Just a couple questions for this week, but they are good ones. I'd like you to respond to each other, and I'll put in my opinion afterward.
I will, however, respond to one of the questions raised. Apparently someone said that you don't need to have "that much involvement" with students once they reach ninth grade. I'm sure that whoever said that received that info from a teacher, but one teacher's opinion is not a be all end all. That goes for MY opinion as well. I hope you consider my opinions, but that as you research, discuss, and gain experience, you'll come to your own conclusions.
Personally, I disagree completely with lessening parental involvement just because students are getting older. Parents are not done parenting...well - never actually.....but legally until a child is at least 18. I strongly encourage teachers to try to involve and definitely inform parents of ALL children - regardless of grade level. Many parents are far too eager to turn the raising of their children over to the school and the teachers. We certainly don't want to encourage that!
Granted - there are some kids who are totally responsible in high school and making wise decisions, etc. Teachers need to encourage those students and to let their parents know that their child is on the right track. At the same time, if high school students are making poor decisions... it's up to us to be sure the parents are aware of that as well. Somebody needs to take responsibility for the actions of teenagers and the parents are the obvious candidates. Until a child turns 18 - the parents are legally responsible. If that child makes a bad decision and gets in trouble, it reflects on the parents - not just image wise...but they end up with any financial responsibilities as well. Yes - we teachers need to keep them informed ... whatever form that takes until they turn 18.
1. One of your peers is at a school where 30 students are failing 8th grade. Your peer wants to know what the teacher should do. The teacher said she has had several conferences with the parents, but your peer feels there is more that could be done. What do you think?
2. Another of your peers wants to know how you can get a single parent with multiple children involved in the school and in his/her child's education?
Thanks for participating.
Diann
9 comments:
I completely agree with you. Parents should not be relieved of their parenting duties just because their student can make their own decisions. I’ve seen what it’s like for students who have had a lot of parental involvement and for those who have had no parental involvement. Personally, I feel like parental involvement greatly improves a child’s sense of who they are in the school setting. It lets the parent know what is going on for the seven or eight hours that the child is at school, and it lets parents monitor their child’s success.
As for the 30 failing eighth graders, this actually happened to a class in my high school. I was a “TA” in that class. I say “TA” because I just went there during study hall so I could do something other than sit and read. But my point is, there are two sides of the story. My brother was in this class and he was failing. From my parents view they were livid that this teacher could fail every student in the classroom. But from seeing this teacher in the classroom, she had tried everything she could do.
Having said that, I do personally think that your students’ grades are a reflection of how good of a teacher you are. If you have a whole class of failing students, you are not doing something right. In high school, I couldn’t understand that this teacher was teaching these students material that was over their head. But I do realize that now. The fact of the matter is, if EVERYONE is failing, it is your problem as a teacher. If they haven’t started to succeed, you need to reevaluate what you are doing. Something can always be done about it.
For a single parent with multiple children, it’s hard to say how to get them involved. At another program I volunteer with, I tutor a child who is one of three, with a single mom. Her mom is actually really involved. She tries whenever she can, but that’s not always the case. I would say to do the things that Diann suggested. Don’t let them have an out. It’s not that hard to make goody bags for children, it doesn’t take up much time to help your child. Have them come in for a field trip or field day. The possibilities are endless!
Michelle Smith
10:30
Hi everyone!
I do believe that parenting should follow through until they are at least 18 because there are still many ninth graders and students in higher grades that need the parental guidance. We all know how some teenagers act and know that some parents do not have any control over them....so that is my feelings on that.
Now to question #1. Like we discussed in class last week, there are other ways to help parents know about their students' work ethic in class. One way I think is to keep parents informed on their students grades on a regular basis, whether it is e-mailing and phone conversations, which could help parents keep on the student to work harder. Also, another way to have them have success, is have parents be more involved in the classroom. I believe this could influence the kids to work harder because there are actual parents in the classroom. I don't know how well these would work, but that is just some suggestions.
Question #2
It is really hard for a single parent to get involved with classroom activities because they have work and then house work afterwards. I think it really depends on the situation, but one way is maybe the teacher can have the parent do tasks at home, when they may have time to do it. This one is a little hard because it is all a matter of when they have time to do things, so that is all i can think of...lol.
See you all on Friday!
Forest
Hey Everyone!
Parental involvement is a hard thing for teachers to do. My teacher at Leverette as said that they try everything they can do to get parents in the schools but the parents never take the opportunity. It is like you can only do so much and I think after years of rejection, the school has probably gave up trying to get the parents there.
I feel that a school should always strive to have parental involvement all throughout high school. When parents are well informed and active in the school, it would seem more likely that their student will succeed or want to succeed in their classes. It could be possible that drop out rates wouldn't be so high if parents just showed they cared about their child's education.
