Educators value the involvement and support of parents, guardians, families and communities in schools.
As the incredible Gretchen has always told us: As a teacher, you are taking care of somebody’s baby. It does not matter what grade you are teaching, or their situation at home, you are looking out for someone’s world.
This has stuck with me since I first heard it, but has really resonated with me since beginning this 10-week practicum because I have finally come to notice how much time we are spending with people’s children. This time has allowed me to know what extra curricular activities they engage with after school, their favourite television shows or videogames, and about how they spend time with their siblings. Being a teacher means so much more than delivering curricular content, we are tasked with the responsibility of getting to know, caring for, and guiding their growth for 10 months of the year.
Because of this realization, Standard 4 has become much more prominent for me and my thinking, especially after taking part in the Parent/Teacher Interviews. It was such an amazing experience to meet the families or guardians of my students over the course of the few days. One enjoyable element was being able to communicate the students’ learning with their people at home, but the other element that I did not expect was that by getting to know the guardians, I was better able to know and understand the student. From a set of freckles that are shared by all siblings and mom, to a unique sense of humour that is clearly from dad, meeting the family enabled me to become a better teacher to my students because I felt as though I had a better understanding of why they are who they are.
When a teacher values the involvement and support of parents, guardians, families and communities in schools, they are helping to bridge the gap between school and home life. I think this is important because learning does not stop at 2:27pm. These children go home and help with chores, cooking, or hobbies that their parents or guardians take part in. And then when they return to school, they bring with them the values, morals, and skills that they have picked up at home. If we, as educators, do not stop to recognize the interconnection between home or community and school life, we are separating the concept of growing up from learning, and I believe it is vital that students make that connection so that they can become and remain lifelong learners.
Standard 4 is also important when trying to better understand a students’ Social and Emotional state or needs. If a student is showing up tired every day, or non-compliant for no obvious reason, we need to ensure that we have built strong enough connections with the parents or guardians so that we can work together to ensure that the child has a well-rounded support system that can look out for them all day. In addition to caring for the Social and Emotional needs, if we have valued and developed a relationships with the family or community, we can work together to strategize ways to increase the students’ quality of life, both in and out of the classroom. It would be silly of me to assume that a students’ life outside of school does not impact their life within the classroom, and vice versa.
Something else I have learned recently that relates to Standard 4 is that while I am the classroom teacher, there are many perspectives and SUCH an incredible amount of knowledge that comes from talking to the families or guardians of a students, especially when it comes to traditional cultural knowledge. By connecting the school and home culture through relationship building, the student will be in a better position to not have to “code-switch” depending on their environment. If I really listen to the people who my students spend time with at home, and if I take the time to learn about customs that are not the same as my own, I can better respect and acknowledge the students’ cultural values within the classroom setting. This is vital to the students’ growth and learning because if they feel seen, understood, and respected, then their main focus can be on learning instead of assimilating.
Some days it might be as easy as emailing a parent to tell them that their child left their snowpants in the classroom, other days might involve very difficult conversations that need to be scheduled and conducted in person. Regardless of the content of the conversation, it is vital that we remember that the student has multiple people in their life that are there to help them learn and grow into adult members of society. If we work together to bridge the gap between home, school, and community, the child will grow up knowing that they have a support system in place to guide their development.
I have always believed in the idea that it takes a village to raise a child, and Standard 4 is there to remind us that we are part of the village.