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[moniquelynn12]

Chapter 7: The Essential Conversation

During my reading of chapter 7, I’ve come across a paragraph that states, ”Schools reveal the dissonance between our professed values and our behavior between, for instance, our societal claims that children are our most precious resource and what we are actually willing to expand and sacrifice in order to assure their safety and development”.  Becoming a Teacher is not just an over night decision.  You have to have the passion for learning, educating, and the heart to care and protect your students.  Children, our students, really are our most precious resource. They are our future, and it is our job to help them succeed.

           The chapter mentions Richard Weissbourd who in his book “The Vulnerable Child”, warns us about the power of the deep-seated prejudices that hover over family school encounters, He says that schools assume that children who come from improvished communities are necessarily the most vulnerable and the least likely to be successful in school.  It also says that we tend to label these children as “at risk” due to their socioeconomic or racial backgrounds.  I think as educators, when we label children we tend to keep them in that category, and it sticks with them throughout their years of education.  Yes, we will have students of all ethnicity, different socioeconomic and racial backgrounds, and that is completely okay.  I just think we must remember every student, no matter their background, is capable of learning and succeeding.

           Another great aspect I found during my reading comes from Richard Weissbourd’s book, again.  He goes on to tell us to recognize the strengths in even the most scared and delinquent child, and the vulnerabilities and weaknesses that lurk below the surface of children who appear to be strong and successful.  This goes back to the previous chapters.  It is important to recognize our students as individuals. As educators we spend a lot of time with out students, it is important to “get to know” them.  All students have strengths as well as vulnerabilities.

           Another great aspect that stuck to me in this chapter was during the “Children at the Center” part of the chapter.  It says, Children should be present and given a voice at parent-teacher conferences.  They are the only people who know both the family and the school domains.  They are the best interpreters of and authorities of their own experiences. Their presence help the adults stay focused on their primary reason for coming together, the child.  This settled well with me.  I cannot think of a way better way of saying it.  During family-teacher meetings I believe it is important to involve the child.  After all, it is the child’s work, the child’s development and growth, and the child’s success we as parents and educators are aiming for.

           The last aspect I am going to mention is when in the chapter it talks about the “average” student.  It says, a child who is “average” is known as a student who does not have any visible or identifiable deficiencies or any obvious and compelling strengths, a student who does not stand out or cause trouble.  “Average” students tend to get lost in the shuffle. As an educator, I read this and think of how it is important to myself, and the student, to find the strengths in each student.  I don’t believe in “average” students.   No student is average, every student is an individual and has a specific subject they either excel in or need a little more help.

           I will apply aspects of the information provided in the chapter into my future professional pedagogical practice by understanding the ideas I have shared from the chapter.  I understand my students are individuals and need that extra push to find their weaknesses and strengths.  I will take the time to get to know my students and their families. When it comes to parent-teacher conferences, I know that the student is the priority and deserves to be included. Lastly, I will not start or end a school year thinking some of my students are “average”.  My students will have strengths and parts of their education that need a little more guidance and encouragement, and as an educator, that is what I will be there for.

[moniquelynn12]

Chapter 5: Crossing the Line of Objectivity

     In my reading of chapter 5 in the Essential Conversation, I have come across five strong key aspects.  The first key aspect that stuck out to me was right in the beginning of the chapter. The reading started off telling about a 6th grade student named Antoine, who has a hard time focusing. When Antoine went to the 3rd grade, his teacher said something to the class that didn’t sit well with Antoine.  I quote, “You’re not in first or second grade anymore, so we wont be treating you like little children”.  To Antoine, his teacher’s words felt like a threat.  This was very important for me to read and in some ways and past memories I am able to relate to the horrible feeling that teacher’s words may have left with me.  I disagree with Antoine’s teacher; these 3rd graders are little children.  I am not saying, “baby” them but as educators we must remember to be considerate of our student’s feelings.  

           The second key aspect that I came across is when the Author mentions Richard Weissbourd, and educator among many other things, who wrote a book in which he talks about finding the strengths in our students. Even the students who seem to be the most difficult, we must find the goodness in them.  He also goes on to say how even the students who seem to achieve and excel at most everything, have vulnerabilities and hurts; that too is our job to help them reveal those weaknesses and express them.  There is an important reason why this stuck out to me during the reading.  Weissbourds words could not have been said any better.  It is true, as a college student, I have went through so much in my lifetime but with my academic successes you probably wouldn’t think that I go through what I do, most of the time on a daily basis.  Once I am an educator in my own classroom, I must understand my students will be the same way.  Some are good at “masking” their problems, while others or more expressive. I will sensitive and help them in any way that I can to deal with their weaknesses.

