Parents and Schools as Partners

If you drop an "r" from partner you have enough letters left to spell P-A-R-E-N-T.Parents and schools must form strong partnerships when it comes to the education of children. Believe it or not, by the time a student moves from kindergarten through high school graduation only 11.8% of their time has been spent under school control. Parents are not only the first teachers, they are the controlling factor in the education of children. Once a child enters school their success will partly be determined by the partnership schools and parents form. What can parents do to ensure a strong partnership is formed? First, it is important for parents to get involved. They should make every effort to attend school events with their children. They should attend regular conferences with their childs's teacher. Parents need to realize that as a child moves through the school system they need more not less involvement from the parents. Middle school and high school students may indicate that parents aren't needed but nothing could be farther from the truth. Adolescence is a tough time for children and it requires more parental influence, not less. As children move from grade to grade homework becomes more demanding and time consuming. Set aside appropriate time in the day for homework. This is often a monumental task when combined with athletics, scouts, 4H, dance class, church, youth groups, and music lessons. Most school districts have parental access to their child's grades online. Parents should check regularly the progress of their child. Get to know the staff at the school. They will help.
Partnerships are two way streets. The school staff must make itself available to parents when parents need them. Phone numbers and email addresses should be accessible to parents. The school district should be accountable. Parents have a right to know what is being taught and the school must be prepared to demonstrate such. Schools also must take action to guarantee the safety of all children and create a secure learning environment. The school environment should be positive where students are respected and can develop pride, integrity, and confidence in themselves.
Hunt School is fortunate to have a strong parent /school partnership. Get involved. We welcome you.

Kill the Purple Monster

If you are over 50, you can remember the smelly, purple worksheets and tests your teachers handed out. They were produced on a mimeograph machine. Do you remember the contents of any of those worksheets? Of course not. When I began teaching, my first principal implored us to "kill the purple monster" in order to save money on paper. We were to use the chalkboard instead. The mimeograph machine has been replaced with new high tech copiers and most textbooks come with an array of worksheets, TAKS practice materials, and tests just waiting to be copied and handed to not so eager students. When TAKS scores and school rankings are released we beat our chests about our gains or lament a drop in scores. We hail our students' achievement. Are student achievement and education the same thing? Is this the way to educate children? How does one measure the learning that takes place in a child when they plant a Discovery Garden, nurture it and then reap its harvest? Does a TAKS test tell us the what creative forces are stimulated in a child that learns to combine musical notes and create music? And what about the students that applies principles of physics to launch a rocket? The TAKS test cannot measure the intrinsic change that manifests itself in a child that has been exposed to out of the seat learning experiences. While we are forced to dance to the music mandated by lawmakers, we have to innovate our teaching to develop "educated" students. In Hunt, we continue to explore teaching strategies that will move students from paper pusher to creators, from test takers to innovators, and from lackadaisical to motivated. Worksheets are unlikely to totally disappear anytime soon but that doesn't prevent us from trying to slay the purple monster.

Just beginning

With the school year just starting, a new feature will appear on our website, The Superintendent's Blog. I am learning the basics and hope to be blogging soon.