Working with Families

             When thinking about teaching, most people do not think about families.  They think about the teaching a child certain knowledge and information that he or she will need in the future; however, that is not the full job of a teacher.  A teacher must also work with the families. Families are very important when it comes to learning about the child.

The social-emotional development is extremely important when it comes to developing a “whole” child.  This age is a huge learning phase for a child.  Children will learn and build a foundation of their social and emotional skills.  I have learned that at this age, children watch and pick up on what others do and say.  This is relevant in social and emotional skills.  Children watch adults and their peers to see how they interact and react to situations and other people.

I believe that most children build their foundation of social and emotional skills from home.  Because children spend a lot of their time with their parents, the parents have the most impact on the child.  A child will watch and copy how their parents act.  I see many of the parent’s attributes in my students.

To help fill this gap in between home and the classroom, I think one of the most important things a teacher can do is keep families involved and up to date in their child’s learning and development.  Keeping families up to date has many benefits.  Parents will be able to continue practicing and working on the knowledge and information that Logan has been learning recently in class.

Another good strategy would be for the teacher to have parents get involved in the classroom.  They could come in and do an activity, story, or lesson plan with the kids.  This way, the parents will have a better understanding of what goes on in the classroom.

Supporting Children and Families with Social and Emotional Disabilities

At our center, we welcome specialists to come in and work with the kids on a weekly basis.  Not only does it help the child to grow socially or emotionally, it also helps us as teachers learn how to work with the child.  I have personally watched as they work with the child and take certain activities or even simple gestures that the child responds to in the future.

I think it is very important for teachers to either do some research on their own time or take a workshop on different social and emotional disabilities.

Helpguide.com has a site on Learning Disabilities in children.  This site lists symptoms, types and testing.  It also provides charts that make diagnosing easier for teachers.

Pacer.org has a section on emotional disabilities and signs to look out for.

Brighttots.com is one of the best sites I found.  It has vast information on Social and Emotion Disorders including facts, skills, behaviors, aggressions, development, social problems with peers and family and where to find support.

Buffalo.edu is also a good resource for information on Emotional Disorders for children of all ages.

Having a student in your classroom that has a disability can be frustrating for any teacher at times.  I personally have been very interested to watch Disability specialist work with kids that I haven’t been able to get through to for months.  I like to watch methods of interacting and getting the child involved and then trying to use them.  This has been very beneficial for me and other teachers that I have seen do the same thing.  If you have a student with a disability, I encourage you to look into having a specialist come in or going to a workshop that can help you learn methods of teaching and interacting with that child.