Communication

We, as educators, have the responsibility of making connections between what experiences our students bring with them into the classroom from their homes or extra curricular activities and incorporate that experience into what we are learning in the classroom and make it relevant. This is no small task and cannot be achieved without teachers collaborating with parents. Making connections with the families has the potential of revealing little known 'gems' about students that we may otherwise never have the privilege of seeing. What is the best way of reaching out to parents? Communication styles vary from household to household. While typed 1/2 sheets sent home work for some, email works for others. The telephone seems old fashioned, but is a very effective form of communication. What about the homes where English is not the language used for primary communication, do we put the task of translation onto the student? What does district policy dictate about communication w/families and how does classroom policy differ? Multiple methods of communication and some sort of verification that at least one of those methods reaches each household. It would be ideal for the method of family communication to be consistant within the building and/or district. This would ensure that from year to year communication style would not have to be reinvented each September for each classroom.

It's funny, I wasn't planning on writing so much about communication, but the more I thought about it the more I realized what a HUGE part school communication plays in bringing families into the learning community.

Effective communication with families allows us to recognize the whole student and enables us to teach to their strengths and develop effective strategies to build their learning weaknesses. Determining the communication style of students is another component of creating an effective learning environment. Giving the quieter students a voice and encouraging the talkers to better develop their listening skills. The idea of unearthing a learning strategy that a student might bring to my classroom that will effectively help one of their classmates is something I find exciting. In the past, I had viewed communication as a means for the teacher to inform families about what activities and learning objectives were going on in the classroom. Now, I view communication as a means of gathering information from a variety of resources that will be helpful in understanding how students learn and what areas might be of particular interest and relevance and what personal experiences my classroom community might have to share that will enhance our classroom learning.
Engaging the families will reinforce the learning taking place in the classroom and communication is one of the primary ways of engaging families.