Parent Involvement 4-24-12

As a parent and as a teacher, I have two different perspectives on parent involvement. 

First, most parents/guardians at my school are not very involved at our school, for various reasons, many which are not mentioned in any of these articles.  We make calls to designated adults regularly, and have in the past held meetings on gang involvement, depression, and drug use, none of which were well attended.  As stated in Warren’s article, that’s not the way to go, because we need to build the relationships first.  “People come to participate in social action events of all sorts most often when someone they know asks them to go” (p. 2248).   This does seem like it would be easier to accomplish with the help of a community-based organization.  We also would benefit in joining forces with either another school or youth organization, since we are so small.  I, personally, have difficulty with calls to parents, as one time a student showed signs of abuse after I had reported that she had not done some homework.  We are supposed to keep parents up-to-date on students’ progress – or lack there-of, but who wants to do that when you may indirectly cause harm to a student.  Now, I always ask my students what I should say when I call their homes. 

I do think, as a school, we could do a better job reaching out, and like both articles mentioned, it is a process that takes time to gain trust.  What a great system to be able to have a community center, after-school program, and school all linked together.   I think reaching first the students through their culture, and then using this connection to begin community service activities would be a good way for our school to start.  Eventually, a community activity could involve parents/guardians, where teachers are out in the community (not the parents having to come into the school).   I am not really sure what would work at our school, but I would like us to try something different.

Additionally, I would like to add, that, as a parent, many teachers at my kids’ schools did not welcome parents into the classroom very openly.  One teacher once told me it was difficult to organize because of the unreliability of some parents, who did not take volunteer duties seriously.  It would be hard on the students and teachers, who were looking forward to the interaction or the assistance.  I also think many teachers are uncomfortable having others in their classrooms.  My feeling is that parent volunteers in the primary grades should be either required or encouraged.  It would be nice in the upper grades as well, but read on about that.

My experience as a white, middle-class parent is not that different from the examples in Auerbach’s article of low-income SES families in some sense.   It would be nice to see a study replicated, but including white and non-white participants.  What I have found is, first, that my kids don’t want me in their classes or getting involved as they’ve gotten older.  Secondly, they need to advocate for themselves, and they won’t learn how to do it if I am calling the school or teacher at every problem.  That said, there have been times when I have wanted to call a teacher and my child insisted they would take care of the problem themselves.  We talked.  I advised.  They did what they wanted.  We all survived.  Not done my way, but that’s the way it has to go.  When I read Urban Education, I see myself in some examples;  children “were generally grateful for their parents’ help, crediting parents with having kept them on track and seeing parents’ push as a sign of caring.  As they got older, the students asserted greater independence and the wish to escape parental control” (p. 268).   

I do believe in the need to have teachers, parents, and community be more interactive, and less confrontational.  There is too much distrust, which originates with government entities in my opinion.  There needs to be available resources, open communication, and passionate leaders who can organize and unite these groups.  For the benefit of our students.

The Dreamkeepers 4-8-12

The Dreamkeepers was an enjoyable narrative of what good multicultural teaching can look like from teachers with different styles, but with the success of their students as the goal.  I also was encouraged by the afterword which contained some inspiring profiles of more (and more recent) teachers that work hard because they view their students in high regard and need to help these students recognize their own potential for success. 

I realize this study was performed to highlight the education and history of the African-American population, but culturally relevant teaching applies to all classrooms, and can be implemented broadly.  As I read the book, I thought about my own school and how we might better integrate these ideas and methods where I work.   Ladson-Billings ‘fictional school’ which is described beginning on p. 154, incorporates three ideas I like, which we have tried, but may just need to address from a different perspective.  First, problem-solving is always an approach to applying concepts learned in class, but the idea of using issues involving the community, such as the city budget, homelessness, road conditions, and crime (p. 154) is very close to home and relevant to these students’ lives.   Therefore, these would be the topics to use in many academic classes to motivate students and apply their learning.  Secondly, we have tried getting our students involved in Community Service activities, with varied results, but I thought if we asked them to start with what they would want to see done in their own neighborhood or community, they might ‘buy in’ or commit to it more readily.  Lastly, our student council also does not have a sound commitment from students.  Ladson-Billings suggests council members be involved in discussions around curriculum, instruction, personnel, finances, school policy, hiring and firing issues, and be members of a disciplinary board (p. 155).   Though some of these topics seem too personal, at least for a small school or to begin with, they are important and make students become more interested, responsible, and committed to a school when they are part of the decision-making for it.

Another thing that I thought about as I was reading in relation to my teaching was the best way(s) to approach culturally relevant teaching at the high school level.  The model teachers in The Dreamkeepers were elementary or middle school level, where students are with one teacher for most of the day or a significant block of time.  In high school, classes are normally 50 minutes to one hour, or 90 minutes at some schools.   I’d like to learn how to best incorporate this into my own teaching, with 55 minute classes, four days a week.  Is there any relevant literature that refers specifically to high school practice?

