Helen Housby first grade teacher/
warrior at
“My first
experience with Parent Teacher Home Visits occurred about twenty years
ago. Katherine Dunn Elementary
School was considered a middle class, neighborhood school back in those days,
and I was a middle class white female teacher trying to understand why some of
my students had poor attendance. We were trying to motivate the parents to get
their children to school on time. Parent Teacher Home Visits had not been part
of the school’s culture.
I met with a
mom and her three kids who were students in my class. They lived in the Marina Gardens apartments on Howard Drive,
which were considered ‘low income’ apartments. This visit had a profound impact on my teaching career.
The
circumstances that the family lived with were difficult, yet I found that the
family did care about their children’s future. They were not living in the kind
of order I was used to, but they cared. I learned to change my assumptions and
grow as a person.
I learned to
alter my teaching methods to meet the needs of my students. I found resources
for connecting the families to other needed services, because I saw firsthand
what those needs were.
By building
a relationship with the families, I began to see improvement in the students’
attendance and I knew I was on the right track. I am a firm believer in Parent
Teacher Home Visits.”
No comments:
Post a Comment