After talking with the students for a few weeks I began to learn more and more about them and a few of them actually divulged some information about their family lives. Between those unique experiences and some comments I overheard I learned a lot about the different challenges these kids face at home. I got a few comments from some students about their family not having enough money to support even the simplest of school necessities such as pencils and fieldtrip money. Other more severe issues were like one that I overheard from one girl. She was talking about how a lot has changed at home since DCYF had gotten involved. I was unaware of the specifics of the situation but I could only imagine the worse.
It was situations like this that got me thinking about how I would deal if I was the teacher of these students. I can already imagine the obvious troubles with language barriers since the majority of the students’ parents are Spanish speaking and some that is the only language that they are fluent in. But I’m not sure where my responsibilities lay as the teacher to get involved in serious family issues. For example if I was the teacher and overheard one of the students talking about abuse at home is it my place to report it? Should I contact the family first? Is it even appropriate for me to get involved because after the school day is over I turn from being the primary authority figure to an adult who is crossing his boundaries in these students life, at least that’s how some parents might take it.
Apart from those most serious situations there is also the issue of collaboration with parents which I believe is always a necessity for maximizing a student’s educational opportunities. I think that I would try my best to include the parents and hopefully have frequent meetings so that we would be able to help the students both at school and on the home front. This is of course a utopian ideal that is most likely unattainable with parents who some work 2 or 3 jobs while others just don’t care to be involved in their kids’ education. Honestly I find trouble dealing in hypothetical with a situation of this importance and I can only speculate what I would do, but without actually participating first hand instead of as an observer it is tough to imagine.
I think that the answer to your quesition about wheather or not you shoudld get involved with outside life of the students is absolutely yes. Though this is a matter of my own opinion, if a teacher sees that a student may be abused or that they are having serious issues at home they should report it to someone. Its important that the teachers and parents meet often to let parents know how their children are doing. It is unfortunate that many parents do work more than one jobs to support their families. There are other approaches to informing parents, you as a teacher could send out weekely or monthly news letter letting the families know what the children have been doing.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to a situation of a child being abused, there are definitely avenues a teacher can take to helping the child. Telling the Principal, school nurse, guidance councilor, or other teachers the student may be close with would spread the knowledge to other adult figures. Being the only adult to know (or have suspicion) of abuse may make it difficult in the sense that a teacher may feel they are over stepping their boundary. Once other adults know about one teacher’s suspicions, they may want to find out for themselves, and if others agree then legal action (DCYF, police, etc) would be taken. I think that ignoring suspicions about a serious topic like abuse would be bad mistake.
ReplyDeleteParents should always be involved in their child’s education, but language barriers or busy schedules often get in the way. My advising teacher would send out daily reports for all the student’s parents to sign. I think this was a good idea because it kept the teacher and parent on the same page with the child’s education. The parent’s involvement changes however as the child get older. In an elementary I think daily or weekly reports would be beneficial, middle school students should get reports sent home monthly, and high school students should get reports half way through the quarter. I think that as a student matures and takes responsibility for their education, the role of the parent should become more passive. Obviously in the case of failing grades, a change in student’s work, or behavioral issues would change the situation in all grade levels.