How Teachers See Parents - Another Angle?

I was recently asked by a teacher if I found this post offensive after I replied to his link saying “At least we know where we stand now”. The article in question seemed like a bit of a rant to me. I don’t mind rants, they have their place, but I don’t like when a rant is disguised as a ‘helpful guide’ for the people the author is ranting about! I wasn’t offended, it wasn’t personal, but I am a parent and so the article was supposedly directed at me. Like many (in fairness, most) teachers I am an (Honours!) graduate. I have a postgraduate business qualification, a Masters degree, am about to complete my second Masters degree and embark upon a PhD. I don’t get paid extra for having these qualifications, or the Honours degree. I paid my fees from my own earnings, and I worked on them all in my own time, during holidays, weekends and evenings.

Like many, many parents, in all manner of careers and none, I am widely read and generally well informed about life. I know my children particularly well. I, like many (in fairness, most) parents like to be aware of what my children and others learn in school, how they learn, who they learn from and with. Okay, so maybe I make slightly more of a point to be informed about education in general and my children in particular when it comes to teaching issues. I read ESRI papers on education. I keep up with developments from the DES, the NCCA and the SEC. I have given talks to teachers about Exceptionally Able learners.

So here’s what I would say in reply:

We are your equal. By that I mean, that whether we have honours degrees or no qualifications, whether we are rocket scientists or contract cleaners, when it comes to this relationship, between you, us and our child,  We Are Your Equal. The whole thing hinges on this. It’s a triangular relationship. Three points, three people; child, parent, teacher. Call the points A, B and C for the three people. Let’s call A the point at the top, and B and C the two points on the bottom. The parent and the teacher are at the same level, supporting the child at the top of the relationship. Still equal.

We don’t need you or want you to be a ‘nanny’ to our children, we are the ones who nurture and raise them. We lend them to you for a few hours a day, just as they are lent to us for the few precious years of childhood and adolescence. Yes, you see them in a different light than we do, they are multi-faceted just like you and I. You only see them for short periods, you may not know all there is to know about them. Just because we each see different sides of them, doesn't mean either of us has the ‘best view’. Rather it means that we should acknowledge and learn from each other’s perspectives. You know, like, equals?

Likewise, if you could only take our warnings to heart, it might save that child a lot of heartache in the future. We may have some early warning information for you. Our children might be several years ahead of their peers academically. They might be rejected by their peers for being different. This might make them unhappy. Being unhappy might have an impact on their behaviour. We may have something valuable to offer to you too in that regard. If you tell me my child has “a behaviour problem” why should it be a surprise that I might question that diagnosis? Unless you are also a qualified child psychiatrist it is normal for me to want more information about how you concluded that my child has a behaviour issue. If, on the other hand, you opened a dialogue about how we might support my child when they were upset about an issue and showed it in their behaviour, I might be more amenable to your suggestions. As I said, we’re equally invested in this.

As for making excuses? Who are any of us to dismiss each other when we reveal that we have been having a hard time in our personal lives? If I were to disclose a personal problem or family matter to my child’s teacher, the last thing I would expect from a fellow professional is a dismissive attitude as described in the article. To be fair, I truly do not believe that Irish teachers behave like this. Who is to know what is going on in the teachers’ lives either? When we share a family difficulty which affects our child’s learning, we should be treated with dignity. Likewise, a teacher’s difficulty should be handled sensitively by parents. Equal dignity.

In relation to grades, I don’t believe for one moment that my child’s A’s are not A’s and my child’s B’s or C’s are A’s because the better teacher marks harder! I do trust that teachers mark work fairly and objectively as professionals, so I see no issue here, an A is an A. I know my child’s potential, I have a really good idea what mark they should be aiming for. I can help the teacher by telling them this information, but only if they are willing to listen. Some years ago our eldest just scraped a pass in the Junior Cert mock exam for Maths. We were shocked as we knew he was more than capable in the subject. We called his teacher for a chat to see what might be going on in school. The teacher helpfully suggested grinds and asked what we thought he would get in the Junior Cert itself. An A, we said, and the teacher laughed. Really, he actually laughed out loud! But we knew our son. We got him a grind, just the once, for two hours in total. And in the Junior Cert? He got an A. No surprise to us but a great one to his teacher. So, teachers have 25 students in front of them, parents only have to worry about one? All the more reason to listen to parents when they tell you something about their child. Teachers have something to learn from parents too, because we each sit at a corner of that equilateral triangle.

