When thinking about what I needed to do for this blog, I thought about what connections there might be so far in my coursework. There are so many connections in life and what happens to us in life day by day makes us who we are. There is a connection to people around us, to circumstances beyond our control and attitude as to how we view those things and those people. I have learned in the readings that inquiry is a way an administrative may grow and learn and benefit from the research and inquiry. But the benefits are not limited to just the administrator but it goes beyond to the school and its stakeholders which includes parents. Teachers and school personnel may have a different definition of active parent participation than that shared by actual parents. Do parents and staff want the same thing for their students? If action research is indeed a collaborative process and a means by which all participants learn, then knowing everyone is on the same playing ground is vital to the research. I wonder if all teachers are on the same page when it comes to parental participation? Do all educators view participation in a very modern way or are there some who are stuck in the traditional mode of parent particpation. Do all parents view partcipation in the same way?
Utilizing blogs is a nonobtrusive way to gather others viewpoints and opinions about your topic of interest. The use of a blog may give some people a way to express themselves where they may not have felt the liberty to do it otherwise. Blogging also gives others way to say, "I believe..." When one has a vision and a driving passion for what they are striving for and has research to back up that vision and passion, one will have more fuel for the fire to move toward success.
I agree with your thoughts of determining whether or not we have the same definition of parental involvement. I think some teachers would prefer that parents not be involved. When I taught the GT classes, others would often make comments about not wanting "that" class because the parents were too involved. I found having the parents involved very helpful. I also agree that maybe parents today do not have the understanding of kind of involvement it takes to help students be successful.
ReplyDeleteCheryl, I teach at a campus that receives Title I funds. We now know how NCLB and Title I are tied together. So parent involvement is a must whether teachers like or not.
ReplyDeleteNot all educators view parental participation in the same way. Some educators are "stuck" in their old ways. These are the individuals that just call parents about their children when they misbehave and close their doors and nobody bothers them.
At my campus, I don't think parents are aware that there are many ways in which they can participate in their children's schools. Some just believe that attending two Parent Nights a year in "parental participation."
Now that we're learning about blogging, we can exchange ideas, contribute ideas, and the list could go on... Most importantly, it's a new insight, enlightenment that we can accomplish from it.
Hey Cheryl! I think parents can make or break us.If we can get them on our side; they can help us in more ways than we could ever imagine. Right now we use them to raise money and chaperone field trips. Just think how awesome it would be if we could get them to help us teach their children some of the knowledge they need to make it out there in the real world! Enjoyed your blog!
ReplyDeleteI continue to be amazed at what I am learnig thrrough my online course work with Lamar University. I firmly believe in lifelong learning but never realized or cared to admit the impact that it could have on my workplace. I understand, as always, the need to use data to drive decisons for my classroom and am elightened to know the far reaching impact data can have on the decison the leader makes every day. Test scores have always meant alot but data that can be collected from other stakeholders can also have a far reaching impact on decison for the whole school community if used in the appropriate manner! We as educatos must learn to take the data we use in the classroom and apply it to more than just recording grades in a gradebook, or documentation for school leaders as to what is occuring in the classroom. Data needs to go beyond the what and expand to the why we do what we do every day.
ReplyDeleteMy previous comment was in response to the part of Week 2 assignment. But I had more I want to say. Some of what stood out to me mostly dealt with the relevance issue of action research! That to me was the greatest thing I took away from Week 2. We should not view action research as a means of supplying the requirements for our degree program but it really does go way beyond that!When Dr. Lewis said to make action research practical to where we are and to address three points: (1) interest, (2) focus, and (3) student benefit- he said much!
ReplyDeleteWhew!!!! Week 3 is over halfway gone and what this week has done is in my mind paint a clearer picture of what I am studying! And I am amazed at how much others on my campus are interested in the same thing and are willing to help with the work. This course has been an eye opener for me to see how connected the community is or should be to the learning environment and to student achievement. I have always said the parents are a child's number one advocate and understanding that and using it to a teacher's advantage is paramount to a student's success. Success should not be viewed as just coming from the classroom or the teacher. It takes everyone in the students' lives working together to gain the most ground. On to the next step!!!
ReplyDeleteYou are so correct Cheryl! And we have to be more innovative as to how we reach parents; teach parents; and get them involved. I believe that after reading everything you have written, you are just the person to help us with this extremely difficult topic.
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