Wednesday, April 1, 2015



Amanda French at Alice Maxwell Elementary School
True Believer in Parent Teacher Home Visits

   Seeing the conditions that our children live in continues to be an eye opener for me. I went to visit a family where all the chairs were broken, so we stood for the visit. That was ok with me, but the child was really embarrassed at their living conditions.
      It is helpful for me to see students in their homes. Working with low income children is different from my reality. So when I visit the home and see the poverty first hand, it is an eye opener.  It’s one thing to think I understand the conditions the children live in and another thing to see it.
    I visited a family who live in a one bedroom apartment with five people who sleep in one bedroom and a few others who sleep in the living room.  Our school expectations for the student to have a quiet place to complete home work isn’t realistic.  I wonder how the student can have a full night’s sleep to have energy to learn in class.
    I know that  Parent Teacher Home Visits have changed me. The visits have made me more aware, more open, more competent because I have seen the families first hand.

   I recommend Parent Teacher Home Visits to build our relationships between parents and teachers. A lot of parents feel intimidated to come into the school and the visits remove that barrier.   I think the relationship is the key to everything – trust, motivation, achievement.

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