ACTIONN VOICES

Stephanie Platner, Champion for Successful Students

Through Parent Teacher Home Visits

    Parent Teacher Home Visits have increased my cultural sensitivity. There are so many culturalnorms and expectations that you don’t think about until you enter a home and experience them.

     During one of the Parent Teacher Home Visits to a family of Mexican origin, we were greeted by the parents of the student with a large meal. They were excited to meet us. They told us about their food and where they get it during the meal.  When we went to eat the food with our forks and they laughed at us. They said we don’t use forks for that, we just pick them up with our hands and eat them.  I appreciated their humor and enjoyed learning more about the Mexican culture.

     Through Parent Teacher Home Visits I have increased my cultural sensitivity and awareness. Understanding that when our kids come to school, what we may be expecting them to know might be different in their culture,  especially for young children. Increasing my awareness of where the child comes from, what goes on in their home, and what’s going on with their family helps me to help the child in the better ways.

     How to use the strengths from a family’s culture to encourage learning and academic growth is an area where I am growing and see improvements.  Parent Teacher Home Visits has opened up new avenues for me to connect with parents and children that would have been much more difficult otherwise.