V&F 4:
One thing that I really admired about the case study discussed in this chapter is how motivating it is for all of the students, including ELLs. The teacher exposed students to podcasts, and their curiosity was peaked. They expressed a desire to work with podcasts, and they came up with a lot of the content--on their own. Subrina realized that the podcasts were not accessible for all of their families, and I think the teacher might not have realized the importance of that without Subrina's help. I love all of this because, as the text says, it was "an opportunity for the children to take on the position of 'agents'" (45). In doing so, their "awareness of audience was expanded to include notions of access, domination, diversity, and privilege," which is helping them become more socioculturally aware and be better critical thinkers (45). Whenever I picture these types of conversations, I have a hard time picturing it with children who are younger than middle school age, but this semester I am truly realizing that young children can talk about privilege, power, and diversity without having to over simplify it. That's reminiscent of how some schools have their single, glossed-over "multicultural day" to celebrate some people who aren't a part of mainstream culture, before going back to gearing school toward mainstream culture for the rest of the year. We can absolutely do better for our young children, and that is the first step in bridging the school/home gap, I think.
Another take-away I got from this chapter was the importance of play and imagination, without over-structuring it. I thought it was a good point that play provides "learning environments that are not part of scripted learning models," which is especially helpful for students struggling with language barriers (48). I also like the idea that it helps them develop a more well-rounded way of seeing the world and acting in the world, and it opens up the way they "think about possibilities for the future" (48).
- How else can we invite students to become agents in bridging the gap between home and school?
- How can we make our communications with families more accessible to their various linguistic and cultural contexts?
- Why do you think play has the effects described above?
S&H 9:
I think this chapter does a good job of outlining a lot of things teachers need to consider when reaching out to parents to support word learning at home. Teachers need to make parents aware of two main things: 1:) What words/themes need to be covered. 2.) What activities parents can do. I think a lot of teachers likely stop here and don't take into account some of the other considerations in this chapter. Teachers need to get to know their students' families so that they can gain a sense of what activities are easy and which ones are difficult for some parents/students to implement. I thought the habitat activities on page 196 were especially interesting because the student does not have to bring anything physical back to school--only his/her experiences. That way, students whose parents could not or did not implement the activities are not punished, and they can still benefit from hearing about the experiences and word use of those who did complete the activities.
I really like the sound of the FLAME program, for several reasons. I like that the parents are learning English alongside their children, and I think it's great that the parents are positioned as teachers. I also like that there is a strong emphasis on parent input and feedback so as to help the program best serve their needs. Learning is collaborative, and the program is responsive to particular families and cultures, and I think that is essential.
- Even when the activities are easy and accessible, I think you will likely still get some reluctant parents or have parents who can't seem to find the time for the activities. How can we reach out to these reluctant or busy families to engage them in their student's word learning at home?
- Which of the home activities discussed in the chapter do you think parents are most willing to do? Which one(s) might cause the most resistance or issues?
- Have you ever had parents come to your class to do an activity with the kids? What do you think the potential benefits and potential issues of that are?
- How can we best work with ELL parents when we cannot implement a program like FLAME?
B&M 1:
Most research shows that parental involvement with their children's education has a unique influence on their child's motivation and achievement. Particularly, "parental communication of the value of education," as well as their expectations (directly and indirectly expressed) impact students' goals, motivation, and achievement" (5). Achievement gaps can often be connected to differences in environments at home during the summer and at school during the school year. Achievement gaps related to parent involvement are also connected to student attendance, which parents can strongly influence. Both of these factors can be positively changed with the use of outreach programs, especially for families of certain socioeconomic backgrounds.
Another finding that struck me in this chapter was the positive impact of recruiting and training parents to volunteer. I would personally feel odd about asking parents to give up their time like that, but if it's voluntary, I do think it can support instruction a lot. I also like the way at-home activities can create a sort of formative "feedback loop" in which children are engaged in learning throughout the whole day, and their experiences inform instruction. I do also admire the way so many early elementary teachers send regular messages home to families, and I think that my family would have been more involved if my teachers had done so when I was young. My family is the perfect case of parents who care but don't go out of their way to help--teachers can easily get the support and involvement these parents y reaching out to them and communicating regularly with them.
