Entry #18 - January 18, 1999
"I'd like to see us looking at student work with parents. I'm
not talking about report cards or test scores, but really looking at assignments
and peeling them back to find the reasons for doing them and for the work
we're getting from students. . . These discussions hardly ever happen, at
least not in urban, public schools."
Monday morning I went to school with my summary of the students' science
fair feedback in hand. I kept it to one page and distributed it to all my
classes. It took about a half hour or so to go over the sheet and it was
a little frustrating. Most kids said nothing. Was it because they didn't
care or was it because they're not sure I really care? This dilemma rears
its head constantly among adults and students as they continually make decisions
about whether to engage in conversations, in the work, in life....
I think this semi-conscious disengagement is one of the biggest problems
we face in our schools. If our students and their parents would speak up
more and if we would really listen -- I realize these are big if's -- I
think we'd see some dramatic developments in terms of learning and educational
reform.
What would it take to get this conversation rolling? Why aren't we trying
to have these discussions? What do we have to lose? I don't pretend to have
the answers to these questions, but I can't see how the schools will really
change without them.
I'm not content to leave those questions dangling in the air like empty
rhetoric, so I kept plugging in all five classes. I did get some responses
and I'll point out classroom changes as I make them, to remind them that
what we're doing is based on their ideas. I want them to feel empowered.
I want them to feel they can take on the world, the way I did at their age...the
way I still do.
In terms of the adults who feel powerless, I'd like to see us looking at
student work with parents. I'm not talking about report cards or test scores,
but really looking at assignments and peeling them back to find the reasons
for doing them and for the work we're getting from students. Figuring out
together what makes an "A" an "A" or why one approach
makes more sense than another.
These discussions hardly ever happen, at least not in urban, public schools.
I had to become a teacher to have them. As an active parent I got to sell
cupcakes and chaperone trips. When I asked for more involvement, I got to
tutor a small group on my day off, but nobody really wanted to talk about
learning or pedagogy with a parent.
So now I'm on the other side of the table, and I still I hate report card
conferences. They are so shallow, so superficial. "Your child didn't
complete this or that," or "Your child is wonderful...any questions?"
The only benefit of the conferences is the human contact you try to make
for your 5-7 minutes. I shake hands, make eye contact, talk about my availability
every morning and my willingness to receive phone calls, but it's not enough.
The hierarchy has been in place for far too long. It's "us and them,"
and we have the power, the power to pass or fail, to approve or disapprove.
Add language and cultural barriers, mix with a dose of economic disadvantage
and is it any wonder we don't really talk?
So where does all this leave me? I'm going to New York this afternoon for
three days of focus on my professional portfolio and my personal growth
as an educator. I feel good about the progress I've made in the last three
years -- not complacent, but good. However, sitting down to write this diary
has made me aware of the section that isn't there, the missing piece in
my portfolio...the extension of the conversation to parents. Ouch!
I'm glad I'll be with Annenberg coaches this weekend. The discussions always
push my thinking and I'll be looking for ways to open the conversation with
parents. I'm sure I'll come back with some initial strategies; in fact,
I proposed using a "protocol" to
look at student work in our School Council once, but we never did it and
I didn't re-raise it. That seems like a good place to start.
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Deb offers her definition
of a "protocol" -
A protocol is a tool we use as teachers to look closely at student
or teacher work. It's a system of rules or rounds that organize the feedback
the presenter receives about the work. Someone always facilitates the discussion
and there's a time to debrief the process at the end. The protocol keeps
the focus on the work and the question, as opposed to the individual who's
presenting or the person who's giving the feedback. It cuts against defensiveness
and has been very helpful in our work in our Critical Friends Groups.
COMMENTS ON THIS WEEK'S ENTRY
I thank you Deborah for your diary submission. I have faced the same
concerns about getting beyond the marks, to really help students understand
and learn. I especially appreciate your concern about Parent/Teacher interviews.
A cursory meeting means nothing, and only seems to cause disassociation,
since nothing is really accomplished there. The many parents I briefly encounter,
see assignments and work as something their child needs to 'get over and
done with' in order to jump through the hoops.
I too, as a parent, demand interviews with my children's teachers. I quickly
got out of the scheduled 10 minute interview, indicating that I had many
more things I needed to discuss beyond the allotted time limit. It made
for better communication between school and home, as well as a better environment
for my children to grow and learn. Did I have to become a teacher in order
for that to happen? It appears so.
Unfortunately, I am not in control of the Parent/Teacher interview setup
at my school, which caters to the brief meeting of parents, and the need
to 'get this over with'. I know, as a teacher, I must be the one to take
up the phone or the e-mail and invite and discuss the education of the student
with those who really want to get beyond the surface. Your sharing has given
me even more conviction to continue this quest. Thank you.
Dan Friedt
TLC Teacher/Leader
McCoy High School
Medicine Hat, AB Canada