I believe it is essential to involve parents and families in their child’s education. Family involvement can increase both engagement and achievement in the classroom by getting the necessary support at home, as well as in school. It reinforces what is being taught to the students in class, and the parents, teachers and students are on the same page. This way, the student is supported all-around and the learning is able to go more smoothly. As an adolescent teacher, I believe that contact with families is more important than ever, because parents seem to become less involved in their child’s schooling as they get older and the subjects become more complex. I plan to alert families that their support is even more important in middle and high school, and invite them to become active participants in their child’s learning.
Communication with families is helpful in learning about your students before the school year even begins. I plan on sending a sheet home, where family members can tell me about their learners’ strengths, interests and difficulties. I leave this open to any family member, so that there is no pressure on the parents’ cooperation, or if a student has a unique familial setting. Sending this form home will begin to open the lines of communication between the teacher and the families. However, it must remain frequent and consistent in order to be effective.
Therefore, I would like to meet up with the families at least once each year to get to know them by face and have a conversation about their child. This way, we can come up with goals together on where we’d like to be by the end of the year. Another system that would be useful is to leave notes to the parents in my students’ planners or a small notebook so that the stream of communication isn’t cut off at any point. In addition, at the beginning of the year, I’d ask the families how they’d like to be contacted throughout the year (phone, email, mail, etc.) and would contact them any time the students have a presentation, if there is a school activity, or to invite them to PTA meetings. If I’m in a district where the majority of students have access to a computer, then setting up a site online, where I can upload assignments, grades and upcoming activities would be a great way keep everyone up to date on what is going on in the classroom. This way, parents can merely log on and access what their kids are doing in school.
Overall, I want the families of my students to know that their input matters to their child’s education. I want them to feel welcomed in my classroom and to feel that they have a say in what happens there. If communication is open between the teacher, the students and their families, then the learning is supported and comes more easily.
Communication with families is helpful in learning about your students before the school year even begins. I plan on sending a sheet home, where family members can tell me about their learners’ strengths, interests and difficulties. I leave this open to any family member, so that there is no pressure on the parents’ cooperation, or if a student has a unique familial setting. Sending this form home will begin to open the lines of communication between the teacher and the families. However, it must remain frequent and consistent in order to be effective.
Therefore, I would like to meet up with the families at least once each year to get to know them by face and have a conversation about their child. This way, we can come up with goals together on where we’d like to be by the end of the year. Another system that would be useful is to leave notes to the parents in my students’ planners or a small notebook so that the stream of communication isn’t cut off at any point. In addition, at the beginning of the year, I’d ask the families how they’d like to be contacted throughout the year (phone, email, mail, etc.) and would contact them any time the students have a presentation, if there is a school activity, or to invite them to PTA meetings. If I’m in a district where the majority of students have access to a computer, then setting up a site online, where I can upload assignments, grades and upcoming activities would be a great way keep everyone up to date on what is going on in the classroom. This way, parents can merely log on and access what their kids are doing in school.
Overall, I want the families of my students to know that their input matters to their child’s education. I want them to feel welcomed in my classroom and to feel that they have a say in what happens there. If communication is open between the teacher, the students and their families, then the learning is supported and comes more easily.