           Third key aspect, is when Fania (Antoine’s mother) talked about a past experience she encountered in school.  Fania had a few needs that needed special attention but that is not what she got.  Fania goes on to tell about the time she needed glasses and her teacher had assigned her seat towards the back of the classroom.  During an exam, she could not see the math problem on the board and knew she couldn’t get up during an exam so she asked a student in front of her what the problem was.  Of course, Fania was noticed by her teacher and accused of cheating.  Fania stood up to say she was not cheating but in fact wasn’t able to see the math problem.  Her teacher took her desk and threw it to the front of the room against the board and told her “now let’s see if you can see”.  Reading this, this furiates me.  I can feel the pain and embarrassment that Fania must’ve felt after this happened.  I think as students, we all have encountered a time when we were in a situation of doing what’s right but being held back because we were taught it was wrong. Like Fania’s situation, she wasn’t able to see the board, it wouldn’t be fair to her to have to fail due to this and she knew it was against the rules to get out of her seat during an exam.  I believe what this is telling is that we need to establish classroom rules and expectations for our students, but we should also have that connection with our students where they know that they can come to us.

           The fourth key aspect is Audrey Pierce’s way of doing parent-teacher conferences.  Audrey explains that parents seem to become more defensive when the teacher focuses more on the child’s weaknesses.  During her time with the families, she frames things in terms of goals they set for the student instead of talking about what he or she is not good at.  She works towards making her parents feel like they are on the same team and working together.  The best part of this is Audrey includes the students in the goal making.  I find this a valuable key aspect when it comes to parent and teacher meetings. The students should be included in most of the meeting.  I think of success in the classroom as a triangle, the family, the student, and the teacher.

           The last key aspect I want to point out is the last paragraph of the chapter.  I quote, “Fania White understands the difficulties, the work, the reflection, and the pain that go with either trying to fight through the wall constantly or adapting so the world will not see the constant fight.  This goes back to the beginning of the chapter; I think the best advice I have taken from this chapter is to help my students with whatever battle they are trying to overcome.  It is my job to give my full support and guide my students with courage.

           I will apply these five key aspects of information provided in the chapter into my future professional pedagogical practice.  I will be considerate of my student’s feelings and develop a deep and trusting connection and relationship with my students.  I understand that every student, above average or average in their academics, struggle with something.  I will help them express, overcome and deal with their vulnerabilities.  And lastly, I don’t want my conferences with my families and students to have a negative, uncomfortable feeling. Instead, I will involve my students in the meeting when necessary.  I believe having “evidence” of the child’s work along with goals made up by the teacher, student and families is an effective way to have everyone on board with the student’s success.

[moniquelynn12]

Chapter 4: The Essential Conversation

Throughout my reading I have found five key aspects that really stuck out to me. The first person I’d like to mention is Molly Rose.  Molly is a first grade teacher who tells about her experiences teaching from an upper-class school to a lower-class school.  As she talks about her practices at the upper-class school she taught at, she explains how she held an open house for the parents and students.  She would have a welcoming script she would rehearse and her classroom looked clean and beautiful.  In my opinion, Molly Rose’s experience teaching at this school is “ideal”.

Molly Rose goes on to tell about her experience hosting an open house at a Charter school in Cleveland.  Her experience was completely different from her old school.  Molly Rose’s “cultural shock” was an eye opener.

Christopher Jenks (mentioned on page 112) says, “Most Americans say that they believe in equality.  But when pressed to explain what they mean by this, their definitions are usually full of contradictions”.  I agree, what really is equal in today’s world?  When it comes to education, it should truly be equal.  Looking at Molly Rose’s shift from one school to another, you can definitely see the differences.  Some schools don’t have the technology or the basic needs of a classroom to help students learn.  Where is the fairness in that?

Carol Steele, a Special Education teacher, talks about the high expectations that parents have for their children in their education.  She says that kids want to succeed and at any cost, including cheating.  She goes on to tell how in her school, it is normal to see a student crying in the hallway due to getting an 89% instead of a 90%.  In my opinion, I believe it is good to have high expectations for your child, but how high is too high?  

In the reading, it talks a lot about the differenced between upper and lower class schools, the “cultural differences”.  Referring back to Molly Rose, she explains how in her upper class school, she felt as if she had to impress the parents, like they owned the school and her classroom.  That differs from the school she moved to which she had to find ways to engage her parents in their children’s educations.  She needed to show her families they were more than welcomed into the classroom.  

You read about Molly’s experience and than you take a look at Audrey Peirce, who is a sixth-grade teacher in Maine.  She teaches at a school, which is not considered “poverty” but is designated for title 1 funds.  She explains how there are no really rich families in her school.  Her town is mainly of white people but in her classroom she has had a few students who were culturally different.  Audrey had a past experience with a parent who accused her of stereotyping.

