My goal is for families to be so well-informed that they will abandon the yes/no questions like "Did you have a good day at school?" and replace them with "What was the best part of the Hershey Bar Fractions lesson today?". Imagine how the student's attitude about learning changes when he or she knows that:
1. Mom is giving me her full attention right now.
2. Dad has been in touch with my teacher.
3. I knew I should pay attention because Mom asks me specific questions every day.
4. I didn't really get, but Dad will be able to help me because he knows what is going on.
5. What I am learning at school is important to my family.
Most teachers spend hours on communication with families. We write newsletters, record successes and struggles in planners, phone, conference, email, post web sites, create blogs, and even tweet (Sorry, I'm just not there, yet!). I can't tell you how discouraging it is when a parent says they don't know what is going on. We feel like we are chopping down tree after tree (figuratively and literally if hard copies of newsletters are printed every week) without anyone hearing a sound.
If you are not well-connected with your learner's class, please ASK! Perhaps you don't know the class' web address or maybe an email address has been copied incorrectly or it may be that your child's teacher needs to be more proactive about communication. If you ask, the tree falling in the forest will be heard.
