Remembering that others may share a perspective different than our own seems sometimes impossible. Maybe, however, if we make an attempt to see the other side, we'll make better, stronger connections, with choices based on reality rather than misperceptions.
Parents can feel easily disenfranchised from schools. In my district charter schools seem to be the new attraction. As a district employee I know we have good teachers who believe in every child's potential to excel academically and socially. So why do parents seek new institutions? I can only guess they're fed up. They feel a different model will give them and their children a better education. What "better" means, depends on the charter.
It feels like divorce. If memory serves, over 50% of divorcees remarry. So those individuals want closeness and commitment, it just didn't work the firs time. Once divorced, however, remarriages aren't necessarily more likely to go better the second time around. The problems may even remain the same, simply with different people involved. New faces, similar issues. And then sometimes we discover the issues are our own. I worry that this scenario will play out with our charter schools. I worry parents will end up disappointed. I wonder how students feel. Will they doubt their ability to handle life situations not contrived and supported by parents? Will they feel safe going out in the world on their own, if their parents aren't designing their work, home, and recreational activities.
When kids succeed of their own accord, they build confidence. When parents show faith in the schools, they inspire their young learners to try a little harder. Kids want to make their parents proud. When parents doubt the school, they inadvertently doubt their kids. And our children feel that. They complain more at home, in order to align with family conversation. That fuels parent concern, and it's a recipe for certain doubt.
Teachers and administrators need to build trust with families. Families need to know what to expect, they need to receive a solid picture of their students' days, and they need to feel a part of the conversation in terms of academic excellence and instructional approaches. When families feel part of the story, they are invested. They may be less likely to cast doubt on the situation, and recognize their own ability to influence what's happening.
Parents want to know their children are treated with love and fairness. Teachers want to know that parents support our work with students both academically and socially. And we all carry with us our own stories of how we were treated, what we expect, and those stories also color our perceptions.
Of all the things parents and teachers alike could do in order to bring clarity to the home-school connection, it's engaging in conversation. Parents need to talk with teachers when they have questions, concerns or wonderings. Teachers need to call parents when they have questions, concerns, wonderings or compliments.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Thursday, March 3, 2011
3-3-11 6:30 pm Childhood For Sale
It's like we can buy it: happiness for our children. Since so many of them are used in marketing, those happy faces, those precious nano-moments, it starts to seem like childhood should be happy. Perpetual joy, complete acceptance, and instant gratification relentlessly impress upon our collective subconcious a neo-idealism for kids. Norman Rockwell's got nothin' on Disney.
I had to work for my allowance, and my mother before me may not have had one at all. My grandmother may have had an allowance, but it was to be used to buy the family groceries. Anne's friends, however, talk about dollar bills left by the tooth fairy. Families who struggle to put food on the table still somehow manage to put nintendos and other gaming devices in the hands of their children. Thanks to the media, we begin to imagine that our children should be happy. All the time. We start believing this neo-idealism of childhood because we see images of it, however contrived, presistantly in the media.
They should do chores, yes, and all the while be happy about it. They should learn at school, and while they learn, feel utter joy and security at all times. Our precious children should build immunities, somehow, magically without the pain and suffering that comes with the common cold.
Well, I have news for this neo-idealistic childhood perception: Picking up after the dog is the pits, and I want my child to know it sooner rather than later so she'll lay off asking for another pet. Learning is inherantly emotionally risky behavior, and the sooner my students realize there's something to be gained by taking risks, the more open their minds will be. Getting sick feels horrible, and learning to lay off sugar and dairy when you have a cold makes healing happen more quickly, a claim that still eludes a myriad of over-the-counter drugs.
The sooner we awake from the hypnotic images of a neo-idealistic youth, the better we'll serve our children who will some day face challenges: unrequited love, lost jobs, theft, illness, and who knows what else? Let's get real about teaching our children that they too can overcome challenges, by letting them experience some.
I had to work for my allowance, and my mother before me may not have had one at all. My grandmother may have had an allowance, but it was to be used to buy the family groceries. Anne's friends, however, talk about dollar bills left by the tooth fairy. Families who struggle to put food on the table still somehow manage to put nintendos and other gaming devices in the hands of their children. Thanks to the media, we begin to imagine that our children should be happy. All the time. We start believing this neo-idealism of childhood because we see images of it, however contrived, presistantly in the media.
