When becoming a teacher you are not only dealing with the students in your classroom, you are also working closely with their families and lives outside your classroom. These students lives at home play a major role in their education just as their lives at school. When I become a teacher I will be interacting and working closely with the parents of my students. If I was the teacher of the classroom I am currently tutoring in, I can see myself encountering challenges in order to collaborate with these parents. First, English is my first and currently only language spoken. Many of these parents speak little to no English, making communication between us two extremely difficult. Also, the life I live at home and the events that take place outside of my work life is extremely different from what these students and their families are experiencing. Relating and understanding one another will be another difficult but not impossible challenge I see myself needing to over come.
I believe that when I become a teacher I will do anything and everything in my power to create a healthy and respectful relationship with my students and their families. Although I know it will be hard and definitely far from consistent, I will strive to do so. If I find myself in situations where physically communication is impossible because of language or transportation, I will need to find a way to make this work. A translator, a home visit, anything that will help I will do.
These students and their parents live different lives that I am used to. They have different encounters every day as do I. They have different fears, goals, and relationships. I may never be able to relate to the lives they live, but as these students teacher it is my job to try my best and to put all bias feelings and opinions aside in order to help these children to my best ability.
Another issue that may rise is the issue of discipline. Some families and I may have different opinions and methods of discipline. I will need to respect their feelings and conduct my classroom in a way that I am being respectful and mindful to their ways. If the students are in no danger then it is my job to respect their ways at home.
Lisa Delpit writes about the importance of communication and working together. She writes about communication between the students and their peers, the students and the teacher, the teacher and their coworkers, and most importantly the teacher and the parents. Delpit expresses the importance on teacher parents relationships and communication and how it plays a main role in the development and education of children. Delpit explains that she feels the importance of communication between parents and teachers is extremely important for those of poor white children and children of color.
Delpit's article and ideas have opened my eyes to the importance of communication. I believe I will reflect on her articles in order to cross these challenges and work successfully with the parents of my students.
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I agree with you on Delpit. I also connected this prompt to Delpit. Since we are in the same classroom I can understand how you see the communication between the teacher and the families. I also noticed the parents don't care that much about the schoolwork or homework they do. Some parents don't even care if the student goes to school. I also saw how Delpit's power struggle comes into play. The parents were never taught the codes of society so they were never able to get ahead therefore they could not teach their children the codes. It's an endless cycle and it's sad. The students realize the power because they see and hear about what students in other schools have and see that they don't have it. They also hear about the tests scores and how theirs aren't has high as the other schools and it could be because they don't have the same materials as other schools. I think you made some really great points!
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