SED 407 -- A New Observation Protocol and the Parent Panel

Class Observations

In our last SED 407 class we used a new protocol in our classroom observations. T and I, as the lone science teachers, started off in an ESL Science class. We quickly chose one mutual student to observed, and then I chose another student while she observed the teacher. It was a very interesting, but also frustrating experience. One student that we focused on together was generally chatting and joking around with her friends. She was somewhat engaged when the teacher was writing on the board, and eventually concentrated on some flash cards before taking a quiz. Unfortunately, some of the answers had been left on the board during the quiz. When she noticed that her friends were just copying the answers down, she also started copying from the board. Eventually the teacher noticed, but it generally seemed like a pointless exercise. After that she spent the rest of the time just hanging out with her friends. The other student, who I observed on my own, was new to the class. He seemed very confused about instructions, but quickly found out what was going on from another student. He often looked a little lost, but was diligent about learning the vocabulary words that the rest of the class was working on. By the end of our observation he volunteered to take the same quiz that everyone else was taking, even though he wasn’t required to. It was fascinating watching this student; even though he was brand new to the class and often looked completely lost, he obviously had enough confidence in his own abilities to pull through it and persevere, even to the point of participating in a formal assessment by the end of the class.

The second class T and I observed was a senior chemistry class. This time I observed the teacher, and we both focused on one student together. The class was working on a gas law assignment, while the teacher occasionally went around to check in with people. The student that we observed together was diligent and consistent; he worked on his assignment throughout our entire observation. He had headphones in, but seemed focused on what he was doing. There was a very laid back atmosphere in the class, as old Motown music played and many students also listened to their own headphones. When students were finished with the assignment, they could check their answers on a computer at the back of the room. The teacher spent most of his time directing students and occasionally answering questions. He also checked in with us, explaining that it was an advanced class that didn’t need much guidance. He seemed a little bit self-conscious about the relaxed nature of the class, but we definitely observed student engagement. No one was really talking about anything other than the assignment, and everyone seemed very focused.

I really enjoyed using this new protocol. Focusing on one or two students and/or the teacher was a less overwhelming than looking at the class as a whole, and I feel like we gained some good insights on classroom management and different types of learners.

Parent Panel

I was really looking forward to the parent panel, but unfortunately I wasn’t feeling well and it made it difficult for me to really participate in the way I would have liked. I still came away from the session with strong impressions of what parents are looking for in teachers. In general, my impressions were that they want frequent communication, a genuine caring attitude, positive feedback in addition to negative feedback, and easy accessibility. These all seem like reasonable desires. However, the term “second parent” came up during the panel, and was used both by the parents and the school administration. I was really mentally stuck on the term “second parent,” and have been thinking about what it means all week.

When I think of being a parent, it involves so much emotional investment, so many potential sacrifices, and so much responsibility, that the idea of being a “second parent” to 80 students, or however many I would be teaching, seems impossible. After agonizing over this “second parent” idea, I decided that for me it is more accurate to just say “deeply invested” in these students. For me that is going to sum up the level of caring and effort that I think the parents on the parent panel were asking for; “second parent” just has too much baggage. Administrators, colleagues, and parents may choose to describe me in that way, but from my current perspective and experience, I’m don’t feel comfortable applying that label to myself.

            I decided to do a bit of research on parent-teacher relationships, just to see if anyone else had done a better job at articulating what I was feeling. I didn’t find exactly what I was looking for, but I did find a few interesting articles. One article from the New York Times opinion blog was entitled Finding an End to the Parent-TeacherWars. This op-ed by Jessica Lahey was particularly interesting, because she approaches the topic as both a teacher and a parent who has issues with her own children’s teachers. She offered some good tips about communication on both ends of the parent-teacher relationship, including we should all remember that we have the best interests of the student, first and foremost, even when in the midst of conflict over what the “best interests” might be.

     In summary, it was exciting to hear how much has changed in the CF school district over the last couple of years. It really sounds like the administration and parents have been working together to improve parent engagement and parent-teacher interactions. I really wish that my thoughts had been more organized during the teacher panel. I particularly wish that I’d asked several questions, including:

• As teachers, what should we expect from parents?
• What support should we expect from administration to facilitate a strong relationship with parents?
• What boundaries do we need to set as teachers dealing with parents and students, both for them and for ourselves?

Another question that I thought of that probably wouldn’t have been appropriate for the parent panel is: What do we need to do for ourselves as teachers to ensure that we’re protecting our own mental, emotional, and physical health? I actually think that this is something that I should probably ask at the teacher panel, if we have a chance to have a follow-up session.