Parents Please Get Involved

Provided by Einar Faanes (Wikimedia Commons)

One of the issues that a lot of teachers complained about when I did observations last year, is the lack of parent involvement. There was one teacher who told me that she had contacted the parents of one of her students several times throughout the year about the child’s grades and possible strategies to help the student, but the parents never responded. Two weeks before the end of the school year the child’s mom decided to contact the teacher and ask what could be done to save her child’s grade.  As a future teacher and parent I believe there is a halfway point and the communication has to be there! Parent Teacher Conference  It’s disappointing to see a child’s success crippled by a lack of communication between home and school. As I take this journey to be a teacher I wonder if any of my students will fall into the category of having a parent who doesn’t get involved.  I know there are many circumstances that make each person’s situation different, but at some point the child has to be viewed as a priority. I was a latchkey kid growing up but my parents still found time to make sure that they knew what was going on and communicated with the teachers. I also talk with my kids and their teachers to stay in the loop about what is going in school. I hope when I begin teaching that the gap between home and school narrows.

Educational and Professional Goals

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My senior year in high school I knew I would be the greatest psychologist ever! Unfortunately some discouraging words were implanted in my head and I found myself lost and not sure where to go from there. I knew I wanted to go to college either way, I just didn’t know what I was going to do. I started a job at a treatment center for at-risk youth, which was my first working experience with children.  During my eight years of working there I learned that the aggressive behavior and the psychological issues weren't the only reason why the kids were at-risk. They were all classified as Special Education and after being in the class with them for five minutes it wasn't hard to see why; most of them couldn't read past a first grade level. For two years within in this job I worked for the school as a paraprofessional and it seemed like something I could do, not sure if I really wanted to, especially with the age group I was dealing with, 12-18 years of age. So I went on about my business not really thinking about until 4 years ago, I got the same feeling when my oldest son was suppose to start Pre-K didn't meet the requirements. I didn’t want him to show up the following year to Kindergarten behind or lacking confidence so I taught him his ABC’s, numbers 1 -100, and to write his full name; I repeated the same lessons for his brother the following year. My kids and previous employer have led me here, and so here I am walking the road to help other people's kids become a success.  After I graduate with my BS in Interdisciplinary Studies, I'll teach Special Education http://1.usa.gov/1fiFfHo for a while as I work on my Masters in counseling counseling.org  and revisit my original passion. I do see a PhD in my future, this is my ultimate educational goal, but I haven't decided whether to continue with counseling or education, right now I want to get a feel for both and then see where the next road will lead me. 

Provided by DR04(Wikimedia Commons)