The New Way to Meet Student's Parents

So maybe this is not really what happens in schools anymore. Parent Teacher Conference. When I was kid, if you had one of those that meant you were in trouble. My parents saw my teacher maybe at maximum 2 times a year. This was at the Open House in the fall and the last day of school. Luckily, I attended a small Catholic school so everyone knew everyone, even the teachers. Maybe my parents were like the woman in this photo at one point, but times are changing and some schools are adapting to the change.

Recently Mark commented on the blog and suggested I read this article regarding teacher house calls.

Areas in Boston and Springfield are having their teachers make house calls to students to promote parental involvement in the schools. Areas such as Springfield report that grades are going up and parents are becoming more involved in their child’s school. Also, some believe that having the teacher visit the parents takes away some misconceptions both the parent and teacher may have of each other.

I personally like the idea of house calls. Many times parents cannot visit schools and the parent teacher conference that constantly gets rescheduled can finally happen. Also, the house call makes things more real. What do I mean by this? It is no longer a kid going to school. It is a kid, their child, going to school and interacting with the person who is sitting at the table with you. I know many times parents have questions about the material and they wonder what they can do for the child, but feel intimidated on what to do to solve the problem. I had a parent come to my after school last year asking how to solve math problems to help her daughter. This mother took the time to come to the school and ask, but many times the parent can’t due to timing, jobs, lack of transportation, or any other circumstance.

Maybe I am being a bit naive, but I think most parents want to find ways they can help their children. Maybe they won’t be the school’s mascot of school pride, but a parent can volunteer and do the most important thing for a student, make sure they stay on track. I have heard, and I myself have said, that schooling is not only in school. It is the parent’s job to make sure their child receives the constant reinforcement of education in the household. I feel like a statement is made when a teacher visits a home, “I’m making the commitment to you by seeing you. Now you need to make the commitment that you will support this child.”