Chapter 9- It says, I say, So..

Camille Sogluizzo

Chapter 9- Family Involvement

7/25/15

Question 1: How much involvement should be expected from families today?

It says: “American educators are expecting more family involvement with their children’s schooling today than they did only a few years ago” (Allington & Cunningham, p. 222). 

I say: Families differ in the amount of support they can provide based on the resources they have. Some families can afford to give their children extra support from tutors or special programs whereas others can’t provide the support their children may need. Some parents might have not completed school and have never learned how to write a research report or complete a math problem. They do not have the resources to help support their children succeed so they rely on the school. We can’t expect the same involvement from these families when they do not have the same resources.

So: Schools can’t improve family involvement until they define exactly what they want families to be involved in. They need to decide if they want families to be supportive and caring about their child’s well- being and their education. Do they want families to actively participate by attending school functions and talking to the teachers? If so, the families must have free time from work, child care for other children, transportation to the school, clothing they feel comfortable wearing to school, and money to pay for all of the above. If the families do not have these resources than this type of involvement will not be successful. So, schools need to supply the resources and expect involvement from their families that they can achieve. 

  

Question 2: How can we increase family efforts to support their children?

It says: “When classroom teachers reach out and communicate regularly with families, especially about positive aspects of children’s school experiences, families respond positively and increase their efforts to support their children” (Allington & Cunningham, p. 234).

I say: The most important communication is between the teacher and the family. The most effective form of communication is school- home communication. Families should understand what is going on in the classroom and be provided with the activities, curriculum, and plans. It is also important to inform families about the children’s progress, accomplishments, improvements, and ways to help them at home. By doing this, parents are involved and they begin to hold higher expectations from their children. Children will begin to get better grades because teachers are able to meet the needs of all children and gain more strategies for motivating children in their schoolwork. 

So: It is important for classroom teachers to communicate regularly with families and tell them positive things. This way, families will respond positively about school and want to support their children. Effective school-home communications include classroom newspapers, personal notes, phone calls, review activities, and work folders that children regularly take home. We can increase family efforts to support their children by communicating with families on a regular basis and being positive.

Question 3: Should schoolwork only be done in school?

It says: “Many working-class families saw schoolwork as fitting only into the school day. Work not done in school today could be done there tomorrow” (Allington & Cunningham, p. 222).

I say: There are two sides to homework. First, homework is important to complete at home. However, it should be something that was taught in class and assigned on the student’s independent level. Homework should be differentiated and reinforce the concept taught during the school day. Teachers should not assign homework that takes a long time to complete or that is considered busy work. On the other hand, there is no evidence that homework has any positive effect on student achievement. When did it become the family’s responsibility to supervise daily worksheet completion that was sent home for homework? 

So: Today, homework is common for elementary students. If homework is going to be assigned, it needs to be on the student’s independent level so that it does not become a burden for the family. It is important to keep in mind the resources that students may or may not have at home. So, there needs to be a balance when assigning homework. 

Chapter 6 Article

Time is ticking

Time lost during the school day offers little potential for fostering literacy development

By CAMILLE SOGLUIZZO

STAFF WRITER

            Time Town – There has been much discussion about instructional time for reading and writing in Time Town. Teachers are complaining that there is not enough time to teach everything and to help struggling readers. Studies have proven that students show the greatest gains in literacy development when more time is spent on reading and language arts instruction. How can teachers find more time to teach reading and writing?

            National studies have shown that time varies within schools and schedules for reading and writing time. This variation causes a difference in achievement for schools in different communities. For example, schools with many lower-income students schedule less instructional time than schools with the fewest lower- income students. Cameron, Connor, and Morrison reported from first grade classrooms that, “on average, teachers spent 54 minutes per day in transitional, nonacademic activities. These activities included lining up, waiting for the lesson to start, handing out materials, taking attendance, cleaning up, eating snack, and managing disruptions” (Allington & Cunningham, p.134). To save instructional time, schools need to become more efficient by improving the beginning- and ending- of -the -day routines. The next step would be to create “safe” periods or days in all classrooms. According to Allington and Cunningham, “safe periods would provide uninterrupted blocks of instructional time” (Allington & Cunningham, p. 140). Creating these “safe” periods seems easily achievable in many schools.

            Elementary schools in the United States are open for 180-190 days each year. Some may argue that this is a lot of time for students to learn. However, it is important to remember that children come to school with different literacy experiences. Some children enter school with no literacy experiences and need time to catch up to their peers. They will need more instructional support to catch up. Allington and Cunningham have reported that, “expanded preschool experiences rich in literacy learning might provide this extra time. The time might come by enrolling such children in summer-school programs before they enter Kindergarten and between Kindergarten and first grade. Parent training might be another possibility if started early enough and parents are supported adequately” (Allington & Cunningham, p. 136). Schools must find this time because not all children have literacy experiences at home.

            During the summer, economically disadvantaged children and struggling readers experience a “summer reading loss.” This means that they lose literacy abilities and time. Allington and Cunningham suggest an approach to get these students to read. They reported that, “This approach is designed to promote summer reading by providing children with reading materials” (Allington & Cunningham, p. 143). The goal is to put books into the community and get students interested in reading. It is time to keep the school library open all summer and arrange “reading clubs!”   

            Literacy development can be improved if instructional time is managed correctly. Time is important and how it is used is even more important. Teachers from Time Town now have more ideas to use the time that is ticking away more efficiently!

Allington, R., & Cunningham, P. (2007). Schools that work: Where all children read and write (3^rd ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.