Ch. 15: Parents as Parents in Twenty-First Century Learning

Through the twenty-first century learning method that Wormeli describes in this chapter enlightens us on exactly how we should involve parents in schooling these days, phone calls,
e-mails and sometimes text messages can be acceptable to keep everyone on the same page
with learning. Parents should be involved in every step of the learning
process. I think my way of twenty-first century learning would be setting up a
wiki in which parents and students could both access so they would know what
happened on each day, the homework and if any slips needed to be signed. With
this system teachers could post daily, weekly or monthly homework assignments,
tests and quizzes, project directions, maps, student samples, vocabulary lists,
reminders, research findings, book list, recommended websites and much more.
The advantages of keeping it online allows us to build on what worked and
eliminate what didn’t without having to flip through books and binders of
lesson plans, so this web-setup helps both teachers and parents. With a
website, like a wiki, students will be more apt to hand in work on time and
study harder because their parents have access to it as well and will always
know if they are done their work. Wormeli listed suggested sites on page 173 to
setup grades, quizzes and reminders. He also emphasized on e-mail parents are
more apt to answer an e-mail than to answer a voicemail because they have the
time to process what’s being said when it is time more than the spoken word or
a setup meeting. There isn’t enough time in the day to call every parent or
have random check-up meetings, but sending an e-mail just takes a couple of
minutes just as replying to one. Wormeli also listed other ways to emphasize
involvement in and out of the classroom, again some we already knew about and
are common sense but will come in handy when in the classroom as ways to reach
out. The one thing I absolutely disagree with is home visits. I feel that a
home visit is an invasion of privacy, I wouldn’t want my students parents
coming to my house and snooping around so why should it be acceptable for me to
go to their house to observe how they interact with their children? I could see
this happening in a more low-income based preschool like a ‘Head Start’ more than
in a middle school setting. I feel this would also cause more time and stress
on both the teacher and the parent because the teacher would have to drive to
each house and the parent would worry as to if the dishes are put away or the
floor is vacuumed. Surveys and newsletters are always awesome standbys and my
personal favorites. I loved when the newsletters were sent home in my middle
school and they had quotes from students or little drawings that helped put the
parent in the student’s shoes. Overall, Wormeli had great ideas as to how to
get parents involved in the twenty-first century and I am sure that I will flip
back to this chapter once I have a classroom of my own and struggle with this
concept.