They should do chores, yes, and all the while be happy about it. They should learn at school, and while they learn, feel utter joy and security at all times. Our precious children should build immunities, somehow, magically without the pain and suffering that comes with the common cold.
Well, I have news for this neo-idealistic childhood perception: Picking up after the dog is the pits, and I want my child to know it sooner rather than later so she'll lay off asking for another pet. Learning is inherantly emotionally risky behavior, and the sooner my students realize there's something to be gained by taking risks, the more open their minds will be. Getting sick feels horrible, and learning to lay off sugar and dairy when you have a cold makes healing happen more quickly, a claim that still eludes a myriad of over-the-counter drugs.
The sooner we awake from the hypnotic images of a neo-idealistic youth, the better we'll serve our children who will some day face challenges: unrequited love, lost jobs, theft, illness, and who knows what else? Let's get real about teaching our children that they too can overcome challenges, by letting them experience some.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
I wonder...2-16-11 9:56 a.m.
Can we answer the question: what is the role of schools, in 21st century, global education?
paying for education looks a lot like childcare, from a funding standpoint, so what source will augment our financial and time resources?
Using assessment-based measures of achievement looks a lot like paper work from an accreditation perspective, so how do we quantify learning in a meaningful way?
Differentiation, response to intervention, planning, assessing, reflecting, problem-resolving, student interventions, all in a six-hour-day looks like a pretty tall order from an educator's standpoint. When will we decide to put the needs of students, and the teachers serving them, first in our devising capacity-building education plan for the coming years?
paying for education looks a lot like childcare, from a funding standpoint, so what source will augment our financial and time resources?
Using assessment-based measures of achievement looks a lot like paper work from an accreditation perspective, so how do we quantify learning in a meaningful way?
Differentiation, response to intervention, planning, assessing, reflecting, problem-resolving, student interventions, all in a six-hour-day looks like a pretty tall order from an educator's standpoint. When will we decide to put the needs of students, and the teachers serving them, first in our devising capacity-building education plan for the coming years?
Monday, February 21, 2011
2-21-11 12:42 pm Assessment Literacy
Teachers need to know. Parents need to know. Most of all, students need to know. We all need to know what skills students are learning, how they will be assessed, and what interventions will be provided for remediation or acceleration. Standards and benchmarks for assessments change, and the home-school communication about these critical measures holds the power to make or break student achievement as it's measured by state and district assessments.
Teachers, handed new standards and new assessments on a regular basis, need to plan for more than daily, weekly, and monthly assessments. In the current No Child Left Behind and teacher accountability climate, where teacher effectiveness and school accountability get measured by student performance on high-stakes assessments, teachers need time to become fluent with assessment tools that measure "effective instruction". While "teaching to the test" inhibits learning through wrote memorization, teachers fluent with assessment language and expectations can better equip their students to demonstrate their acuity on high-stakes tests.
Standards-based and assessment-measured education affects teachers' year, unit, standards, and weekly lesson planning. What if we went through an entire year of math instruction using words like "polygon" to describe shapes, only for students to learn that the assessment refers to geometric images as "figures" and in fact labels graphics with the abbreviation "fig."? Teachers need to know the language assessments use, as do students, and their parents.
Parents need to know what's being expected and measured as indicators of learning. Parents of first-graders need to know just how many words per minute their child is expected to read, yet teachers are still in the process of learning these expectations. Parents, teachers, and students who have regular communication about this information use team-building tools to elevate academic achievement for all learners. Imagine the learning possibilities consistent, up-to-date communication could open up for our students. Educated teachers, informed parents, and students who understand expectations can beat the odds, and perform well in the global climate of education evaluation.
Teachers, handed new standards and new assessments on a regular basis, need to plan for more than daily, weekly, and monthly assessments. In the current No Child Left Behind and teacher accountability climate, where teacher effectiveness and school accountability get measured by student performance on high-stakes assessments, teachers need time to become fluent with assessment tools that measure "effective instruction". While "teaching to the test" inhibits learning through wrote memorization, teachers fluent with assessment language and expectations can better equip their students to demonstrate their acuity on high-stakes tests.
Standards-based and assessment-measured education affects teachers' year, unit, standards, and weekly lesson planning. What if we went through an entire year of math instruction using words like "polygon" to describe shapes, only for students to learn that the assessment refers to geometric images as "figures" and in fact labels graphics with the abbreviation "fig."? Teachers need to know the language assessments use, as do students, and their parents.
