Engaging Families
Chapter 8, “Engaging Families”, in the Barone, Mallette, & Xu book first of all reminded me of the cross-cultural counseling class the school psyc students had last semester. It highly emphasized the significance of learning about the cultures of the students and families with which you work, and not assuming anything about anyone.
I liked reading the chapter’s suggestions for learning about the student’s home literacy experiences, and was reminded of a home visit that I did earlier in the school year at my practicum site, with the social worker. The neighborhood was a government housing project. We went in the morning, as the social worker said that was the best time to go, since not everyone is awake yet. The social worker needed to talk to the mom of a student who had been absent multiple times. The mom was pregnant with her fifth child, on welfare, etc. They just had their electricity turned back on that day. I will spare you all the other details about the situation, but, as you can imagine, it was less than an ideal setting for any child to be raised. I thought, “no wonder the child has been absent so many times”. The same could be said if it was a child from a similar situation, that had poorly developed literacy skills. These families may not have access to books and resources that will encourage their children’s literacy skills to grow. They also may not have the knowledge or the time to spend to support literacy development. This is extremely important to keep in mind as educators. Although there isn’t anything we can really do about the environment from which they come, like Chapter 8 reiterates, it must be considered. If you know that your student comes from a home similar to the one I talked about, then you will (hopefully) be more understanding of the literacy skills the student has, and be able to create strategies specifically for them and their situation. I think teachers, and/or school psychologists, could use this as a teaching opportunity for not only the students, but for the families as well. Perhaps if they are taught how they can be supportive of the student’s literacy development, then they will be more likely to do so. Depending on the number of students the teacher has, however, it may be difficult for them to visit each individual family. It is definitely worth a shot though. I know from my experience with the home visit that it gives you a new perspective on the student and their particular situation, so I hope to be able to make more home visits in the future.
That sounds like a helpful experience that you were able to accompany the social worker on a home visit. I am sure it takes a lot of experience to get comfortable going into any time of setting and particularly when you may be bringing up a touchy subject or you are responsible for helping the family to change what they are doing. I think home visits are a crucial step to understanding each child, by learning more about their home, family, and culture. I think it also has the power to show teachers/psychologists/etc. that some families are doing many things which contribute to their child’s learning, it just may not be in the typical “school way.” I am sure we can learn from them at the same time we are hoping they learn from us!
Michelle T.
I agree that it’s important for educators to be aware of their students’ home lives. As a librarian, I think it’s great that I can provide kids with books, and they don’t have to pay for them. I think many parents that don’t have access to print materials for whatever reason are not aware of what libraries can do for them. Even if you don’t have enough money to buy a book to read to your child, a library card is free. However, some parents still don’t have the time to go to the library or don’t have transportation. That’s where school libraries come in. I want to encourage my students, especially the ones who don’t have a lot of reading material at home, to use my library. I want to get to know those kids so I can know their interests and their needs. For example, if I have an ELL student whose parents can’t read to her because they don’t read English, then I can find bilingual books to send home with her.
Oh man- I think Julie may get you for some of that deficit language, Kristin!
None the less- I know what you’re getting at here – about how some kids are just inherently going to have a more difficult time excelling in a mainstream school. I really think this post ties into chapter 9 from Barone, Mallette, and Xu where we have to look at kids and their schools from an ecological standpoint where it’s not just what the kids are bringing to the table, but also what the school and community has to offer.