Curr 501 Family Engagement

 We are all learning. Every day we learn new things, whether in a classroom, from a book, or in a real world environment. I believe that education is a lifelong process. Human beings are constantly taking in information and figuring out how to process it so that it fits in our world. Sometimes our learning adventure has a more internal drive causing it. Other times it comes from an outside source. many times learning is a family expectation. It is a value that is taught in the home. 

Marc Prensky says we need to re-imagine education. The world is changing at such a fast pace. Students need to be prepared for this pace. They can and will do things in new and better ways than previous generations. Students today are using technology to learn, to share, and to explore their world. Students today are using technology to become people that are willing and able to improve the world. Prensky believes that the youth today are digital natives. They want their information to be processed fast. They want to have random access to available information. They want to see graphics first. Students today believe they have a stand a lone existence. Prensky sees people of my generation as digital immigrants. We want conventional speed and linear processing. We need step by step instructions.This is definitely me, at least it was me before I started this class. 

While I definitely enjoyed the various pieces of technology that I was introduced to in this class, it was not easy for me. It has taken me longer to complete assignments than it should have. I used a lot of You Tube tutorials to figure out how to use various pieces of   technology for these assignments. I decided to learn Loom to record my Padlet tutorial. I then decided to use it for my Pecha Kucha as well because I decided more practice would be good for me. I learned how to put together a blog, inset links and add pictures. This course caused me to rely on myself for learning this technology. I had to learn to adapt.

Much like I have had to change and adapt, Mike Wesch found that he had to do the same in his college classroom. He re-worked his teaching methods so students would challenge themselves. He no longer just lectured. He engaged. He allowed the classroom to be a safe space for questioning. Students began to build relationships, with him and each other. His classroom became an environment of shared learning experiences. Wesch realized that in order to get his students engaged in learning, he needed to build relationships with them. He decided to get to know his students, not just on an academic level. He got to know them personally. He ate lunch with them. He got them, to express to him their big questions that they were thinking about. Wesch made connections. 

Prensky and Wesch gave me a lot to think about in regards to what I believed education should look like. Simon Sinek helped me put it more into focus. Until viewing his Ted Talk I thought a lot about what education looked like to me. I thought it was happy children engaged in well thought out and carefully planned activities. I thought it was a teacher that presented materials in a way that kept students engaged. Simon Sinek, with his simple diagram helped me to see that I was focused on the how and the what,  and not my why.

I grew up in a home with 2 parents that had both dropped out of school in middle school. School was not really talked about in my home. I don't think it was because my parents did not want me to do well. I just think they felt like their relationship with school was not a pleasant one, and therefor didn't really seem to want to engage in it with me. 

I wasn't quite sure how to make college a reality. I only knew that it was the one way that I could use to try and make my life look different from my family norms. I decided to become a teacher because school was where I always felt safe. 

As I began my teaching career I started to think a out what was important to me as a teacher. I have always wished my parents had been involved in my school experiences. I decided early on that I wanted the parents of my students to feel like they were part of the school experience. 

My first teaching job was as a preschool teacher in a program specifically for children that were living in homeless shelters. Part of the program at Horizons for Homeless Children is designed around helping parents build strong connections with their children. I was constantly challenged to find new ways to engage parents within their children's learning while also helping them see teachers as partners. 

I currently teach a Pre-K integrated classroom at Pleasant View Elementary School in providence, Rhode Island. Although I have some peers in my classroom, half of my students have an Individualized Education Plan. i have multiple students that are non verbal. My classroom experiences have strengthened my belief that parent involvement is critical to student success. 

I believe that parent involvement helps students view school in a positive light.

I believe when parents are engaged, their children want to learn.

I believe that with collaboration, parents and teachers are able to provide children with trusted adults to help shape their world. 

I believe that when parents are actively involved in school, children learn to value school, themselves, and others. 

Over the years I have used a variety of resources to engage parents in my classroom. I use home to school bags to encourage literacy as well as the opportunity to slow down and spend some calming time together. Each bag has a book and a journal in it with crayons and a stuffie that is related to the story. Parents are prompted to read the story to their child, then have their child draw a picture from the story. 

I utilize Class Dojo as a tool to share pictures of activities the children have done, along with mini stories and explanations. Class Dojo allows me to write in English, and the app translates the information into whatever language the parents have listed as their home language. 

With Kinvo I can send text and email messages in English and the app will translate the information into whatever language the parents have listed as their home language. When the parent writes back it will translate the information into English for me. 

The curriculum used in my classroom is the Creative Curriculum (CC). With CC  their is a piece that is called Teaching Strategies Gold (TSG). TSG allows me to send digital or paper activities related to the curriculum home. This helps parents see some of what we are doing in the classroom, as well as allows them to  complete activities with their child that reinforces what they are learning in school. 

I often invite parents into the classroom for various events. I have had literacy, math, and science events. I have invited parents in to be guest readers. We have done make and take activities in the classroom. I have had parents to the classroom to enjoy and art exhibit put on by their children. When these events occur it seems like the same parents are the ones that always attend. There are a variety of reasons why this may be the case. Many of them may be working. Sometimes the amount of time given to change their schedule is not enough. There may be other children at home that they do not want to bring. The list has many possibilities. I often wonder though, if some of the parents are like mine were, and they just don't feel comfortable in the school setting. 

I am a white, middle class, college educated woman. I know that all of these descriptors demonstrate my privilege. A privilege that makes it so I feel comfortable when I attend events at my son's school. I know that this is not the case for some parents. 

Every parent should feel comfortable engaging in their child's school experience at a level of their choosing. As a teacher I should provide a variety of ways for parents to participate. These ways should include face to face interactions as well as experiences where parents are able to be more passive. By providing a range of activities parents can choose their level of comfort. 

I decided to create a classroom podcast during the next school year. This will allow me to record lessons and discussions with the students in the classroom that can be shared with the parents at home. Parents will be able to listen to the podcast with their child in the comfort of their home. My hope is that it will make parents feel like they are part of the classroom environment. I also want it to give parents information about the happenings in the room that they can engage in conversations around with their child. Often, when young children are asked about their school day, they say it was "fine" or that they "don't know" what they did all day. The podcast will give parents information regarding what their child has been doing in the classroom so that they can comment on it, and ask questions to further the dialogue. 

In order to make this happen, I need to learn how to make a podcast. I signed up for an online workshop series through the Warwick Public Library. The series takes place over 7 weeks and covers topics such as how to build your podcast, how to use your voice and how to use host and edit a podcast. I am excited to have found this resource at just the right time. 

Part of me feels like this is a big undertaking. There will definitely be a learning curve. i expect that my May and June podcasts will sound much different from my September and October ones. My hope is that regardless of how the podcasts come out, they will help parents feel engaged in the classroom. That they will help parents experience some of the joy for learning with their children. 

When parents and teachers are actively engaged together in the education of children, it benefits everyone. When children see their parents and teachers working together, it helps the children build trust. As a teacher it is important to me to encourage parents to be involved in the classroom. Hopefully being involved in the classroom when their child is so young will encourage them to stay involved as they move through their learning journey.

Thank you for a great class. I appreciate all of the comments on my blog and the support for my project over all. I can't wait to get it started. Here is a copy of my final project rubric.