This site is a class blog space for new Career and Technical Specializations and Heathcare Science teachers enrolled in the New Teacher Institute (NTI) at Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Contacting parents
I have had a good experience with contacting parents. Most of my contacts have been phone or email, but I have had a few face to face meetings with parents and one in particular stands out. It was during my 3rd block and I was trying to get a particulary active freshman to sit down and quit talking so I could explain an assignment. Every time I tried to give directions, she would hop back up in her seat and talk to another student. AT the same time, another student heard a knock on my classroom door and opened it-for the freshman's mother. I moved to greet her and introduce myself, and all this time, the student never even looked up to see that her mother was standing at her desk. The mother grabbed the student by her arm, led her to my desk area and proceeded to "discuss" her behavior with her-in front of the entire class. Before I could get them to the hallway for privacy, the mother pinched the student on the end of her nose and told her to "get focused or else" and then thanked me for my time. She then started to fuss at the student again, so I showed them the hall and tried to ge tthe class back on track with the assignment. The student and mom came back into the class, the student was much more quiet and has been more focused in class ever since. I was not even the teacher who called the mom, it had been another teacher that had been having problems with the student in her class. Turns out the mom just wanted to surprise the student and see "what was going on" according to the mother. This is one parent contact I won't likely forget for some time.
I would never see this as our school would not allow the parent to come to the classroom. The student would be called to the office or a counselor. This parent sounds like my mother. She was very good a surprising you! I would not like to see a student embarressed like this in frount of their peers, this could haunt them for some time. These students can be mean, they even made a movie about it. However parental support of any kind is welcome. Firm support is less the norm than earlier generations. Ken
ReplyDeleteI would have liked to have seen that! Expect that student will be better behaved moving forward.
ReplyDeleteI always liked having parents come to class - interesting things sometimes occur.
What a great experience to share, it certainly makes a diffrence when parents are involved. Most of my experiences with parents have been on the positive side as well. However, I did have an experience similiar to yours and I am still traumatized as a result. This student's parents were called by an administrator. A person we thought to be the mother showed up
ReplyDeleteand slapped the child, had a fist fight in the office infront of everyone. Then we find out its the students sister. This parent contact is serious business.