Unit 3: Methods to Get Parents Involved
Return to: Mini-course Main Page | Unit 1: Parenting Styles You May Encounter | Unit 2: Why Are Parents Not Involved?
Advance to: Unit 4: Case Study
Objective: Given reasons for not being involved, a learner will be able to come up with at least one way to increase a parent's level of involvement.
To do:
- Access the Unit 2 Padlet
- Open your previously downloaded Unit 2 Google Doc. If you still need to download it, you can do so by opening the link and going to File - Download. Use this to complete the specified activities as we go along.
- Download the Unit 3 Google Doc by opening it and going to File - Download. Use this to complete the specified activities as we go along.
Starting Reflection
Head back to the Padlet that we started during Unit 2. You will now comment on another person's original post about reasons why parents might not be involved. Your comment should focus on one or more of the reasons given in the original post. You should provide a possible intervention or solution to get that you think might help to get that particular parent more involved. You may comment on your own post if none other are available to you.
Show the Value of Education
We are used to educating kids, but this method may involve educating some adults. Basically, we will want to redefine their thoughts or memories about school. Perhaps they have negative feelings associated with school because of their past failures or actions. What we will want to do is ask them about some good memories they have or teachers that they liked. Ask if they have a teacher who helped them through a tough time or tough class and what that teacher did for them. We want to keep drawing on these positive experiences they had, even if they were few and far between. Ensure the parent and child that you want their child to have those same positive experiences here and you will do anything you can to ensure that they have those, and experience success.
Recall: What teachers did you have that you can fondly draw upon memories with? What did they do to help you through a difficult time? What teacher did you feel most comfortable with and why? Add your thoughts to the Unit 3 Google Doc here.
Our goal with doing this is to repaint the parent's picture of what school is like. If we can ensure them that school is NOT a bad place and there are a plethora of good people there ready to help children and families, they are likely to put faith and trust into us. We want them to see school as a safe place, a useful place.
Some parents may not believe that school is useful if they did not complete school or they do not use what they learned in school. We need to be proactive with students that may follow a different career path. Encourage students to follow their passions for trade schools and get information to parents about the different programs your school offers. Take time to set up a plan with the student and parents for after school. The earlier you do this the better.
Invite speakers from the community and local business leaders (can even be parents themselves) in to your classroom to speak about something related from a topic you are studying. Encourage the speaker to talk about how they use what they studied in school and how school helped them get where they are. This will allow students and parents to see that there is more than one path to follow during and after school. It may motivated students who don't see the value in school.
Check out this educator who arranged a field trip to meet Gary Vaynerchuk! The options are limitless, just be creative. The students will appreciate anything you do for them, especially if it involves skipping a lecture.
Supporting the Parent
Remember you have to have the parents' back as much as you want them to have yours. You need to let them know you have their back. You need to show them appreciation.
When a parent (or anyone) feels appreciated, they are likely to give so much more. We mustn't forget that parents are our biggest allies and they know so much more about their child than we do. We want to work together, not against. Some ways you can make parents feel appreciated and valued are
- Be open to parent suggestions
- Ask for their ideas
- Engage in dialogue about how to best help their child be successful
- Seek support when it comes to your own limitations
- Try to see things from the parent's perspective
You can even do cute little gestures like the postcard above and send them home once a year. Little things can make the biggest difference. You can send them a thank-you email at the end of each quarter. Try to make 1 or 2 positive phone calls home each week and get to know more about the parents' lives. The efforts you invest will come back to you.
Think: Using these guidelines or thoughts of your own, come up with 1-2 ways that you could show your appreciation for parents! How would you let them know that you value their input? How would you start and maintain open communication with them? Use the Unit 3 Google Doc you have downloaded to record your thoughts.
Helping Busy Parents
It was reported that single parents and immigrants are less likely to feel involved in their child’s education. This is not to say that these types of parents don't necessarily value education, but other needs take precedent. These parents are the ones that may not make it to meet the teacher night or parent-teaching conferences. That's okay. There is more we can do as a teacher. Just remember, what you put into this relationship, you will get out. We do this all to benefit out students who need us.
Consider a home visit or a meeting on neutral turf. These are good for two reasons: One, it alleviates the need for the parent to go out, especially if that is hard with young children. Two, it may be better for some parents especially the ones discussed that may have negative feelings towards school and still avoid it out of fear and conditioning. If this seems daunting to do alone, bring along another teacher who may have or has had the student in the past. Bring a teacher's aid or an administrator. You can start the conversation by explaining your relationship with the student with the goals of sharing hopes and dreams for the youngster. Keep an open mind that you will be learning from the parent as well as sharing your classroom expectations that will lead to success.
Create: Now it is your turn to be creative and come up with a potential dialogue between yourself ("teacher") and the parents of one of your students ("parent"). Use at least the number of lines given in Unit 3 Google Doc (#3). You may add more if you need to.
Be Clear with Your Expectations
It is crucial that teachers lay out their expectations, values, and rules not only to the students but to the parents right away. We want our classroom procedures to be known from the beginning, not up for discussion when it is too late and someone has crossed the boundary. As teachers we need to be proactive, not reactive. We've got enough on our plate as it is, we don't need to be spending our precious time reiterating rules with our students' parents. We will get this out of the way first and foremost with a letter home. Below we take a look at what our letter should detail.
- Exactly how your classroom will work
- The top 2-3 ways for students to be successful in your class
- Important procedures
- Late work/homework policy
- How and when parents can contact you
Here we have provided you an example of a letter home you may edit to use with your classes. It is suggested you compose and send this letter out early in the year so parents know what to expect from you and you can avoid confusion later on.
6 Strategies to Gain and Keep Support
Still not sure what you can do to promote involvement? Take a look at these six types of parental involvement.
- Parenting
- Communicating
- Volunteering
- Learning at Home
- Decision- Making
- Collaborating with Community
More on these six types of involvement are outlined in detail with examples by Joyce Epstein of John Hopkins University here. These provide six concrete types of involvement you and/or your administration can consider when implementing parent and family activities throughout the year.
Now that you have explored several options for increasing parental involvement, be sure you head back to the Unit 2 Google Doc to complete the table at the top. Use your best judgment to determine what (or which) methods could be used.
Advance to: Unit 4: Case Study