A child's parents will have the most profound impact on the life of the child.
Sure, when asked who their favorite teacher was, most kids--and adults--will rattle off their 5th grade teacher who loved them dearly, their 8th grade science teacher who fostered a love of science, or their AP Calculus teacher who found a way to make it all click... or some iteration of those. Rarely will a response come that thanks a parent, or family member who helped raise them, for teaching an ideal, setting a foundation, and supporting their every ambition.
So now, the big question I have as a teacher, is "What can I do to help?"
I'm a teacher, trying everything I possibly can, to help my students' get the most out of their education. My response lies here:
Well, I shared this slide, and a few others, with a group of educators in California at an EdTechTeam Summit this weekend and we proceeded to talk about ways we are supporting parents. It was a ton of fun, mostly because I had people take on roles.
Your child gets sent home with some work that the teacher wants to be completed as a family. How do you handle this as a parent with that label?
So, I'll ask you the same thing. Whether it's replying in the comments, tweeting it out to me, or just thinking to yourself, I'm interested in how you answer the question from the perspective of someone with the label of your birth month.
The big thing here is to be aware of how we are perceiving our parent community and in what ways we can lean on them for mutual support of their child's learning. After all, they are sending us their best and we owe it to them to try.
Happy "Parental Support" Fishing