Blog #9: Home/School Connection

On March 24th at 7:30 pm, I attended my school district, Oceanside's, Board of Education Meeting. This meeting covered the school's budget for next year, nutrition in the district, and the return of remote students to in-person learning this month. The panel of board members was made up of about 10 to 12 people. All who came prepared to speak on the most interesting topic, the return of remote students. The meeting went through the budget and nutrition pretty quickly, but once the board switched to the topic of remote students returning to in-person learning, it got intense. As the board was going through their presentation on returning students back, many parents began to formulate questions. This caused a rise in the community because there were so many questions and uncertainties by many parents. From watching the board of ed meeting through youtube live, I saw that many of the parent's questions related to student-athletes. The school board made it seem like if a student is a student-athlete, they have to stay home remotely, that way they keep their bubble of contact small by just their teammates. It would lower their risk of being remote because then they can avoid in-school contact, and just be in contact with their teammates. Parents were frustrated and asked why their student-athlete could not pick both in-person learning and their sport. Overall, I thought the board of education meeting was very entertaining just because I picked a popular topic of discussion to attend to. I thought the panel members spoke very well and addressed tough topics with respect and knowledge. 

 The topic of sending Oceanside students back to in-person learning from the board of education meeting relates to the article "Building Trust With Parents" sectioned in Ideas For Getting Started because they both deal with worrisome parents. The article talks about how parents are worried about what kind of education their child receives. When hosting back-to-school nights, teachers need to ensure parents that their child is receiving the best education possible. This relates to Oceanside's new transition because parents still want their child to receive the best education, though now there is another layer of worrisome because of COIVD. I like how the article talked about the real worries parents have about their child and the main thing that parents want is for the teacher to love them. I found this to be interesting because I would think the number one thing parents want their children to gain from school is education, but they want their children to be loved and valued. This relates to the Oceanside board meeting because the panel of board members truly shows their love for the students by working hard to get their students back into school. 

The article that I read in the Teacher-Tested Strategies and Tips section titled "3 Ways To Make Meaningful Connections With Your Students" talks about how to make easy connections with your students in just three simple steps. The three steps that were talked about seem so simple and mindless that any teacher can do this and make sufficient connections. The first one is 'the first five minutes'. This is explained as within the first five minutes of class, let your students talk about their weekend or their night from before. Let them have a class discussion on the newest songs or movies that are popular and relate to them. Having these simple conversations opens up dialogue with students. Another example is attending student's extracurricular activities. If you know you have students on the soccer team, attend their game! Showing support for your students allows them to feel valued and loved by you. It shows them that you care for them even outside of school! The last example is to just be available. Showing and telling your students your availability will let them know that you care about them. Welcoming your students with open arms and an open door allows for students to feel comfortable with you. All these components connect to Blog #6 when we discussed mindfulness and social-emotional learning. Giving students an outlook, a safe space to learn, and a personable connection with their teachers helps students engage and make better connections with their teachers. 

The article "Tech-Enhanced Parent Engagement" in the section Effective Community is Key talks about how to keep parents engaged and in the loop with their child's education and activity in the classroom. The article gave the example of using email, the app Remind, specific websites, and office hours to help parents navigate their way into their child's education. Parents are curious as to what is going on and what their child is learning, therefore providing them with the tools they need to keep in touch will create a positive relationship with parents. The video I chose to watch "Principles of Teaching-Partnerships With Parents" connects with this article because they both have the underlying goal of connecting with one another (teachers and parents). In the video, one woman spoke out and said that parents should want to help their child reach their full potential, but if parents are not interested in what their kids are learning, then that child won't feel the need to learn. Therefore teachers need to use communication tools like email or the app Remind to keep parents up to date and encouraged to work with their children at home. If parents are busy and can not help their child at home but receive emails stating what their child did in school today, that can stem a conversation between the child and parent about school. Allowing the child to realize that their parent is indeed interested in what they are learning at school. Creating a connection between parents and teachers will help improve children's want to learn and be in school. 

Wolpert. G. H. (2019, August 19). Building Trust With 

    Parents. https://www.edutopia.org/blog/checklist-back-school-night-heather-

    wolpert-gawron

Provenzano N. (2014, Febuary 24). 3 Ways To Make Meaningful Connections 

    With Your Students. https://www.edutopia.org/blog/make-meaningful-

    connections-with-students-nick-provenzano

Provenzano N. (2016, August 30). Tech-Enhanced Parent 

    Engagement. https://www.edutopia.org/blog/tech-enhanced-parent-

    engagement-nicholas-provenzano

Newteacherstalk. (2012, April 11). Principles of Teaching- Partnership with 

    Parents. https://www.youtube.com/watch?

    v=FRwMUnCjVrc&list=PLvzOwE5lWqhRPzheyprYHcA8SZl9Qvnpz&index=7

STEMpedia. (2018, September 13). Building Parent-Teacher Relations. 

    https://medium.com/@thestempedia/building-parent-teacher-relations-

    e899cd36df88