They say that your first teacher is your parent. This is why the
roles of both parent and teacher are essential in a child’s life. Parent
involvement is so important. Thus, it is very important that certain pieces of
information are sent home to parents by the teacher. One of the programs that I find helpful for
communicating student progress is “iReady.”
iReady addresses both language arts and math skills. This program shows the parent and teacher how
much progress a student has made in both of these areas. It
shows the teacher what still needs to be worked on and, at the same time, parents
are able to see how their child is doing and what their strengths and
weaknesses may be in language arts and math. I believe that this program is an
easy way to keep parents involved in the education of their child.
Throughout my student teaching, I have observed my cooperating
teacher speaking on the phone with parents. In addition, my cooperating teacher
is emailing parents constantly, some more than others. But, for the most part, email is the most convenient form of
communication. She also sends home unfinished work with a note explaining why
the work is being sent home.
There are many ways to get in touch with parents……email, phone
calls, i-Ready, notes, and parent teacher conferences. All of these
communication devices keep parents and teachers in close contact with a student’s
progress. Thus, these are my questions
for you:
1.) Is
there any parent involvement in your specific classes?
2.) How
does your cooperating teacher get in touch with parents?
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ReplyDeleteI believe communicating with parents is key to a student's success. The form of communication we have with the parents is email, phone calls, newsletters, or seeing them in person when they come into the school for the student. In preschool parents do not have access to programs such as Iready and other sites. But my cooperating teacher and I incorporate parents involvement through bringing in pictures in for projects. Another way involve the parents is when the student is "top banana" which is all about me week. The parents would come into class and read to the students or bring in a snack for the class. Furthermore, we take pictures of the students doing a special activity and sent it home to the parents. Finally, we send out a monthly news letter that goes to the parents explaining what is going on for the month. I also spend out a letter notifying the parents what we are learning that week in school. Communication is very open between the cooperating teacher and the parents.
ReplyDeleteParent involvement in a child's education is very important. I feel that if the parents are not involved in their child's education then it may be hard for them to become successful without the help of their elders. Parents can have a lot of great influence on their children even if they don't realize it. There are so many ways that teachers can get in touch with their students parents and there should'nt be any excuse as to why they cant do so. Teaching at a private preschool where services are provided for children with learning disabilities is a huge must for parents to become involved. There are IEP meetings, therapy meetings and observations all throughout the year. Our parents at my school are wonderful and they love coming to school to meet with us to discuss their child's progress in the classroom. I work hand in hand with my cooperating teacher and I have learned so much from her already. The way she contacts parents is by phone and if they don't answer the phone she will send an email. We never have issues with the parents not responding which I think is great.
ReplyDeleteCommunication is KEY for several reasons. First, nobody likes surprises...not parents and certainly not your principal. Second, it is important to keep parents informed of what is going on at school so that they can support you at home. You are partners.
ReplyDeleteI try to send positive emails home as parents often only hear the negative. I communicate daily through Edmodo and my grades are online with comments. This puts a lot of the responsibility on the parents to keep up on their children's progress which is a change from previous years.
There definitely is a good amount of parent involvement in my 2nd grade classroom. There is an obvious difference between the children who have strong at-home support and those who don't. My cooperating teacher usually gets in touch with the students' parents via email, but has also called parents as well. She is an excellent communicator that emails frequently, not just with concerns, but with positive reports as well. Unfortunately, our grades are not online and we do not use electronic progress programs such as Edmodo or iReady. We do have all of our homework posted on the teacher page on our district website, which can be used as a tool when a student is absent or forgets his/her work.
ReplyDeleteDuring my student experience I have not had any contact with parents. However, my cooperating teacher consistently is in contact with parents mainly through email. Homework and assignments are posted weekly on the teacher website, so that students and parents can view from home. Parents must be kept in the loop of things, there has to be a mutual relationship between the parent and teacher working together. Not only does my cooperating teacher inform parents on bad behavior but also on the best student days to encourage parents and students alike. I have observed my cooperating teacher make phone calls to parents which is done in a very professional manner, sometimes a phone call can mean a lot more than a simple email. With all the technology available there are many ways to communicate with parents regarding students. I believe as we discussed in class there should be a balance with your personal life outside school. There should be time set aside for parent teacher communication but also time set aside for personal life as we don't need to drown ourselves in emails or other issues.
ReplyDeleteParent involvement is great. Its always nice to have a open line of communication. My cooperating teacher always scheduled a phone call if needed, so no one played phone tag. And emails were always answered after school before 5, because the day is for teaching and preparing.
ReplyDeleteParent involvement is great. Its always nice to have a open line of communication. My cooperating teacher always scheduled a phone call if needed, so no one played phone tag. And emails were always answered after school before 5, because the day is for teaching and preparing.
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