parents

Well done on the presentations today Lea, Alana and Sheena. They were organized, engaging, informative and had a balanced mixture of student-led and teacher-led activities. I'm sorry I had to leave a bit early because the issue of outreaching to parents of ESL students is so important and one that isn't discussed much in any of my other courses. It was quite funny when I found out my practicum placement since our class had just been discussing how intimidating some parents could be. I'm going to a particular school that seems to have developed a reputation for parents monitoring their children's teachers extremely closely. It's definitely a positive thing for parents to be concerned and actively involved with their childrens' education but I'm a little nervous because I've had quite a few people react with "ooohh" after I told them what school I was going to. Now let's just hope I don't do anything that will cause any parents to be concerned...
It was really beneficial to think about the challenges that come with outreaching to parents of ESL students. I wonder how the Ministry finalized what to include in their very short brochure and if the bulleted points under the section "How is school different in BC?" are the most typical issues that we will have to deal with (like noting that attendance is mandatory and that leaving the school for learning experiences is important). I thought their 2nd point in that category (learning occurs in many different ways, including: playing games, singing, music, drama, etc.) was especially important to note. It's a practical 'tough-love' brochure that points out the basics that parents should be aware of in a simplified, easy to read format. What I worry about is what to do when you've met with the parent(s) on several occasions but their children still aren't doing assignments because of conflicting cultural practices.