Daniels' work, she is an African-American journalist and a professor at NYU.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad Cora Daniels doesn't teach children in urban schools. I hope there aren't many fans of her book here either. To me, teachers who believe that black people and/or their culture are the problem with education are a larger problem than parents. If you can't teach children from other cultures, that is your weakness not theirs. Imagine if some rich, prim, New England prep school teacher taught a class of people like you and continually acted better than you and implied if you had better parents you would live more like him and speak more like him, and if you only appreciated his superiority, you would work harder in his class. That's the deal with "ghetto" cultures (as well as "hillbilly pride," and western Native American criminal cultures for that matter).
ReplyDeleteThe word on the street is that Eugene has applied for a super job in Texas !
ReplyDeleteYou are sort of missing the point..."black people and/or their culture are the problem with education are a larger problem than parents"
ReplyDeleteOur culture is the reason why we have a problem with parents. Our culture is education is not important. Our culture is TV is more important than our child's education.
I disagree. I think you are missing the point. Our job is to educate children of all cultures. If we can only educate children whose parents are strongly pushing them academically, then public education is an enormous failure, and taxpayers are being lied to. Instead of using their culture against them, why not use it to make education relevant to how they live?
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with relevancy. I know a speech teacher (not in IPS), and at the beginning of each semester, she plays a video of two rappers in televised interviews. I forget who the first one is, but kids know who he is, and he's disrespectful and sounds like an idiot. The second one is Wil Smith, who comes across as very down-to-earth and "cool", but quite intelligent and well-spoken. She does things like that throughout the semester. She predictably has great success with her students. Students who fail all of their other classes will get As and Bs in speech. I am still in college to be a teacher, but that's the kind of teacher I want to be.
ReplyDeleteRelevancy?...I'm not so sure that we won't end up with the tail wagging the dog.
ReplyDeleteDoes culture ultimately determine who we are, or do we ultimately determine our culture?
I don't think it's either/or. It's both. If you don't teach children from where they stand, they will never have the tools to adapt to a new culture. That's the case regardless of the starting point and regardless of what the "target" culture is. People don't learn that which is meaningless to them. Even if everybody and their brother is telling them it is important. We learn what we can adapt into our understanding of the world. The rest we discard. If we want kids to learn, we have to make it relevant. As college graduates, teachers tend to see many school lessons in terms of academic importance. "You'll need this information for further schooling." But we disengage many of our students when we teach that way. We need to make sure these kids understand that what we teach has relevance to their life even if they never stepped foot in another classroom.
ReplyDeletehttp://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20100408/ts_csm/292210
ReplyDeleteJust read this online, and thought it was appropriate for this discussion. I encourage you to read this very inspiring article. I think it proves the potential for success in ANY population. IPS sells kids short. (Note only 4% of these students were reading at grade level as freshmen.)
That is awesome. Notice something else in the story? They all wear coats and ties. A uniform makes a difference.
ReplyDeleteWow. That IS inspiring. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThat is a nice article. I bet that Administration is more hands-on and supportive in this school.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing what can be done when teacher morale is up.
I bet that the Superintendent doesn't tell the teachers on a daily basis how worthless and lazy they are.
ReplyDeleteReally, we have many parents who can't get to functions. Let's start doing what big districts around the country do: provide dinner, transportation, and child care so that parents can come and feel welcome at schools. It doesn't cost much to make spaghetti and garlic bread, but it buys a lot of good faith and trust.
ReplyDeleteHas Jeff White been demoted to a charter school teacher?
ReplyDeleteAny person who may come across this and read it whether they work for IPS or notwould think what a bunch of idiots.90% of everything on here is garbage.
ReplyDelete