Parents As Partners in Twenty-First-Century Learning (Ch.15)

Abstract:
This chapter focuses on using technology to open the communication lines between teachers and parents in really effective and innovative ways. It suggests using programs that can log assignments and grades as access points for teachers, students, and parents. The chapter explains that this sort of site not only helps the parents stay informed and connected to the child's education, but it also keeps the students even more accountable for their own work and aware of the assignments due, coming up, and how they have done on them. The chapter touches on the idea of also using email and other digital communications to make connections and touch base with parents. Although all of these things can be incredibly useful and step up the levels of communication all around, the chapter encourages us to consider the fact that not all families will have computer access. This concept needs to be understood and worked around. Even with digital communication, the importance of face to face communication in meetings and conferences will always be significant and should be used continuously regardless of other types of communications.

Reflection:
I think this chapter was really helpful in remembering the importance of keeping the parents on the same page as the student and the teacher. The three sides make the whole triangle. Each person is a huge piece of the education that the child is working to receive and so each should be a part of big decisions, goal setting, hitting benchmarks, and working hard. The communication digitally is such a cool resource that we have now and I think it should be utilized. For me, one on one conversations and communications will still be very important, but communicating via email and school website will help me stay as connected the with parents (and students) as I would really like to be. In an ideal situation, each family would have computer/internet access and I would make honest efforts to stay connected in that way when conferences and meetings were not possible. In reality, the luxury of those things is not in every home, which I was happy the chapter reminded me of. There are many ways to stay connected and this chapter helped me remember the relevance of that.