I have found that being a mom makes me more empathetic to the hectic schedules of families. I have a family and I know how tough it can be. Most of you know "the drill". Especially if you have more than one child and your family is going in all different directions - it is difficult to slow down and celebrate each child. Conversations about school happen in the car on the way to and from soccer or t-ball - not always at the dinner table. Our society has changed as well. Most of us have a phone or a computer near us to communicate with. I decided to tap into this change and as my communication has evolved - so have my communication skills.
I found in my teaching that the BEST way to be a team player with my student's families is to communicate. In the beginning I did what all teachers do - a newsletter and a behavior chart in a folder. Most of this type of communication is one sided. I was sending them information about what happened in class - but it was not detailed or entertaining. It was just a requirement.
I moved on from there to a blog. As more and more people began getting into Facebook - I created my own private Facebook-like site using NING. I was even able to create my own URL. www.millerclark3.ning.com. On this I uploaded photos weekly, had children blog in groups 2-3 times a week. Parents enjoyed this because it was a private place to communicate with our classroom. If the parents needed to contact one another - they could. The site showed an ever changing slideshow of the classroom and things we did inside of it. They could check the calendar for important events, find newsletters, and read the thoughts of their child and their child's classmates as they related the events of the day in their words. It became something that parents would show friends or family when they were around because not many children had something like this. During the time of this site I found that I had begun to work more closely with the parents. The parents felt as if they could be apart of my classroom.
I cannot begin to tell you about one post - forever lost now - about perfection. I had given the students an assignment. As we were reading the story How to Be a Perfect Person in Just 3 Days- they had to tell me what "being perfect was. Here is an example of what they came up with:
https://youtu.be/afRs-G2Kfu0 (video from Fall 2015). One parent that I never saw at school because he had many jobs and was also a college student wrote about sports perfection. The "perfect game" and what the world thought of as perfect. I saw my class (which at the time had many more boys than girls - on the edge of their seat. The student who's dad had written the words had a grin a mile wide on his face. He was proud. The words the dad used to describe perfect - something none of us can ever achieve, but should never stop trying to - hung in the air like heavy clouds before a thunderstorm. It was then I knew parents had to be a part of my classroom whenever they could be. It was then I knew communication as we knew it growing up had changed.
Times have changed - even in my classroom. Although I have this blog - I wonder how many "fans" out there I really have. I document some anyway and will continue to document more this year.
I now don't have a NING (NING decided to become something I would have to pay for), so I now have Twitter and Instagram. You are welcome to follow my class @millerclark3 or #millerclark3rd. My parents can comment and like. I am careful not to mention how many likes we get. I don't want my students to worry about how many do or don't hit "like". My new purpose for communication is to have a visual window into our classroom for parents. All of the working moms and dads - or the ones at home missing their babies. I don't want a student of mine going home and answering the question "What did you do today" with "NOTHING." I want parents to be able to say - I saw you went to the library today - what book did you pick out. The photos can change the conversation. The parents can simply hand them the phone and say - tell me about your day and what was posted.
As I have gone down this path of parent communication - I have had responses from fellow teachers and from parents. Generally - teachers are afraid to try it. It was scary to even me when I began.
Most of the time (not always) parents are excited. Some parents choose not to follow - and that is OK. The feeds are not mandatory to read or look at. I just always let them know that in the middle of their busy lives they can always stay connected to their child and what goes on in their child's world.
And the next step- I'm not sure. Maybe one of my students will invent the new way to communicate. We will all wait and see. For now - I will document what we do, blog, photograph, breathe, and enjoy everyday with good communication between my student's parents and my classroom.
(Most of this post was written a LONG time ago. I decided to post it when I found the draft today. They are good words.)
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