- Which strategies from table 1.1 do you implement? Which ones should you probably implement for the families in your school?
- What sort of parent outreach and training have you done?
- Why is the feedback loop potentially so valuable in conjunction with formative assessments/
To bridge the gap between home and school, I really think we have to open up the lines of communication and create an environment that encourages sharing. Parents need to be invited in to share in their students' learning through observations, direct interactions with read alouds and other activities, and presentations about differences in cultures and languages. Establishing this open classroom allows students to become more comfortable in participating and joining in on sharing about their differences. I definitely think that play reduces the social anxiety of being the center of attention and reduces the feeling of being on display or judged. Children are open to explore various types of interactions through play, and teachers can monitor these so that they can model and teach lessons that reinforce or deter interactions or misconceptions witnessed.
ReplyDeleteI agree that there will be lack of involvement even when projects are simplified. I wonder if they can be encouraged to incorporate them into their existing activities and routines, or if opportunities for parents and students to complete activities together in the evening could be offered. Perhaps pairing children together (or even a child with a mentor) to work on projects in the classroom could be an option when parental involvement is known to be non-existent? I am not sure what the true answer is, but we must target parents very, very early and encourage their involvement from the start rather than waiting until mid- to late-elementary, middle or even high school. I think parents would be most willing to do activities like engaging in story-telling as it can easily be incorporated into everyday routines and it is something that children already do naturally. I think creating a scrapbook or other projects that require long-term time and physical commitments will encounter the most resistance because parents will simply argue they don't have the time or resources to devote to it. I have not had parents do an activity with the kids in my room, but I think it would be an interesting concept to explore. I've seen math nights and other curriculum-centered activity nights being promoted, and I wonder how successful these would be if we began them and encouraged participation in them at a young age? I think that providing similar resources to parents or encouraging them to attend similar programs at the library or even other schools needs to be looked at first and foremost. I have been in schools where lessons in English have been offered to parents, and there has typically been a consistent turn-out. Obviously, having someone volunteer time to facilitate and tutor would be the most troublesome in getting the program started, but I wonder how many middle and high school foreign language teachers or other bilingual staff members would be willing to volunteer?
"I definitely think that play reduces the social anxiety of being the center of attention and reduces the feeling of being on display or judged." That's a very good point! I think that's especially valuable for ELLs and students from cultures that differ from the mainstream. A lot of times, I think teachers use the singular _______ student as a token and pressure them to share their experiences for the sake of educating others about "multiculturalism." I think that's one of the least culturally responsive approaches you can take, and the low-pressure environment of minimally structured play helps students interact and share experiences without that pressure or tokenism.
DeleteI love the idea of having parents incorporate activities into their existing routines! You could have them practice a food word study with a grocery list by talking about new foods and alternative names for foods. If the word study words involve animals, parents could talk with their children about how they apply to the family pets.
We implement many of the strategies on the table. Parents attend IEPs and conferences; I encourage parents to visit the classroom especially if they wonder about their child's performance; we host after school activities and events to encourage parents to interact with faculty and staff as well as other students; we have a volunteer program established where we can request specific classroom help from parents and trained parents will fulfill these requests whether it is monitoring tests, helping with group work or preparing materials for a lesson. I think we need to incorporate more opportunities for parents to share about their career, home and culture. I don't think I've done much training! As far as outreach goes, I email my parents weekly to ask for help in coordinating our fundraisers and to keep them informed about what is occurring in the classroom the next week. The feedback loop is valuable because it can provide parents with specific strategies to try with their students as well as specific reasonings as to why they are needed rather than just being given a sheet of generic activities with no clear purpose. I am more apt to help my children when I know specifically why I am needing to do so. I think it opens up the communication between parent and teacher as well.
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