Using the aspects I have found in my reading I will apply the information provided in the chapter into my future professional pedagogical practice.  I will understand the cultural differences in schools.  I will also understand that moving from one school to another I may experience a situation such as Molly Rose, and to make the best of it.  No matter the socioeconomic status or cultural difference in a student, they are capable of succeeding and have just as good of a chance as anyone else for success.  Also, sometimes stereotyping is hard not to do and sometimes we don’t even realize we are doing it, and because of the situation in the reading, I will be open minded when it comes to my students and families. 

[moniquelynn12]

[moniquelynn12]

Chapter 3: Truths the Hand Can Touch

In the beginning of this chapter it says that “Parent-Teacher conferences are highly ritualized events, and like most rituals, the form and content can become symbolic or substantive, routine or revelatory, limiting or liberating”. In my own opinion, once you have had a meeting with your child’s teacher that turned out to be more negative then expecting, from they’re on your going to “dread” teacher meetings.  Whether the next teacher-parent meeting goes great or not, you can’t help but feel nervous and assume this meeting will be just like last. “For parents, there is nothing more precious or more important than their child.  They come to the meeting eager, often desperate, to hear good news about their child’s life in school.  They approach the conference with fear and trembling”.  

Continuing on in the reading I came across important information.  “Evidence” is important to have when managing your classroom and students.  It is important to develop a relationship with your student’s parents.  Despite the feelings that may come before the conference, one thing that lightens the mood and shows their child’s individuality is evidence of the child’s progress.  Such evidence can be records of their written work, projects, recorded voice giving reports or reciting a poem.  “These teachers use evidence, both proactively and defensively, to support their evaluations of children and to suggest what student and parents, need to do to improve the child’s chance for success.

Another strong aspect that plays in hand with the evidence idea is “documentation”. “Teachers use evidence not only to convey their knowledge of and concern for the child, but also to convey the truths the hand can touch”.  As educators it is important to keep record and documentation of everything we feel needs to be recorded.  If you ever have a concern about something that you need to bring up to the parent or whomever, having documentation is important.

Teachers are all different; their philosophies are different from one another. In the reading the author talks about a teacher who has the child take the lead role.  The students evaluate their own progress and grade themselves.  Having the child present at the parent-teacher conference, they learn how to talk about what they see ad feel, and how to present their own perspective on their experience in school.  This seems to be a great idea and allows the meeting to go smoothly and to the point.  It says that it allows the parents to see their child in a new light.  

Lastly, the section in the book where the author talks about “straight talk”, I feel is important information.  The author pretty much says that in parent-teacher conferences the main focus is on the child and their well being in school.  “Get to the point”, parents don’t want to hear “generic statements or ritual rhetoric”.  Don’t let your motives get masked behind polite and evasive language.  

The five key aspects I have came across from the reading I believe best fit for my future professional pedagogical practice.  I will do everything I can to make my parent-teacher conferences comfortable for the parents, child, and myself.  I understand having evidence and documentation is extremely important.  I like the idea of the students evaluating themselves.  I believe that is a strong visual for the student to see what they feel comfortable with and make changes where improvement is needed.  

[tastefullyoffensive]

[moniquelynn12]

Chapter 2: Natural Enemies

 The very first page of the reading was powerful.  The moment I started to read what the author had wrote to start off this chapter it stuck out to me.  It says and I quote, “ One of the teachers I had interviewed uses the word querencia- a term usually associated with bullfighting-to conjure up the space where, even in the face of conflict and bloodshed, one can retreat to safety.  A bull’s queneceria is the place in the arena where he feels most safe, where he feels least vulnerable, and where he is likely to survive the matador’s attack. This is the place where the bull moves instinctually, where he feels at home”.  The author then goes on to say “in parent-teacher meetings, there needs to be a querencia, a safe place, a face-saving stance…a corner in the arena where by mutual agreement we will not tread”.

           Continuing on in the reading the author mentions Willard Waller, an author of a book in which he challenged the usual view of parents and teachers in alliance and talked instead about the enmity between them. He states, “Both parents and teachers wish the child well”.  He refers parents and teachers as “natural enemies”.  This is something I had mixed feelings about as I was reading.  It seemed as if he just assumes that is how it is. I believe in having a strong relationship with the families.

           Another aspect of the reading that “stuck” out to me was Jane Cross.  Jane Cross is a teacher who teaches the nursery class at Northwood who hopes to “erase” the boundary lines between parents and teachers.  I found her methods interesting because she has a system called “choice time”.  During this time between 8:00 am and 8:30 am she encourages parents and families to stay with their child to spend a little more time or to address any questions and concerns to Jane herself.  Personally I haven’t given something like this much thought.  I do admit I like the idea.  In my future classroom I will encourage my students families to be apart of their education and the best way to do so is to be inviting and welcoming to the families.

