I have interacted with several families during my
observations. This is nice because you have interactions with the families every
day. You can communicate with them daily face to face. While talking one mother
I found that she is a single working mother. She does her best to come in and
volunteer with her child in the classroom but doesn't always have time because
of her work schedule. She feels it is important to bring him to school and pick
him up that way if she has any concerns she can bring them up to the teacher
right away and the same for the teacher. She like for the teachers to send
things home with her child so that she can interact and work on things at home
that connect to things that they are doing in the classroom so that she is a
part of his education. She tries to make as many school functions as possible
such as family fun nights, parent meetings, parent teacher conferences, and
home visits.
Another meeting I attended was on the 2/20/13 where
parent had a chance to meet with the director and the parent liason "Coffee with the Director " this meeting
the director holds the third Wednesday of each month is an informal meeting
with parents. The principal engages in school updates and small talk with
parents that are able to attend from 7a.m. to 9a.m. At this meeting the Director
shared updates with parents regarding
upcoming meeting or workshops that parents are welcome too, and the goal she wants the school to meet of
90% parent attendance, Four parents (including myself) were in attendance.
I like the fact that the Director makes the time once a month
to meet with parents to share updates and answer any questions they may have.
Although, it would be better if she could meet with parents once a
month in the evening where probably more parents would attend.
I think it is important for school leaders such as the Director
and the parent coordinator along with
the new parent representatives to be physically present if not once a month
every other month when parents are attending parent meetings. This sends
parents a message of collaboration and that they care enough to be there after
hours (which is when most parents are available) to hear them, their concerns
and to support them.
Another insight or observation I made at both meetings I
attended was that there were no introduction of the meeting attendees and I
think this is so important when you begin any meeting by acknowledging your
participants and thanking them for taking the time out of their busy schedules
to attend such meetings. If schools want to increase and or promote parent
involvement then it is important that they feel acknowledged and welcome.
That is an excellent idea the director had about having a parent meeting. I am sure it helps the families feel connected with the program and allows them to feel their concerns/questions/ideas are being heard. Families need to feel connected and supported in any early childhood classroom. It sounds like you had an insightful and productive visit at your internship site.
ReplyDelete--Brooke B.
Hi Vanessa, I liked the idea of having a meeting once a month for the parents. I guess it would be nice to have two sets of hours maybe in the morning for the evening working parents and hours in the evening for the morning working parents. However making the time is a great thing to do. Hopefully as they continue their meetings they will grow in attendance because the main focus is the building of a learning environment for the children.
ReplyDelete--Darlene Berry
Hi Vanessa, you are right it is very nice to have the opportunity to interact with parents, it is the best way to know them, and that way we can help better their children, because we know their values, beliefs, and expectations. I think “Coffee with the Director” is a good idea to get the parents involve and to know the director, that way parents can make sure what kind of education their children are receiving. Now most of the parents do not attended to the meetings or workshops that early childhood centers offer, may be because some parents do not know how important it is to learn how their children can learn at that age. Some of them see us like a babysitter, and they are very surprise to find out that we are in school. One parent told me that she does not believe we need to go to school to work with children changing dippers. I agree with you about the way schools can increase parent’s involvement.
DeleteI also like the idea of a director interaction meeting once a month. This is important in schools where the teacher is available to talk with the parents but when the director holds a meeting every month is great :)
ReplyDeleteI think it is important for staff to thank those parents who did come--hopefully they were thanked in a newsletter or something??? My principal always says thank you to all who took time out of their schedule to come.
I think this was a wonderful idea "Coffee with the director" with her parents and being able to answer any question they may have had concerning the school or their child's classroom. My host school also held a morning parent meeting about the children getting ready for kindergarten and surprisingly she had an amzing turnout of parents. Sometimes I just wish the directors of these centers would make themselves more available for their parents and not just for meetings. Where I work the teachers post on their board "What we learned today" and in detail it explains everything the teachers and the children did in the classroom. Also the teachers send home a note on Mondays explaining to the parents what they will be working on for that week. By Friday they are sending another note home telling the parents what their child needs to work on at home. This is why communication is so important because I like personally talking with my parents one-on-one because notes get lost in the shuffle and they may not recieve it.
ReplyDeleteSpecial Thanks
ReplyDeleteThanks Vanessa for helping me during this internship 1 class. When I got lost during an assignment and I did not know what to do. I called on you for help and you gave me good advice on what to do. The suggestion you gave me about how to obtain different blog addresses from our colleagues did work. For example: I needed to retrieve the blog address list because I missed that particular assignment window. Vanessa you told me to e-mail some of my colleagues personally and ask for their blog address. When I did what you told me that was a success. I have enjoyed taking classes with you, Vanessa because you’re very helpful and encouraging especially when we had those in- class group projects in Professor Loranger’s class. I remember being in other classes with you and hearing your passion about being a teacher; I believe children and parents are going to be so lucky to have a good teacher like you. Vanessa I would like to encourage you to keep going further in your education, because learning is a long life process. Do not forget in the end we will be walking across the stage on graduation day together, cheering each other on.
Thanks a million Vanessa
LaTonya J.