There were many stories from the book that encouraged me.  Larry’s success, on p. 120, made me smile, after having been put in ‘the kitchen junk drawer’ as Ms. Lewis says.  A boy like that, who had been through such trauma, needs special care and when he got it he became a leader in his class.   He may never have been successful without a teacher like her.  There are so many students that are like Larry, and we need more teachers like the ones we’ve read about in this book.

One of Ladson-Billing’s points for her ‘Vision of a Culturally Responsive School’ that I see as particularly ‘relevant’ is this one – “Help African-American students understand the world as it is and equip them to change it for the better."  But, as I tend to do, I want to broaden it and say this applies to all students:  We need to teach all our students excellent skills and knowledge to understand racism and its history so that they can be critical thinkers and problem solvers and make the decisions required to combat these issues in the future (p. 152-153).

"Ableism" 4-1-12

I had not heard of the term ‘ableism’ before, and it reminds me of ‘white privilege’ in a way.   The way the  ‘abled’ help the ‘disabled’ is by making them more like themselves.  Hehir quotes in his article that “cultural prejudices against disability… endure from an early age- that disability was negative and tragic and that ‘overcoming’ disability was the only valued result” (p. 13).  So overcoming means conforming:  Is that what we also heard in “The Model Minority” and “Children of Immigration” where assimilation to the new culture means a greater chance of being accepted or at least wanting to fit in? 

Hehir’s examples and reasoning convince me that an integrated classroom of abled and disabled students, where the materials for the disabled enable access to the curriculum, allow disabled students to receive a better education, in higher achieving classrooms, than they might otherwise be able.  I also believe that abled students become more empathetic, understanding, and caring students when placed in mixed classrooms, for the same reasons that students in ethnically diverse classes are more understanding of cultural issues than students who are in classrooms of homogeneous races.

Without sounding pessimistic or overly critical, I want to mention that getting to the point of providing the services and care needed for disabled students is complex and costly.  Yes, there is always the cost.  There are so many state- or federally-mandated costs that are only partially funded (sometimes not at all) and schools need to cover the rest on their own.  Realistically, providing in-school and in-class services to the single deaf or blind student within a school may also prove prohibitive in terms of budgetary issues.  And if there were more students in need of the same services, would more personnel or services be necessary if these students are in different grades or academic levels?  Cost aside, just thinking of students with learning ‘disabilities’ like ADHD, dyslexia, communication disorders, autism, etc., of which there are many in schools – these students do not get fully served academically, because in an integrated classroom there is much more going on than teaching and learning:  student dynamics, classroom management, daily interruptions, modifications of lessons, monitoring of progress.  Some of these students often have other problems in addition to a LD that affect their learning.   These students need to be better served, as do many ‘abled’ students who are not diagnosed but are lagging academically.  I believe it can be done, but smaller classrooms are a must, and, as Hehir states, the students must be able to access challenging academic materials, not be given a poor substitute which does not make him independent or teach him a skill (ie. They should not be ‘read to’ if they can’t read (p.19), or told that it is okay to just understand some of what the teacher is saying (p.17)).

In my school, students with LDs should be staying at school for extra help but we can't require it, so it happens only rarely, and then in class this creates the dilemma of moving forward with teaching or reviewing.  I often reteach and review material, with the result that less material gets covered over a term.  Some students refuse help in organization or academics and do not do homework (or classwork sometimes).   I realize for many this behavior is a defense they have formed for continued past failure.   It takes time to change this behavior, but, unfortunately, too many students drop out before we can help them turn it around. 

Lastly, Hehir brings up high school diplomas on page 28.   I believe that a high school diploma should signify academic accomplishment.  If a student has not mastered a certain level of academic knowledge, then a certificate of completion should be awarded.  However, if students with LDs are placed in lower level classes, they are less likely to progress through the required course curriculum and will need to remain in school longer.  This is discouraging and leads to dropping out in many cases.   Additionally, the looming MCAS – which is a graduation requirement – often intimidates students who are at lower achieving levels and leads to their dropping out of school.  Worse yet, schools who have students who they believe may not pass the MCAS will encourage them to sign-out or go to another school (hence, why some schools’ drop-out rates are lower and ours is significantly higher).  

Lastly, lastly…really.  I often think we enable students.  Yes, as teachers we have the responsibility for assessing and helping them in their social, academic, and emotional well-being.  If their failure is our fault, as we’ve been told, they hold no stake in their own future.  Students want to ‘do well and ‘get a good grade’, but they don’t take responsibility for their part and they don’t always connect doing well and good grades with learning.  Just showing up is the extent of some students’ effort – and thought to be sufficient for passing.    We need to, as teachers, also let students know they have responsibilities as students, and that it is hard work, and their future is worth it.