Well I thought it was the end but I guess it was wrong, I'm ready for a new semester of new learning and improvement! Hopefully I've even learned a few things from my earlier blog posts!
In my very first blog entry, a few months ago now, I admitted a few things.
- I didn’t know anything about blogging. I can happily say I’ve rectified that situation (or at least hope I have!)
- I felt like the new story was beginning to trickle into the old story ways of teaching and
- Teachers have the ability for change and often act as “change agents” in the lives of students.
Since writing these previous entries the way in which I observe the world of education has changed, the things which I critique and pick up on, I would not have previously. In short, I’m looking at the world through education lenses now, constantly looking for methods and room for improvement in any “teachable moment”.
It seems to me that every moment has become a teaching moment, an opportunity for change, and the more that I look at the world through the optimistic “new story” lens, the more I see the ways in which the old story remains substantial. We may have moved on from the one room schoolhouse but children are still being monitored, taught in exactly the same way as they have been for generation and generation. Is there anything wrong with these methods of teaching? Arguably no, but I do wonder how the expectation of “old story teaching” influences and limits those working to instil the “new story”.
While parental expectations are a constant and important aspect of any educational endeavour, it is possible, at least to my mind that the chorus of “that’s not how we did it when I was in school!” or “why are they teaching you _________?” or even “that’s not really a ‘real’ class” have defined the modern classroom and anchored it to “old story teaching”.
It is my belief that, while parent’s and caretakers abilities to critique education and help their children with their own personal knowledge are an integral part of the educational process, and one that is under-appreciated, it is problematic to assume that these old story teachings must constantly overshadow new story teaching.
When a parent criticizes a new method of teaching, I believe it can be damaging to the reception of the teaching style. Instead, I would propose that, for schools trying to adopt these new level principles, that they simultaneously support parental involvement, encouraging it by opening up new opportunities.
At my high school, there were monthly meetings to help parents along to understand both the school as well as suggestions on how to interact with their children. It is my belief that this is integral to a healthy school environment for parent, teacher and student alike and should be instilled in all schools to create a wider system of support!
This video discusses many of the benefits to parental involvement and, when contrasted to the emerging new methods of teaching, illustrate how helpful it would be for parents to become more involved in promoting the “new story” to their kids.
Until next time!
A. Gallacher
A. Gallacher
I find this post extremely important. Parental involvement in a child's education is detrimental to students' success. Two thoughts came to mind while reading this. I found your statement "that's not really a 'real' class" hit home for me. Becoming a drama teacher I am constantly asked why I decided to get into drama rather than something 'more stable' like math or science. Weekly, I have someone doubt my profession and my passion for dramatic arts and education. However, what I am currently learning in school creates my argument for me. The classes I have been taking for the past four years are Drama in Education classes, which are directed towards the 'new story' teaching style. Drama in Education is a strategy of teaching which entails teaching ANY subject through drama and storytelling. It is a hands on approach to teaching the subjects like math and science, as well as any other class which involves a more seated approach for their students. Drama, according to many, is not a real class, but to many others drama is becoming a tool for teaching, as well as remaining an art form. I am happy to say that the latter group is beginning to grow as the 'new story' of teaching grows.
ReplyDeleteThe second thing that caught my attention was the importance of parental involvement, as a whole, to a student's education. One question came to mind with this, and it is something I have been struggling with for the past four years; What do you do when a parent is not supportive or unavailable (perhaps they are working a lot) with regards to their child's education? There are some parents who have had a terrible experience themselves in the education system and have now written it off for their children. There are also many parents (single or not) that have to work multiple jobs in order to provide food and shelter for their children. If these parents are working, they may not be able to help their children with homework after school and they may not be able to make the parental meetings with the school. So what then? It is a teachers job to work with these parents to try and create an understanding between each other. This is a challenging task, and I am sure it will be something that every teacher will continuously learn how to deal with.
Thank you for your kind words Michelle! I found your response very insightful and introspective. I find it very interesting to see the connection you made for parents who are more busy than others. I know that some of my former schools previously had meetings both during the day and at night as well as additional support for students during the day to supplement and aid parents, but I think its definitely something to be considered and an interesting point that I may have to return to at a later date!
DeleteGreat posts Alex and Michelle. In the video, I really enjoyed the tips for helping parents get involved in their children's education. However, as there is clearly a positive relationship between parental involvement and student success, I agree that we as educators also need to take steps to reach out to parents, particularly those that are not naturally inclined to be involved. Funnily enough, blogging is a great way for teachers to communicate with parents, making them aware of what their children are doing in class, their expectations for student learning and as a means of making their teaching practice transparent in terms of the teaching decisions they make on a day-to-day basis. Accountability in teaching is a major concern for parents. Therefore, if we make parents aware of the reasons behind our teaching decisions (such as the implementation of innovative practices and the benefits to student learning), we build trust among parents that our intentions are always in the best interests of their children's education.
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