Baking Soda
http://www.thenewpress.com/index.php?option=com_title&task=view_title&metaproductid=1296
This book is changing the way I think about kids, parents, and my job. I'm at a conference at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and besides being amazed at how nice their classrooms are and how great their catering is, I'm totally rethinking how we form relationships with parents.
Today we discussed how good schools initiate relationships with parents but most, if not all, of the content is school driven.
GREAT schools create a relationship with the parent, the platform of which is things like parent teacher conference night, progress reports, and parent groups like PTA. However, GREAT schools establish true 2 way communication with parents where parents are equal partners in the child's education.
The lecturer compared a child's achievement to a cake, saying that the instruction is the flour (the bulkiest part of the cake), but that parental involvement is the baking soda - the only thing that can lead the child to achieving their true potential. (She did a much better job of making the analogy)
I like to think that my school now is great, but when I think about our interactions with parents I realize that many of them are school driven and even then not truly tied to learning - but something that we do because we know it should be done.
I hope to revamp the way we build relationships with parents, starting before their first day of kindergarten.
Super exciting!!
This book is changing the way I think about kids, parents, and my job. I'm at a conference at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and besides being amazed at how nice their classrooms are and how great their catering is, I'm totally rethinking how we form relationships with parents.
Today we discussed how good schools initiate relationships with parents but most, if not all, of the content is school driven.
GREAT schools create a relationship with the parent, the platform of which is things like parent teacher conference night, progress reports, and parent groups like PTA. However, GREAT schools establish true 2 way communication with parents where parents are equal partners in the child's education.
The lecturer compared a child's achievement to a cake, saying that the instruction is the flour (the bulkiest part of the cake), but that parental involvement is the baking soda - the only thing that can lead the child to achieving their true potential. (She did a much better job of making the analogy)
I like to think that my school now is great, but when I think about our interactions with parents I realize that many of them are school driven and even then not truly tied to learning - but something that we do because we know it should be done.
I hope to revamp the way we build relationships with parents, starting before their first day of kindergarten.
Super exciting!!
posted by Julie @ 8:32 PM
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