Prompt #5 : Dewey

As a teacher, working in a diverse classroom can bring with it some challenges, many of which we have talked about throughout our semester in class. Challenges with parents of the students you are teaching may also arise. When working in this type of community, you will come across a variety of diverse parents, with many different backgrounds, linguistics, etc. This can cause the communication between teacher and parent to be a bit difficult.

I can imagine that parents in a community such as the one that my school is in may have English as their second language or some may not speak much language at all. This can cause the communication to become quite hard to keep. A teacher needs to be able to find ways to communicate to parents in a variety of ways, depending on their background or lifestyle. There are many ways to address these challenges. You could physically show the parents how their child is doing by showing them past work. Showing a parent something a child did in the beginning of the year compared to something at the end of the year could show the parents the growth the child has made while being in the classroom. No matter what the teacher does to communicate, they need to make sure they show respect for the parents. You can not let the parents think that because they are the minority and may be at a disadvantage that you believe you are better than them. That will just build the lack of communication. A teacher needs to show that they do not empower them in any way by speaking and responding effectively to the parents; talk to them as one adult to another, not as a teacher telling them what they need to do better to help their child grow and succeed.

John Dewey speaks about two desirable traits throughout society; those being having a common interest and interaction. A teacher must show the parents that they are not above them, but on the same level. Teachers and parents have many common interests, one being they both want to see the child succeed. Sometimes, however, teachers forget about this commonality between them and just see the diverse culture that is in front of them. A teacher must remember this common interest when collaborating with parents. The other desirable trait, interaction, goes right back to the communication. It is so important to a child’s growth that the parents are involved with what is happening with their schooling. It is just as important to keep ties between parents and the child’s teacher. Without some sort of interaction and a lack of communication, a wall is built up and that is when challenges arise. According to Dewey, no communication leads to no support, by the parents and by the teacher. Dewey says that learning is developmental, and we can not, as teachers, expect this to happen without communication and interaction between communities outside of our own. Education is a social function and teachers must remember that when encountering parents.