ACTIONN VOICES

Liz Motter, Raving Fan of Parent Teacher Home Visits

"I was a teacher for over 30 years. I loved seeing my students learn, grow and master new concepts. It was always challenging. But early in my teaching career I found a key to connecting with students and helping their motivation to learn grow. That key was Parent Teacher Home Visits.

I was new to the community when I began teaching in Nevada, initially in Douglas County and then Washoe. My teacher partner and I decided that we wanted to get to know the families of the children we were teaching, and thought we would try home visits.  The power of these visits was amazing to see.

Many families thought of teachers as an important authority source. During a home visit, I could show that I was a real person, just like them.

I remember one mom, who I’ll call Jean. She had her first child at age 15 and another at 17, and received no child support. She worked a fast food job to pay the bills.  

Three families were sharing a tiny apartment, with sleeping arrangements everywhere, and lots of talking and TV going all the time. I soon realized that having a quiet place to do homework was not realistic for these children. I saw how hard it was for mom to be able to have the time, energy or resources to help with homework. Survival came first. My empathy grew.

As I built my relationship with her over time, mom became more aware of the need for quiet so the children could get the homework done.  Mom was impressed that her children were motivated to do their homework and wanted to do well. So she gradually created time and space for them to do homework, began to come to the school for events, and volunteered for a field trip. Mom’s confidence in the school gave her son confidence to not be so afraid of making mistakes, and his performance grew.

From doing the home visits, the families began to treat me like a family friend and invited me back for birthday parties and other special events. The secret to my success as a teacher had a lot to do with these Parent Teacher Home Visits."



For a Washington Post article on Parent Teacher Home Visits, that describes their value:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/try-parent-visits-not-parent-takeovers-of-schools/2012/05/30/gJQAlDDz2U_story.html