If I was teacher my VIPS class, I would definitely struggle with collaborating with parents. This class did not have many students with parents who cared so much about their kids and really did not want to help. If I was faced with this problem I would try having individual meetings with all of the parents. I feel that it is really important for parents to be a part of their student’s education. My parents always asked me what I did in school that day and what homework I had. They always cared about my grades and my progression in school. In this class it seems like the parents think school is a day care for their kids. There are some parents who feel very strongly about their student’s progression. Some parents feel like they do not have any time for their kids to help them. This is very unfortunate, but sometimes the case. All we as teachers can really do is help the student as much, during the time they are at school, as possible. If they are going to get help it is going to be at school with the teacher. Also with the parents not really being involved, behavioral problems could arise. If students are allowed to do whatever they want at home, they are going to think that is acceptable behavior. Parents need to see that they are the most important thing in a child’s life. They need to embrace that and take on the challenge of making their students the best they can be.
Another problem that may arise is many of the students in this class do not have parents who speak English. This could cause a huge problem. Communicating with them could be extremely difficult. It is hard to get your point across when you are both talking in a different language and when you did not understand the other language being spoken. At the beginning of the year Mrs. Ma’am faced this problem with an Asian student London. London came into the class and did not speak any English and neither did her parents. London did not speak in class at all. At first Mrs. Ma’am just thought it was because she was shy. She realized very quickly that it was because she did not understand her. She found this out because she called London’s parents and could not understand what they were saying. She could not get any help from London’s parents because they spoke very little English and would not understand the work their daughter would be bringing home. She also faced this problem with a little boy from Iraq. There is no ESL class in this school so all of those students who would normally be in ESL are in the classroom with everyone else.
John Dewey told us that there are two desirable traits. They are common interest and interaction. As a teacher, we all want these things with our students and their parents. In collaborating we find these things out regarding the parents. It is very important for teachers to incorporte the parents because then they can talk about their common interest of helping their child to succeed. Also interaction is very important between teachers and parents because it can give the teacher a sense of why that student is the way they are. In an earlier promt I talked about Bob. Interaction with Bob's family allowed Mrs. Ma'am to figure out that he was acting out all the time and that there was something wrong. This helps teachers out greatly.
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