“Educators value the involvement and support of parents, guardians, families and communities in schools.”
Standard 4 is a difficult one to approach for a teacher candidate. There are so many things going on in your first couple practicums that it often seems like you aren’t engaging with standard 4 at all. Like anything else however, you can’t go from 0 to 100 in one step. During my first practicum, my coaching teacher would share some info on students and their family/guardian situations when it was applicable, but for the most part focus was on “in the classroom” activities and skills. I was not ready to work with parents and guardians yet, so small amounts of info were given to scaffold me up.
In my second practicum, I got access to more resources, such as MyEdBC, which allowed me to get more information on students and a better understanding of their family situation. I sent home a short introduction to myself, but most parents still preferred to make contact through my coaching teacher which I totally understood. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic made interacting with parents and guardians much more challenging as I couldn’t really meet any of them in person. That being said, I was able to communicate with some of them, and that helped me not only to understand the behaviours and habits of some students, but to change my approach to them to better their learning.
My approach to parents and guardians in my second practicum was mostly passive. If they needed something or had questions, they could contact me. In the end I mostly got emails informing me of excused absences or a thank you for sending home an interim report. For my next practicum, I hope to set up a way to more actively engage with parents and guardians so that everyone is more involved.
The one thing I find difficult with Standard 4 is the balance between understanding the perspectives of parents/guardians and helping students with the things they need. I always want to believe my students and create trust because I believe that is the best way to foster learning, but I also don’t want to represent a set of ideals/perspectives to parents and guardians that they will not be ok with. This is a delicate balance and is entwined with other standards as well. Fairness and the ethics of an educator are key to forging these bonds regardless of who the people are.
