Sunday, April 19, 2009

Partnerships: Connecting School and Home

Partnership

By definition:
the state or condition of being a partner; participation; association; joint interest

My mission:
To foster a climate of instructional excellence, individual growth, and community partnerships

My problem:
I wasn't aware of how much, despite how often I involve parents, I was neglecting a huge portion of my students' literacy development by simply not asking the right questions when talking to their caregivers.

The result:
An unequal partnership... if really even a partnership at all?

My Solution:
To do a better job not only conveying information about literacy to my students' caregivers, but also illiciting information from my students' caregivers because as I read in Orellena et all: Parents and teachers talk about literacy and success, "Literacy acquisition does not take place simply in the heads of individuals. What children learn about the meanings and uses of print and print-related practices is shaped by their daily life experiences and the interactions that they have with people and print in the world around them."

6 comments:

Unknown said...

I agree with your post! I watched the video on school-home collaboration and was shocked that I had never considered actually planning time to ask parents what they are doing with their children at home. Obviously some parents naturally volunteer that information, but in the future I'm going to really make an effort to not only value parents, but to show them that they are valued by asking them questions and incorporating their answers into my work with the child.

Jenny said...

Hey!! I love reading your blog!!!

MFBAT said...

Im loving Its Not all Flowers and Sausages too, thanks for the link!

Tom.... said...

They say that one of the greatest determiners of school success, other than innate intelligence, is parent involvement. In today's society, getting that to a significant degree can be tough, what with the many pulls on the time and energy of even the best parent. But your efforts will not ever be in vain in this area. Even my worst students, behaviorally or academically or both, have benefited when the parent is able to put some push behind the kid. So it is great that you are taking steps to incorporate this into your methods.
Good Luck with it.
Tom Anselm, teacher and author
YOU'RE NEVER TOO OLD FOR SPACE CAMP

Unknown said...

Hello Busy Educator!

Marjan Glavac here from the Busy Educator's Newsletter.

This year, I'm celebrating the 12th year anniversary of The Busy Educator's Newsletter.

It's one of the longest running newsletters on the Internet devoted to helping teachers become their best.

To celebrate this anniversary, and the start of a new year, I'm offering something special to teachers.

It's an eBook from my good colleague and friend Rob Plevin.

Rob Plevin, a retired Deputy Head of a school for children with severe behavior problems, is making his 107 page Magic Classroom Management eBook available to all teachers who sign up for my newsletter.

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Teach your students to follow instructions without complaining.
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Teach your kids to sit quietly in their seats and actually listen when you're talking.
Silence any noisy class in seconds!
End low-level classroom disruptions, such as whispering. chatting. tapping pencils. dropping things and wandering.
Prevent ALL pupils from swearing - no matter how old they are and no matter how bad their behavior is.
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To receive your eBook, go to http://www.glavac.com

All the best,

Marjan Glavac

Dr Kevin Cooper said...

How would you incorporate parent involvement to distance learning ? is this possible at all ?