Parents need to know what's being expected and measured as indicators of learning. Parents of first-graders need to know just how many words per minute their child is expected to read, yet teachers are still in the process of learning these expectations. Parents, teachers, and students who have regular communication about this information use team-building tools to elevate academic achievement for all learners. Imagine the learning possibilities consistent, up-to-date communication could open up for our students. Educated teachers, informed parents, and students who understand expectations can beat the odds, and perform well in the global climate of education evaluation.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Conferences! 2-14-119:09n p.m.
In our school district, conferences are scheduled this week. Hopefully you plan to attend conferences when they come your way. Invariably issues come up throughout the year, some easier than others to bring up with the classroom teacher. Following are tips for confronting issues at conferences:
Time Issues: You want homework to happen, and yet day after day, week after week, it goes undone. Moreover, your child comes home reporting that s/he missed recess in order to complete those unfinished assignments. What to do? Share this concern with your student's teacher. Rather than hope he or she doesn't bring it up, let the teacher know you want to work as a team to support your student.
We understand sports, errands, making dinner, and outside play time sometimes make homework take a back seat. And yet, the average American elementary student spends only 7% of his or her waking hours in school, from birth to age 10. Schools really need your help. Your teacher will likely be delighted to brainstorm strategies that could help you help your student: Read in the car on the way to errands. This time can also work for math facts and spelling words (parents, this will keep your skills sharp, just be sure to keep your eyes on the road!) Make sure to create a homework area with good lighting, reference materials, and plenty of writing tools: paper and pencil so your student knows where to go to get started. And make homework an attractive choice: "Would you rather clean the dog yard, or do your homework in the kitchen with me, while I make dinner?"
Your child seems down when s/he comes home from school. Remember, the cause could be anything from a lousy lunch complete with smashed sandwich, to feeling left out at recess, to struggling with an academic issue, to bullying. If you suspect bullying, bring it up with your child's teacher. It's nice to hope that Ms. Teacher has a beat on everything happening socially in his or her classroom, and yet, with an average of about 23 students, seeing them only four hours per day while they're in the classroom (students have other teachers watching and teaching them at recess, lunch and specials), and continually revising lesson plans to meet learning needs it's pretty reasonable that if the student has kept the issue to him or her self, Ms. Teacher doesn't know about it. If the upside down smile may have another source, bring that up. The more teacher knows about what's going on in your student's life, the more prepared s/he will be to meet your child's needs. Remember, both you and the teacher want the same thing for your child: A safe and happy learning environment designed to meet your learner's academic needs.
Volunteering: You'd like to come into the classroom, and yet other children at home mean you need to find and pay for child care. You work full-time. Your schedule fluctuates, precluding you from making a weekly commitment. Let the teacher know. Maybe you can take home projects - collating, stapling, ripping pages out of workbooks, research, etc. Teachers' work seems infinite. Your help might go a long way to supporting the work of learning for students in the classroom.
Academic Issues: Whether you suspect the work is too hard or too easy for your learner, bring it up with the teacher. It's very likely the teacher collected data that supports instructional decisions. Parents, if you aren't seeing or understanding that data, please let us know; we want to help. And yet, that's only part of the picture. Maybe your student scored low on several assessments measuring a math skill, while a spouse was moving out, or the child suffered a long and severe cold, or had a few late nights. Work with your teacher so that the two of you come to a common understanding of your learner's individual situation and needs. Then begin a plan, together.
Teachers love their students. They want what's best for them, and a key to building mutual understanding of your child's needs is for you to attend conferences. If something comes up and you need to reschedule, simply call the school to make necessary arrangements.
Respect your conference window. If you're coming in with questions, let the teacher know as soon as possible. Teachers spend a lot of time preparing for conferences, and may sit down with you ready to share a lot of work and planning on behalf of your student. Knowing you have questions allows the teacher to revise his or her plan earlier in the conference, affording you more time to offer your perspective. If the conversation feels like it may extend beyond the 20 minute allotment, ask the teacher when you can get together again.
In a world of blended families, fragmented time, and information over-load in the form of sound bites and Y-tube flicks, our students need us more than ever. They need a solid foundation of common expectations, common goals, and reliable consequences. They need to know on whom they can depend. Make those people you and your child's teacher, by teaming with school professionals. Teachers are a lot like doctors. You can't pay them enough, because their work comes from the heart. Our methods may seem unusual to you. Remember, a lot of research has changed the face of education since you attended school. Ask questions, and give your child's teacher the benefit of the doubt. And always, call with questions. We'd love to talk.