When it comes to communicating with teachers, I have a whole tray of eggshells to walk on. So if teachers are walking on eggshells with parents too, why don’t we all just wade in and make an omelette? The outcome would be so much tastier than what passes for communication now. The article suggests that parents open the discussion about a classroom incident with "I wanted to let you know something my child said took place in your class, because I know that children can exaggerate and that there are always two sides to every story. I was hoping you could shed some light for me." What?? Is it really necessary for the parent have to give a big preamble? Do teachers need parents to couch a genuine or valid query in these kind of obsequious terms? What’s wrong with just that last bit “could you shed some light for me on what happened in class/yard today as X was a bit upset”? That’s not an attack on the teacher’s integrity, and crucially, nor does it invalidate the child’s. A question among equals.

This article didn’t seem to me to be written for parents at all. It was more a “preaching to the choir” than a genuine opening of dialogue with parents. Its tone was adversarial throughout, as though parents don’t understand teachers while teachers understand every motive of parents and have plenty of helpful ways to correct them. Some of the points may have validity, but they are lost in the implied hierarchy of teacher at the top, parent underneath, and child on the bottom. For my children, I am a resource in their education equal to that of any of their teachers. I don’t like being talked down to, as this article did. I treat every teacher who deals with my child with respect, fairness, dignity and good manners. I expect the same in return for myself and my child, and I expect that modelling this behaviour will teach my child the most important lesson of all, that we are equal.

I should note, that other than the Junior Cert Maths teacher, my own children’s teachers have largely been  excellent. They are approachable and observant, they listen to any concerns we may have and they frequently go over and above what they have to do to engage their students meaningfully. As the article said though, teachers are educated professionals, just as many parents are in different fields,  so I would expect nothing less.

The Junior Cert Reform Glass is Half-Full!

The current Junior Certificate was introduced in 1989 with the first exams in 1992. It replaced the Intermediate Certificate and was heralded as being a much more modern qualification. In the interim it has become a content-heavy “Leaving Cert Lite” with parents, students and teachers alike extolling its virtues as being “good practise for the points race”. Reform is therefore welcome and overdue if we are to address issues of curriculum overload, rote-learning and outdated ways of assessment in our education system.

Many of the proposals in our submission to the NCCA review have found a place in the final plan and we are pleasantly surprised at some of the elements proposed. From a “gifted” perspective there is much to be applauded and welcomed. Children learn in so many different ways and this document recognises that all children should get the opportunity to show what they can do within the exam system and outside of it. Of particular interest are the short courses which give students welcome scope to follow their talents and strengths. Many children already take part in activities both in and outside school from sports to music to computers to theatre. Lots of them shine in this their chosen environment. It is a very positive thing that their commitment to participation in a wide range of activities can be recognised and rewarded.

The new system may have much to commend it, but it also raises many questions. How will teachers respond? Will they think it will merely increases their workload? How will they feel about assessing their own students, long a hot-button issue for the teachers unions? Will some subjects fade into obscurity if they are not examination subjects? What implication does the new Junior Cycle have for Transition Year? What will happen to the Leaving Cert if students are examined differently for Junior Cert? Will it have the desired effect on Literacy and Numeracy, and the infamous Pisa study? And the biggest one of all; is this merely a dumbing down, no child gets ahead, minimum achievement proposition?

The jury is out for now, it will probably take a few years to see the results, but I believe that good schools have nothing to fear from the changes. It will finally show parents what the “league tables” don’t. Schools have been telling us for years that a fairer way to judge the education provided by individual schools would be to consider all activities, sports, co-curricular, learning support measures and exemplary school leadership in addition to academics. This is an opportunity to show us exactly that. It will tell us which schools have strong effective leadership. It will separate good teachers from poor ones. It will show us how good school management produces real results. It will showcase innovative, inclusive and imaginative schools. It will identify those schools which genuinely support all types of learners, including those with difficulties and those who are boxed in by the current exam system.

There was a recent article in The Irish Times about a school in County Limerick which in the space of a few years turned itself around from being on the brink of closure to being one of the most desired schools in the locality. It did this through innovative leadership and a strong vision of what they wanted to achieve. This school should be the inspiration for all schools and teachers who look on this new Junior Cert as a negative development. Coláiste Chiaráin was at rock-bottom and used the same resources available to every other school to create a learning environment second to none. They didn’t see the glass as half-empty, they looked to fill it to the brim. I’m guessing they won’t see the new Junior Cert as anything other than an opportunity. I hope other schools can do likewise.