           Finding common ground when developing a parent-teacher relationship is important.  In the reading it says, “teachers who are successful in working with parents know that they must do everything in their power to children-their strengths and their vulnerabilities, their achievements and their challenges- at the center of the parent teacher conversation”.  This statement caught my attention because I 100% agree with it.  When it comes to meeting with the families, as educators, we must remember the child is the center of attention and the main goal is to focus on the child’s well being and success.

           The last aspect that I found personally valuable was when the author introduced Molly Rose, a first grade teacher.  Her method of getting to know the student and the family is one I have thought about and can find myself taking on as an educator. Molly writes her students a letter telling them about her summer and about herself.  She then later introduces herself to the parents/families through a letter.  She holds a meeting at the beginning of the school year with the families to “get to know them”.  I believe that is a strong strategy.  I believe that shows both the student and parent/family you care about your students as individual along with their families.

           The five key aspects I have came across from the reading I believe best fit for my future professional pedagogical practice. I believe in developing a strong relationship with my student’s families.  I think of it as a triangle.  It takes the teacher, family, and student to make the year successful.   I will make my parent teacher meetings comfortable for the student, the student’s family and myself.  I really enjoyed the idea of “choice time”.  This is something I may consider in my future classroom.  Also, sending out letters introducing myself to the families and the student is definitely a strategy I will take in.

[bored-meetings]

[ Society6 ]

[moniquelynn12]

Chapter 1: Ghosts in the Classroom

Chp 1: Ghosts in the Classroom.

      In the reading there was a sentence of truthful words that had stuck out to me.  “The parents come to a meeting, sit facing the teacher in the chairs that their children inhabit everyday, and begin to feel the same way they felt when they were students-small and powerless”.

     In the reading the author mentions when it comes to parent/teacher meeting, the adult comes to focus on the child but find themselves drawn back to their past experiences.  An essay written by Psychoanalysis named Selma Fraiberg.  In the essay, she talks about the unwelcomed and unconscious presence of these ghosts hovering in the nursery, establishing residence at the baby’s side.  “These are ghosts in the nursery…visitors from the unremembered pasts of the parents, the uninvited guests at the christening”.  They are the real life parents. 

      The author mentions Maxine Greene who suggests a connection between an appreciation for teachers’ personal lives.  Teachers rarely receive preparation in their educational training for working with their students’ families.  They had no guidance or lessons in this very important part of their job. I agree with this part.  Perusing my degree in elementary education, I would have never thought, on my own, about being prepared for a parent/teacher conference.  Of course, due to past experience, it was a given that I would be doing so but I never thought about being prepared for it.

     Another key aspect I found valuable was when the author introduces Andrea Brown.  Andrea Brown is the founder and a head start teacher of a Montessori school.  In a way I personally related to Andrea’s story, how she felt as if she wasn’t recognized for her abilities and success as a child but rather just the color of her skin.  I had gone to a school where there were more white students than any other race.  All of my teachers were white.  Leaving out all detail, I too had experiences that left me feeling as if I wasn’t being recognized for my academic achievements but more stereotyped.  I believe when going through certain negative experiences in your life you learn from them.  You take what you are given and you use it in a positive way.  Andrea seems to be an effective teacher whom has a good heart.

     My last key aspect I found to be valuable and what had stuck out to me was Elizabeth Morgan, an experienced educator, a day-care-center director, and a kindergarten and first grade teacher.  Elizabeth refers to her past childhood school experiences.  When she was a child she had “a major attack of the blues”.  Her teacher noticed it and to Elizabeth, gave her attention and focused on her.  Her teacher had called her parents and told them she believes Elizabeth is depressed.  That had broke Elizabeth’s trust for her teacher.  She felt betrayed.  Because of that experience with her teacher she focused on how to properly manage trust between her students, herself, and the families.  When an incident in her classroom came along, she knew how to handle it.  She didn’t want to make the same mistake her teacher did.  Instead, she had got the child’s permission to contact the family.  I strongly agree with Elizabeth’s way of handling this kind of situation.  I believe it takes a lot for a child to trust you and go to you for things.  You should never break that bond of trust.

    In Chapter 1, there are many great aspects that stuck out to me.   I will take all aspects of information provided in this chapter and use it in my future professional pedagogical practice.  As teachers, we need to understand the importance of the families, the child, and our own backgrounds.  As professional educators I believe we should be welcoming to our families.  The education and development of the child is our number one priority.  Building trust, connecting, and appreciating our students, families, and ourselves is extremely important.

[positivedoodles]

[moniquelynn12]

"Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much." -Helen Keller

[moniquelynn12]

http://literacywithnicole.blogspot.com

[moniquelynn12]

I believe that family and school professionals...

maintain a relationship between one another.  Both family and school professionals should collaborate together giving them the opportunity to learn more about the child, in and out of school, how the child learns, and support the child's success.