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.