This morning I got to meet with a parent and student into response to a sub-par progress report. This student is a very bright young man who has peculiar behaviors and struggles to stay on task. I've talked about him in a previous blog, and I find his behaviors very interesting to observe. During the conference we talked with the student and parent about the student's performance. He is perfectly capable of completing work and quality work at that, he just cannot stay on task or focused at all. His mind wanders, her says random things, and is extremely slow and unproductive when working on his own.
It was a great learning experience to see how the student and his mom interacted. She was very concerned about his grades and wanted to take steps to help him become more independent with his work. From the teacher point of view, I am continuing to realize the importance of parent communication and involvement. As teachers, we need to plan lessons, strategies, and accommodations inside AND outside the classroom. It is important for us to work as a teacher to not only the student, but to the parents as well. We can coach the parents by giving them tactics and strategies to help the students during their time away from school. I am looking forward to getting to know the families of my students so I can keep up the good communications and support from the parents.
It is wonderful to hear about your noticings from your interactions with parents; I think the next logic step is to begin to think of ways in which you can not only inform but empower the parents to take an active role in the child's education. For example, in math, you can design specific mathematical activities that the parents can do with the students. Again, this not only lets the parent know what the child is learning in school, but empowers the parent to take part in the education itself. This is something that you can actively think about doing as you plan your unit.
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