K-12 Education on the Marquee is an excellent post by Walt Gardner on the common errors being made in documentaries about schools.
My only issue with it is that he suggests that parents of English Language Learners might not respond to requests to meet with teachers. I’m not really sure where that comes from, since ELL parents are just as interested in their child’s welfare as any other parent. I’m assuming that he might have meant that some schools might not have the language ability to communicate with monolingual parents. That I can understand. (Walt clarifies what he meant here).
Even with that reservation, I’m adding it to The Best Posts & Articles About The Teacher-Bashing “Waiting For Superman” Movie & Associated Events.
Larry: Many thanks for citing my post in Reality Check. I included parents who are not native speakers because they may feel ashamed of their inability to converse in English and/or schools do not provide options open to them in language they comprehend.
Walt
Larry: I have 20+ years teaching experience, most at the high school level, teaching Spanish, ESOL, and English. We live in a fast paced society where parents/guardians lead busy lives working, attending sporting events, religious services, etc. However, it has been my experience as an educator that, given the opportunity and encouragement by a caring teacher, 99% of parents DO want to participate in their student’s academic life. To the credit of parents, I am seeing a trend that parents are seeking me out now rather than the other way around. Traditionally, schools’ doors were closed to outsiders. It’s up to us as educators to OPEN THE DOORS! I think the use of technology has been amazing in this effort. It’s sooo much easier to email a parent and wait for a response than to sit on the telephone and try to contact them. And, I find that it’s easier for them to find me as well! 🙂