Parents Point of View


  The Parents Point of View was an outgrowth of my
sabbatical leave. I wanted to develop a friendly mechanism
by which all parents could have greater input into
their children's education. Mulling this over for a few
weeks, I decided to create a short open-ended questionnaire
for parents to complete at the end of the school year.
I called it the Parents Point of View. And that's exactly
what it was. As parents are concerned, most of all, about
the quality of their own children's schooling, the Parents
Point of View gave them an opportunity to evaluate their
child's year and to provide input into the following year's
program for each of their children. It consisted of two
questions:
• In what ways has this been a growth year for your
child at school?
• What major goals would you like next year's
teacher to work towards with your child? Which
goals would you like next year's teacher particularly
to emphasize?

  The purpose of the Parents' Point of View was
twofold:
  Firstly, it provided feedback to the child's current
teacher as it was returned directly to the teacher--a form
of evaluation of the child' s school year. Also, it provided
feedback to me as I carefully read each parent's response
in order to better understand each child. (Very few parents
chose not to return the Point of View.)
  Secondly, the Parents Point of View was given to the
following year's teacher to assist in planning for the child's
new school year. In addition, information garnered from
the Points of View in May and June was helpful in sensitively
placing children with teachers and groups of children
for the following school year. The teachers and I
tried to place children with teachers and classroom structures
that we felt would be most fitting and challenging
for them. We weren't always able to make a match, but I
believe we were quite successful.
  I cannot emphasize enough how moved I was by the
great care that parents took to describe their children as
well as by the high level of trust exhibited by the teachers.
Furthermore, a purpose was served that I had not foreseen:
it provided yet another opportunity for parents (and
teachers) to look carefully at their children both as learners
and as youngsters developing during those "magic
years" of the elementary grades. 
  While writing this piece I found the following two
Parents Points of View amongst the mementoes and miscellaneous papers I had saved these many years. They are
an accurate example of the thoughtful and constructive
comments parent-after-parent wrote year-after-year for
nine years (1976-1984). Although most were quite positive
about the child's progress or the teacher's program,
they were written, almost without exception, in a helpful
manner and served to advance the overall quality of education
in our school.



Example #1

INDEPENDENCE SCHOOL
May, 1982
PARENTS POINT OF VIEW


In what ways has this been a "growth" year for
your child at school?


  Donna was very "young¨ when she started 1st grade,
probably because she was somewhat babied at home. To
support the teacher's effort in school our family worked
with Donna and encouraged her to do more things for
herself. She began changing rapidly and began to work
hard to show us how well she could do. It became very
important for her to learn to read and to count change.
She took pride in knowing sight words and learning to
spell. She's still somewhat insecure and worries a lot, but
she is happier with herself and school than she was last
year.


What major goals would you like next year's
teacher to work towards with your child?
Which goals would you like next year's teacher
particularly to emphasize?


  I'd like the teacher to know that she does struggle with
new work and needs patience. She gets upset easily. I think
she'll come along well with reading, but may require more
practice with handwriting. It takes longer for her to grasp
the math work also.

  My major goal for Donna would be to help her gain
self-confidence and not to panic when she feels nervous.
Donna's a hard worker and she will learn even if it
requires extra help. I would like to see her receive positive
encouragement.


Child's Name: Donna Taylor 1981-82 Grade Level: 1
Your Signature: Lucille Taylor
(Please return this to school with your child or by mail
by Tuesday, June 1, 1982.)




Example #2

INDEPENDENCE SCHOOL
May, 1982
PARENTS POINT OF VIEW


In what ways has this been a "growth" year for
your child at school?


  Allison is a very happy child this year. I attribute her
success and growth to her teacher. We are thrilled with
Allison's progress and her attitude toward people and
activities. She has become more assertive and self confident.
She's enthusiastic about trying new things and will
stick with a new activity until she has achieved her goal
or until the activity ends. Beside her school work, Allison
has become involved with swimming, singing, dancing
and gymnastics which all have been rewarding for her.
She's developing into a fine person and we're extremely
proud of her.


What major goals would you like next year's
teacher to work towards with your child?
Which goals would you like next year's teacher
particularly to emphasize?


  Allison needs affection and encouragement. If she feels
secure in her relationship with her teacher, she excels.
Allison will seek out extra work and ask for direction if
the teacher will show her friendliness.

I think she feels lacking in mathematics. It takes her
longer to retain this type of information or learning. We
are willing to work with her at home if need be.


Child's Name: Allison Adler 1981-82 Grade Level: 3
Your Signature: Katherine Adler
(Please return this to school with your child or by mail
by Tuesday, June 1, 1982.)



Excerpted from:
Teaching as an Act of Love: Thoughts and Recollections
of a Former Teacher, Principal and Kid © 2007 Richard Lakin
Free E-Copy: http://bit.ly/9izOeu