Wrap Up

"The Way Schools Care About the Children is Reflected in the Way Schools Care About the Families" Joyce Epstein

How teachers view poverty and families with limited resources can affect how they interact and communicate with the families. Understanding our own perceptions can be the beginning of changing those perceptions. When we change our perceptions, our actions will follow. Understanding and being responsive to the educational needs of students in poverty can bridge the gap between home and communication.

Revisiting Challenge and Initial Thoughts: When you began this module, you were asked to consider Mr. Beckman's interactions with his student, Malik, and Malik's mother. Reread the scenario and answer the questions based on what you have learned in this module.

Mr. Beckman is frustrated by one of his third grade student’s continuous interruptions in class. Malik always has a retort, a joke, a comeback, sometimes even a correction for the teacher or a peer. He even once told the cafeteria manager that just because his lunch was free didn’t mean it should be cold. The teacher has removed the student from class discussions, sent him to the ‘buddy chair’ and the hallway for breaks. One day, he finds himself losing his temper. The student cries.

The teacher sends an email to the student’s family. He writes, “Can I get your help? I got frustrated today and I’m afraid I hurt your son’s feelings. I owe him an apology. Your son is incredibly enthusiastic and smart! I need your help in finding ways for him to be a leader in my class, without interrupting others. What do you do at home to teach him this? I would love your advice.”

Malik’s mother replies, “I would like to set up a conference.”

Questions to Ponder

What assumptions did you have at the beginning of the module when hearing about Malik compared to what you know now?
If you were coaching Mr. Beckman, what responsive education strategies would you help him implement in the classroom and prepare for the conference with Malik's mom?

Stop, Think and Journal

What changes to your thinking, if any, have occurred when answering the challenge questions? What strategies would you apply if you were Malik's teacher?

Food for Thought: What Will Be Your "Unless"?

Partnerships tend to decline across the grades, unless schools and teachers work to develop and implement appropriate practices of partnership at each grade level.
Affluent communities currently have more positive family involvement, on average, unless schools and teachers in economically distressed communities work to build positive partnerships with their students' families.
Schools in more economically depressed communities make more contacts with families about the problems and difficulties their children are having, unless they work at developing balanced partnership programs that include contacts about positive accomplishments of students.
Single parents, parents who are employed outside the home, parents who live far from the school, and fathers are less involved, on average, at the school building, unless the school organizes opportunities for families to volunteer at various times and in various places to support the school and their children.

Epstein 2002

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