Monday, December 7, 2009
Prompt #5
As a teacher in an urban school I might encounter some challenges in collaborating with the parents of my students. One of the challenges that I could come across is when the parents do not speak English. If I need to have a conference with the parents and they cannot understand me they might feel upset because they are trying to help their child but they don’t know how. In my first grade ESL class that I help in most of the children’s parents do not speak English at all. It is hard for my students to learn English when they have no help at home. One way I could address this challenge is by arranging a parent teacher conference where I have another teacher who speaks Spanish translate what I am saying to the parents. This way I can communicate with the parents and they have a better chance in helping their child. Also, I can talk about giving their child extra help during recess or after school if they are unable to. In Lisa Delpit’s article “The Silenced Dialogue: Power and Pedagogy in Educating Other People’s Children” she discusses her theory of “the culture of power” and how there are codes or rules for participating in power. Delpit states “The codes or rules I’m speaking of relate to linguistic forms, communicative strategies, and presentation of self; that is, ways of talking, ways of writing, ways of dressing, and ways of interacting.” This would be a good way to address the problem. For example, presentation of self, if I come across as friendly and show the parents I truly want to help then they might try to help too. Another challenge I could come across is if the parents think I am trying to enforce the white culture on their children. Delpit also talks about this and says that we should welcome the dominant culture but still practice their own. We are trying to welcome their native language but learn another. One way I could demonstrate respect for the concerns of parents is by doing all that we can to adhere to every students personal needs. I could also send home weekly progress reports in the parent’s native language so they can see how their child is progressing overtime and if their child needs extra help. By going to any length to help the students it will prove to the parents that I really do care and it is one step closer to helping the parents become more involved in their child’s academic goals.
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Lisa,
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you. There will be struggles in collaborating with parents, especially if the parents do not speak English, like you say. I liked your ideas for communicating with parents. I think your idea of having a weekly progress report go home in the families dominant language is a fabulous idea, but I might expand it to having many papers in different languages, so that parents at least have some idea as to what their child is learning and, so that when a paper gets sent home to the parents they understand what it is about. I also think that letting parents come into the school to observe, help out in the classroom, and/or teach some things to the class can be beneficial. I think that having events outside of school where parents can learn some of the things that their children are learning, so that they can help their child, might be good. And as you say; finding a teacher, parent, or volunteer who speaks another language who would be willing to help out, can really make a difference. When I am a teacher another thing I may do, is see if I can hook parents up with other parents, and students up with other students whether they are struggling or not. I think this can be a great way for parents and students, to learn more information, make new friends, and help each other out.
I liked your statement about how if, as teachers we come across as friendly and helpful, parents may feel more welcome, and willing to help! Communication is definitely a key to children's success. Good communication, in most cases, can prevent parents from being aggressive towards different beliefs, such as, like you say, parents thinking you are "trying to enforce white culture on their children." I think if we educate parents about WHY their children are learning what they are learning, and doing what they are doing, we can to help calm parents fears, concerns, and struggles. Parent involvement is a big part of a child's success, and we, as teachers must take every road possible to help parents understand, learn, and get involved in their child's learning!