Return-Path: <nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with SMTP id f7KFhUf08378; Mon, 20 Aug 2001 11:43:30 -0400 (EDT) Date: Mon, 20 Aug 2001 11:43:30 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <002801c1298e$c55a2a40$5bf93ad0@oemcomputer> Errors-To: listowner@literacy.nifl.gov Reply-To: nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: "Bonnie Odiorne" <bodiorne@c4k.org> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-FAMILY:199] Re: Impact on teaching X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2615.200 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/plain; Status: O Content-Length: 3986 Lines: 91 Thank you for a very moving communication. I feel that many of us in Family Literacy still need to be reminded of the realities of parent education and participation. Thanks for letting us know yet one more time why we do this work. Bonnie Odiorne Families Forward Through Technology Computers 4 Kids Waterbury, CT ----- Original Message ----- From: Nancy Sledd <nsledd@famlit.org> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-family@literacy.nifl.gov> Sent: Saturday, August 18, 2001 9:27 AM Subject: [NIFL-FAMILY:197] Impact on teaching > With permission from Diane, I wanted to share this message on the > NIFL-Family list subscribers. > In case you ever wonder if we have trained teachers to work in family > literacy and then we lose all their expertise when they transfer into the > school system as a classroom teacher, read this Tennessee teacher's > letter.... > Nancy Sledd > > > Hey everyone! > You may or may not remember me; > Tanya has my old position. Yes, I have remained on the listserv to > hear all the wonderful ideas everyone has! > I was delighted to get a job teaching 5th grade two years ago. I am in > my tenure year in Tullahoma which will lead to a professional license, which > I could not get teaching Families First (Tennessee's family literacy > program). > Since Eva remarked that she wondered what impact being a former Families > First teacher would have in going back to "regular" teaching, I felt I could > speak to that. > One interesting part of my job is that many of my former FF students > have students in my school, so I see them on a regular basis. They share > their ups and downs with me, and their children know me as their parents' > teacher. This gives me an "in" with families which would otherwise be hard > to reach. > Second, I no longer take for granted that my students have books, > newspapers, magazines, or other print material to read at home. Some may > have computers, but not a book in the house! FF taught me this, too. > Third, I realize that my students' parents often labor under a heavy > burden - they are the working poor. They have no time to give to their > children because of their need to work long and labor-intensive hours. They > may desire to be a part of their children's lives, but the need for food, > clothing, home, and other necessities pre-empts their attempts to do so. > They pick their children up late. They don't return paperwork. They don't > check to see their children have their homework done. At least I now > understand why! > Fourth, they can not help their children with their homework because > they do not have the knowledge or skills to do so. Their school experience > was poor, at best, which is why they didn't finish high school in the first > place. It is demeaning for them to try to help their children with > elementary work that they cannot do, so they blow it off, or put up a good > face while their child fails to learn because they need a parent who can > intervene at home on their behalf. > Finally, because these parents have had a negative experience with the > school experience, they expect their child to also have a bad experience. > This expectation leads to these parents being defensive if the teacher > calls, writes a note home, or demands appropriate behavior from their child. > Unfortunately this defensiveness leads to the child hearing their teacher > disrespected at home creating a profound disrespect in the child at school. > A vicious cycle of bad experiences ensues! > What I have learned is understanding which helps me respond more > appropriately to difficult situations, patience with parents who can't cope > with life in general, and a willingness to provide as many enriching > experiences at school that I know will not happen at home. In short, I hope > I am a better teacher as a result of my experience with Families First. > > Continue your good work, FF teachers! > Diane E. Tatum > > > >
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