A tale of two teachers
The Bureau County Republican is working with first-year teacher Rachel Gross of Princeton who is teaching third grade at John F. Kennedy School In Spring Valley and retiring teacher Roxana Noble of Princeton who teaches English and literature to seventh-grade students at Logan Junior High School in Princeton. Throughout the school year, the BCR will pose a question to both teachers. Following is this week's question and their answers:
How important is parental involvement in your students' education?
Rachel Gross' answer
Parental involvement is vital to my students' education. Throughout the school year, the students are exposed to and learn a wealth of information. As a teacher, I try to reinforce the concepts they have learned so far, and build on those concepts as much as I can in my daily lessons. In addition, I believe that when the ideas the students learn at school are reinforced and expanded upon at home, their knowledge of the subject continues to grow.
To confirm this belief, I have asked for parental help, and I have incorporated a variety of parent and student activities into homework assignments. At the beginning of the year, our school hosted an orientation night where parents and teachers meet, and the teacher discusses not only the classroom and its rules but also different aspects of the subjects that will be taught. I started out that night by asking all of the parents to have their children read at home. I want my students to have a love of reading, and I encouraged the parents to allow the students to read many different types of materials, such as magazines and newspapers, in addition to books. I have found that many of my students are reading each night because the next day they come to school and want to take the reading tests about their books, or they want to tell me about something exciting in the book or magazine they read. I am so thankful the parents encourage the reading to take place at home because I am seeing an improvement over time in my students' reading, and I am watching them as they excitedly check out a new book at the library or read a new genre that they had not read before. It thrills me to see them excited about reading.
Besides reading, my students are now working on a classroom challenge that carries over into nightly homework. At the beginning of January, my students started learning multiplication. I want my students to know their multiplication facts just as well as they know their addition and subtraction facts. The multiplication facts are reinforced daily in the classroom with timed tests, worksheets or in a game called “Math Baseball.” However, I know that even though they are practicing their facts in the classroom, it is not enough time spent on them. Therefore, my classroom started a multiplication competition during the last week of January. I am challenging the students to study their math flash cards at home on a nightly basis. The students are divided into two teams, and every Friday morning they have to turn a sheet that lists how many minutes they studied each night of the week. I told them they should aim for 15 minutes a night, but that if they are busy, five minutes is OK too. I also told them that if they are bored and have extra time, then they can study more than 15 minutes. When I first assigned this challenge, I asked for the parents' help. I asked the parents to keep track of the minutes and sign the sheet each time the students complete their multiplication practice. So far, I have been surprised with the results. Some of my students are studying above and beyond 15 minutes a night, and it makes me happy to see how well they are learning the facts. As I write this, both teams are very close in the competition, and I am eager to see if the competition remains this close for the rest of its duration. I am hoping by the end of the competition, all of the students will be studying for a least a few minutes each night. I know it takes time out of the students' nights at home, but I am grateful the parents are working with their children to help reinforce this important part of math.
Throughout the year, other activities have taken place in which the third grade teachers request parental involvement. One of these activities occurred in November, when we asked each family to decorate a large turkey in any way they chose. After we sent home the turkeys, many students started working on their turkeys with a wide variety of materials. It was awesome to see the creations the parents, students and their siblings created. Some turkeys had glitter; others were made of food; and some even had multicolored fake feathers glued on. We hung all of the turkeys in the hallways, and it looked so festive. The students were so excited to see the other turkeys their friends had made with their families.
Recently, we completed another at-home activity that involved the social studies chapter that we were studying. The chapter is all about the different landforms that are present in the world, and the students were required to choose a land form for their project. As part of their project, they had to choose to write a report on the land form, construct a model of the land form or design a poster of the land form. They also had to research information on their land form and give a presentation on it during class. I was so impressed with the landforms they created. The help the parents gave to their children was wonderful, and the students learned so much information about the landform they created.
Without parental involvement, none of the things I discussed would have been completed. I am appreciative each and every day that my students are able to continue their learning at home, and I thank all of the parents for their help.
Roxana Noble's answer
Parent involvement in a student’s education is the KEY to a student’s success. The evidence continues to grow. Parent involvement improves student achievement. I like to think of the teacher and the parent as a team for the school year, working toward one goal: helping the child achieve his/her highest potential. After all, who should have the greatest interest in the child’s success? The parent! (And I say that as a parent.) I’d like to share with you some wisdom that I’ve gathered throughout my years of teaching, so here is my Top 10 List, from least to most important, of ways parents can help their children succeed in school.
10. Attend open house at the beginning of the year: Teachers like to get to know a child’s parents. Likewise, parents should get to know their child’s teachers.
9. Encourage your child to get involved in at least one extra-curricular activity: This activity can help your child feel more a part of the school community. Once your child is involved, make sure you attend related events and support him/her. On the other hand, make sure your child doesn’t try to participate in too many extra activities. This can be stressful and consume too much of your child’s time.
8. Get to know your child’s friends: Make sure your child’s friends have the same values and goals as your family. Peer pressure is very strong, and children can develop bad habits from trying to fit in.
7. Talk to your child about school: Ask specific questions, such as, “What did you learn in English today (or social studies or science, etc.)?” or “What was the funniest thing that happened at school today?” Don’t just say, “How was school today?” which doesn’t stimulate discussion. Find out what happened at school each day and how your child felt about it.
6. Volunteer at school if you are able: Most schools have parent/teacher organizations. Volunteering not only helps the school, but it also gives parents a chance to meet and talk to their child’s teachers and their child’s friends in a casual atmosphere.
5. Check on your child’s grades often and communicate immediately with the teacher if you have a question: It’s a myth that teachers don’t want to be bothered. We want to be bothered. At Logan Junior High, we have a grade reporting program where parents can check a child’s grade every day, if they have an e-mail account and access to the Internet. Grades are posted regularly, so if parents see a grade that is puzzling, they can seek help by phoning or e-mailing the teacher to discuss the problem or to set up a conference if needed.
4. Support your child’s teacher with at-home consequences: Here’s what a teacher wants to hear when he/she tells a parent that there’s an academic or behavioral problem:
A. “We’ll talk to our child. Let us know if the problem doesn’t improve.”
B. “We’ll take away our child’s favorite TV show (or video game or cell phone, etc.) until the problem improves. Let us know when that happens.
C. “Our child can come in before or after school for help until the problem improves.”
3. Emphasize to your child the importance of doing his/her schoolwork each day: Make sure your child knows if he/she doesn’t finish work at school, it should be brought home to finish. Set up a specific area in your house where homework is always done. If several assignments need to be completed, help your child with time management. Also, help your child see the connection between things learned in school and their use in daily life. If your child has no homework, encourage him/her to read for 20 minutes. You might even want to sit down with your child when he/she is working on homework to do some of your work, such as reading a book or doing paperwork.
2. Make sure your child is in attendance unless he/she is ill: Written homework can be made up, but a child can never recapture what the teacher said in class. Vacations, especially, should be scheduled on days when school is not in session.
1. Praise successes: The minute your child has a success, praise him/her immediately. Show pride in your child’s work. If possible, tell someone about something wonderful your child did in front of your child. Make it a point to praise your child about something every day.