Time Issues: You want homework to happen, and yet day after day, week after week, it goes undone. Moreover, your child comes home reporting that s/he missed recess in order to complete those unfinished assignments. What to do? Share this concern with your student's teacher. Rather than hope he or she doesn't bring it up, let the teacher know you want to work as a team to support your student.
We understand sports, errands, making dinner, and outside play time sometimes make homework take a back seat. And yet, the average American elementary student spends only 7% of his or her waking hours in school, from birth to age 10. Schools really need your help. Your teacher will likely be delighted to brainstorm strategies that could help you help your student: Read in the car on the way to errands. This time can also work for math facts and spelling words (parents, this will keep your skills sharp, just be sure to keep your eyes on the road!) Make sure to create a homework area with good lighting, reference materials, and plenty of writing tools: paper and pencil so your student knows where to go to get started. And make homework an attractive choice: "Would you rather clean the dog yard, or do your homework in the kitchen with me, while I make dinner?"
Your child seems down when s/he comes home from school. Remember, the cause could be anything from a lousy lunch complete with smashed sandwich, to feeling left out at recess, to struggling with an academic issue, to bullying. If you suspect bullying, bring it up with your child's teacher. It's nice to hope that Ms. Teacher has a beat on everything happening socially in his or her classroom, and yet, with an average of about 23 students, seeing them only four hours per day while they're in the classroom (students have other teachers watching and teaching them at recess, lunch and specials), and continually revising lesson plans to meet learning needs it's pretty reasonable that if the student has kept the issue to him or her self, Ms. Teacher doesn't know about it. If the upside down smile may have another source, bring that up. The more teacher knows about what's going on in your student's life, the more prepared s/he will be to meet your child's needs. Remember, both you and the teacher want the same thing for your child: A safe and happy learning environment designed to meet your learner's academic needs.
Volunteering: You'd like to come into the classroom, and yet other children at home mean you need to find and pay for child care. You work full-time. Your schedule fluctuates, precluding you from making a weekly commitment. Let the teacher know. Maybe you can take home projects - collating, stapling, ripping pages out of workbooks, research, etc. Teachers' work seems infinite. Your help might go a long way to supporting the work of learning for students in the classroom.
Academic Issues: Whether you suspect the work is too hard or too easy for your learner, bring it up with the teacher. It's very likely the teacher collected data that supports instructional decisions. Parents, if you aren't seeing or understanding that data, please let us know; we want to help. And yet, that's only part of the picture. Maybe your student scored low on several assessments measuring a math skill, while a spouse was moving out, or the child suffered a long and severe cold, or had a few late nights. Work with your teacher so that the two of you come to a common understanding of your learner's individual situation and needs. Then begin a plan, together.
Teachers love their students. They want what's best for them, and a key to building mutual understanding of your child's needs is for you to attend conferences. If something comes up and you need to reschedule, simply call the school to make necessary arrangements.
Respect your conference window. If you're coming in with questions, let the teacher know as soon as possible. Teachers spend a lot of time preparing for conferences, and may sit down with you ready to share a lot of work and planning on behalf of your student. Knowing you have questions allows the teacher to revise his or her plan earlier in the conference, affording you more time to offer your perspective. If the conversation feels like it may extend beyond the 20 minute allotment, ask the teacher when you can get together again.
In a world of blended families, fragmented time, and information over-load in the form of sound bites and Y-tube flicks, our students need us more than ever. They need a solid foundation of common expectations, common goals, and reliable consequences. They need to know on whom they can depend. Make those people you and your child's teacher, by teaming with school professionals. Teachers are a lot like doctors. You can't pay them enough, because their work comes from the heart. Our methods may seem unusual to you. Remember, a lot of research has changed the face of education since you attended school. Ask questions, and give your child's teacher the benefit of the doubt. And always, call with questions. We'd love to talk.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Survey 2-13-11
Parents: If a forum existed for asking questions about supporting your child's education at home, and receiving input from educational professionals, would you like that? Might you use it?
If so, reply with a comment to this blog. Some of we educational professionals enjoy writing, and recognize the home-school connection as a critical key to the successful education of our youth. We'd like to support you with a service like this, if you want it.
Please let us know by commenting!
If so, reply with a comment to this blog. Some of we educational professionals enjoy writing, and recognize the home-school connection as a critical key to the successful education of our youth. We'd like to support you with a service like this, if you want it.
Please let us know by commenting!
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