Do you email, text, call or Facebook your parents?

I came across an interesting blog on communications with parents in the digital age. The writer was amazed "how DIFFERENT parent-teacher communications seemed to be for each teacher [...] You’d think that with so many new communications tools available to us in the digital age (from cell phones, to e-mail, to Facebook) it’d be EASIER now for teachers to talk to parents. But it seems like it’s getting HARDER. One parent might prefer the phone. Another might just find e-mail easier. One parent might check their e-mail 10 times a day; another might check it twice a week." (Tyler, 2011). 

Technology doesn't always make life easier for us, and this is true in the case of parent-teacher communication. Some parents are extremely busy that they prefer that teachers communicate via email and have only-call-when-it's-emergency policy. While other parents don't have an access to email 24/7 and prefer that we call them (although they don't always pick up or check their voicemail, so teachers have to continue pressing redial). And surprisingly, some parents want to "friend" teachers on Facebook so there's a more "open" communication! Complicated, isn't it? 

When I grew up, the only way that my teachers could communicate with my parents was via "student diary." It's basically a book where both parents and teachers write comments and notes to each other about homework, upcoming school events, and reminders. Because there were about 40-something kids in my class and there's only 24 hours in a day, my teachers wrote a simple note on the board and asked all of us to manually 'copy-paste' the note onto our student diary. Of course, they reminded us a thousand times to show it to our parents at home! Still complicated, isn't it?

As a homeroom teacher, I asked my parents to identify which mode of communication that worked best for them during parent orientation day. It turned out that the majority favored phone calls to their cellphones and text messages, and only a few mentioned emails. I ended up only calling my parents in the case of emergency because I had to share the only phone available in the teachers room with 15something teachers. Plus we had to go through the school operator to get connected to the outside world. So I learned that sending SMS worked best! My parents were very responsive and replied to 90% of my text messages. On top of that, I had a record of our communication for further purpose. Worked out well, didn't it?

On  the down side, I had to pay all of the expenses of the text messages!

Lesson Plan - Part 2: Help please...

I once received an email from my supervisor regarding lesson planning. She complimented a teacher for writing his lesson plan in detail where he provided her with a lot of information about the activities that his group does. Maybe due to my over-sensitivity, I felt a little offended by her comments because I'm the exact opposite--I write just enough in the prescribed lesson plan form, and once in awhile I write in great detail.

In my previous entry about lesson plan, I mentioned how writing a lesson plan can be an utter burden to a teacher as supposed to a guiding tool especially when he/she sees it as a mere unavoidable task for a teacher. Don't get me wrong... I'm all for lesson planning, in fact I think life goes smoothly when well-planning is done. But when writing a lesson plan becomes a "must-do-or-else" task for a teacher, the purpose of a lesson plan gets lost.

I understand the whole accountability of what's happening in the classroom, and a way for supervisors like program coordinators or departments heads to know the day-to-day of a teacher is by reading the lesson plans. That's a good start... But shouldn't there be a follow up or some sort of Q&A on the quality of the lesson plan? It shouldn't stop at "I have received your lesson plan. Thank you." email.

If you had a supervisor who comes to you with your lesson plan scribbled all over with comments, you're one lucky teacher! If you got called for a meeting with your supervisor regarding your lesson plan, you would be on your way to becoming a better teacher! I bet it's frustrating and annoying  because it might feel as if someone is constantly criticizing you... But hey, isn't that what helps you be more aware of how you are as a teacher, thus later makes you a better teacher? I call this kind of person a "superb supervisor!"

Lesson Plan - Part 1: Essential? Important? Burden? Waste of time?

Lesson Plan, or known as LP in my previous school, is something that every teacher is familiar with. No day of teaching can pass by without mentioning the word "Lesson Plan."

I was introduced to this when I did a semester of student teaching in a New York City Public School. Back then, it meant sitting down with an academic calendar in front of you, scribbling down some notes here and there in your planner, and flipping through some textbooks hoping to find appropriate activities for your class. Knowing what you'll be doing with the kids is very important.

The next time I encountered the concept of Lesson Planning was during a teacher training program in New York. Then I learned that there are a gazillion ways of creating a lesson plan. Basically choose a template that you're comfortable with and use it to guide you through the day or week, so long as you have the same components: objectives of the lesson, materials/tools, procedures, means of assessment and reflection. Be prepared!