After doing my preliminary research for my inquiry question – what are the barriers and strategies to forming a strong home-school relationship? – I have learned that many of the barriers to forming this type of relationship are ones that we have discussed in class. These include cultural or language barriers, history of schooling for the parent/guardian, and/or economic/time constraints. Another learning that has shifted my question is using the terms school and home instead of teacher and parent/guardian since they are more diverse and inclusive terms. This is an important shift in my question because family dynamics are becoming more diverse, especially in the area of my practicum school.
However, what I have found to be very useful is a lot of the strategies the resources have provided. Many of the strategies the authors/presenters have presented are very simple approaches to connecting with parents and/or guardians. Strategies such as calling home, writing home in a child’s planner or even putting up a welcome sign in your classroom. These interactions can be one-way, two-way or even through technology. An interesting point that was brought up in a TedTalk that I watched was that by connecting with parents/guardians about their child, you learn more about your students. This presenter had brought up a situation in which we didn’t really know what was going on for a student and upon calling home, she discovered that the reason why this student didn’t want to go on a trip that he had fundraised for, was because he was worried he wouldn’t know anyone. After learning this the teacher and the parent worked in partnership to connect the child with other students that were going on the trip so he would feel less socially anxious. This anecdote demonstrates why it’s so important to connect with parents about their child.
My next steps in my inquiry process would be connecting with my School Advisor (S.A.) about implementing some of these strategies leading up to and throughout my extended practicum. When I am at my practicum school for my weekly visits I am finding it difficult to connect with parents/guardians because again, I am only there once a week. At the beginning of the year my S.A. and I sent home an introduction letter, explaining who I was and why I was there. However, I have yet to connect with many of the parents on a personal level. While I go into 60, or even 80 percent teaching load, I will be the primary teacher in the classroom and must connect with the parents now so they feel comfortable discussing their child with me and vice versa.