-Alex Marquis
Concerning the question about 30 students failing 8th grade, was a shocker to read. If I was the teacher, put in that situation I would probably talk to the class as a whole and ask them what I can do to help them boost their grade...do they prefer worksheets, overheads, powerpoints, and take that into consideration when writing my lessons. Also I would see where the class is missing their points, tests, quizzes, homework, and try to come up with an idea to "reward" the students for doing their homework(although in 8th grade, they shouldn't need a rewarding system). If nothing else works I would probably talk with other collaborating teacher and see what techniques they would use!
Becky Miadock
Parental involvement is necessary until a child reaches 18; even then, a parent should be involved. Even though a child is an adult when they are eighteen, and if they are still living at home they are a parent’s responsibility.
If there are 30 children failing a grade, then the school administration needs to get involved. There is something seriously wrong if there are that many children having problems in school. It may be the teacher’s or it may be the students are being lazy, but someone needs to observe what is happening in a classroom.
Personally, it is most likely if a parent has multiple children in a school system, they are involved. If they are not, then talk to those students. They know their parent the best, and if you want to know why they are not involved you could simply ask them. If they do not know, or will not find out, then it is up to the teacher to notify the administration that there is no parental involvement. Then I would go and make personal contact with the parent. I would go to their home, find where they shop. I would do anything to ask the parent in person what is going on.
~Crystal Williams
Parents/guardians should be parents to the end. It's not a title or job that can be taken away because of age. I think that parents/guardians should deffinetly be involved more during all school aged years. Especially when the adult child is learning to make life decisions. Even though they may be at the age where they are leaving for college or have graduated high school, they still need guidance!
As for the 30 failing students. Are they all failing one class or are they completely failing the 8th grade? If it is specifically one teacher, the teacher should reevaluate how and what she is teaching. It's like we have said in the class, the teacher is the one who fails, but the students are the ones who suffer.
A single parents with multiple children is difficult to get to be actively involved in the school. If the parent has a day off during the week, you could ask them to help in the classroom for one or tow periods. It doesn't have to be the entire day. Also, ask that parent if they can be a chaperone at any time.
Regina Buzzard
I also agree that parental involvement is extremely important, especially in the middle and high school years. I think that is when a lot of students run into problems for example drug or alcohol abuse, etc. If parents are involved during those times when students pick up on those bad habits, they will realize that their son/daughter is in need of their support. I know that when I was in high school I thought that I was way more mature than I actually was. I thought that I didn't need my parents help and that I could do everything without them. But now I know that without their constant support I would be down a different path.
As for the 30 failing eighth graders I remember this happening to my sixth grade science class. We would switch from my teacher who taught all of our subjects besides science with a teacher down the hall and my regular teacher taught his class social studies. Halfway through the year the entire class was failing, including the smartest kid in our grade who never had failed anything in his entire life! So I think that it for the most part does reflect on the teacher because obviously something was happening here that our class just did not understand and we were by no means a "bad" class. Most of my class had the gifted and talented students in it. But when it comes to the teacher trying everything they can do, using different teaching methods and assignments, etc. something may be wrong with the students in the class.
Overall, I don't think that the fingers can automatically be pointed at the teacher. I think that many things need to be evaluated as to how the teacher is grading, how learning techniques are used, etc. To me, if the entire class is not doing well, then the common factor is you, the teacher and you need to figure out what you need to fix.
Emily Kairis
Hello!
Parental invovlement is extremely important as children get older. Middle school is a time where students often begin to distance themselves from their parents and do not want much to do with them. I think teachers have such an important job of keeping the parents up to date and involved in their child's education, despite the fact that some children don't want to talk to their parents much.
As for the single parent with multiple children in the school system, I think it would be a lot to ask to want him/her to give a great deal of time to volunteering. Nevertheless, teachers can help keep parents invovled through newsletters, emails, phone calls, and conferences. If he or she is willing, perhaps they can work on a project at home, such as making something for the class. The teachers of this parent's children can collaborate to make sure he/she knows what is going on with their childrens' education.
Hope you're all having a good week:)
-kerry flahie
Hi everyone,
I completely agree with everyone else that parental involvement throughout a child's life is very important. From my own experience, I know just how important it is to have parents involved. For me, my parents were always there monitoring how well I was doing in class. They kept me on track by reminding me how essential it was to keep up my grade and my involvements all throughout grade school. I have been so fortunate that I have parents this amazing, but as a teacher I hope that my efforts will inspire the parents of my students to be just as involved.
To answer question #1, I would suggest that the teacher could try to involve the parents more throughout the course of the grading semester. She/he could send home weekly schedules that would inform the parents what assignments and tests were coming up. To make sure that the parents are recieving and looking over the schedules the teacher might require the parents to sign the schedule at the end of the week and send it in with the student. There are lots of possibilities but the teacher should do what's best for her individual students.
To answer question #2, I agree with some of the other responses so far. If the parent can't find babysitters to watch her kids while she is volunteering, fieldtrips would be an excellent way to get the parent interacting in the child's education.
LeAnna Pickerel
9:30
Post a Comment