The responses so far have been mixed, but a central theme has been funding. Some teachers of my acquaintance want to know where the money for their training will come from. They say that without huge investment this will never work. I am starting to wonder if that's a prediction or a threat. We have had enough negativity in Ireland in the last few years. It is time to change the way we view the challenges ahead. Instead of feeling sorry for ourselves, looking for flaws in every new development with our typical Irish Peig Sayers-like keening why don’t we seek out the positives and make them work? The can-do approach which is the hallmark of the most admired entrepreneurs and innovators in Ireland and throughout the world should be to the forefront of our minds as we head into this new Junior Cycle. Enough complaining, let's get on with ensuring that our children have a first-class learning experience. My glass is half-full, how is yours looking?

Happy World Teachers' Day!

It’s World Teachers' Day today, so a big THANK YOU to all teachers in Ireland and across the globe! I hope you continue to inspire and be inspired by your students every day.

As a parent I am grateful for the many inspiring teachers in whose classrooms my children have spent time. I am amazed at their patience, commitment and dedication to the children they teach. Many of them go way beyond the call of duty in providing support, extra-curricular activities, supervision hours and a determination to help students succeed. My son’s History teacher is a fine example. His enthusiasm for his subject is infectious, his story-telling legendary, his commitment to helping a classroom full of teenage boys see the value of history in their modern high-tech world is fantastic. One of those brave souls who volunteers to travel on school trips (and even appears to enjoy them!), his influence is such that my 2nd Year son has already decided to take History as a Leaving Cert subject as long as his teacher is Mr. Carey. This is one great teacher! And I am lucky that my children’s schools are full of teachers like this; able to reach their students in a myriad of different ways.

My children are also Exceptionally Able which can make for a different experience of our school system. There is, I think, a growing awareness that gifted children have quite distinct and different needs. Supporting those children in a meaningful way without compromising the needs of others and balancing scarce resources is the hard part. Being able to identify which children are gifted is the first step. As a parent of Exceptionally Able children there are a few things of which I wish more of our teachers were aware. Here are five things which might ease the way for these students for whom our educational system is not best suited;

• The Exceptionally Able are not always the high-achievers in the classroom, and the high-achievers are not always Exceptionally Able. Spotting EA students is not an easy task. It would be a great leap forward if schools and teachers could make it their mission to be able to recognize gifted pupils.
• We (their parents) often know a lot about our particular children and giftedness in general. We have often spent many hours researching giftedness from classroom strategies to friendship or social issues to help us raise these different children. Use us, we’d love to help.
• Work is not supposed to be too easy. If our children always get 100% please make it more difficult for them, otherwise they will fall apart when they finally face a challenge that doesn’t come easy. See our post on Vygotsky’s ZPD for more.
• Playing to my child’s strengths gives him or her confidence to tackle any weaknesses,  the other way around does not. You’ve probably all already seen this clip about how unique all our children are, but it really says it all.
• These students could often go far far beyond what the curriculum, the classroom or the teacher can offer. I understand the limits within which you have to operate, so do these students. By the simple act of letting them know you recognize their ability you can give a powerful message that they are understood and valued.

But most of all; Thank You, for giving my children and hundreds of others the gift of life-long learning. That is priceless.

Teachers are Frazzled too!

Our education system is a complete mess for so very many reasons. I would imagine, from a teacher's point of view, it must be difficult at times to keep morale up. It is easy for parents to criticise, but we have no idea what it is like to face a room of thirty kids of hugely varying abilities and be under pressure to get them all safely through the state exams. Add a sprinkling of learning difficulties of all descriptions - maybe not even diagnosed - and dwindling back-up from the resource department. In secondary school at least, toss in the hormones and behaviours of adolescence and you have a potent mixture!

When it comes to special needs, how much training do teachers get before they are thrown in to sink or swim in the "inclusive" classroom? For giftedness at least, I think the answer is “none”. Rather than think the worst of them, we need to try and empathise and support teachers. As advocates for gifted children, our job is to help teachers to help this group. A very good first step which would be of benefit to us all, would be for some of the basics of giftedness to be covered in all pre-service teacher training. If we didn’t have gifted children ourselves, would we have a clue of how it might present or how to deal with it? Most of us, even with our knowledge and experience, struggle with the task ourselves at times. I believe that most teachers, if they understood what giftedness really means rather than the usual myths, would be open to working with parents.

Let’s face it, one facet of giftedness is intensity. So, at the very least, I think they should be warned that the parents of gifted students may well be very INTENSE, but they are not to be feared! They are usually just very EAGER to help, but maybe aren’t sure how. As in so many aspects of parent-school interaction, understanding, respect and openness is required on both sides. For our part, parents must remember that we don’t really know how schools operate on a day-to-day basis and what may seem obvious and reasonable to us, may in fact be  well nigh impossible to do.

Teachers, please don’t feel threatened by us. We know that our kids can be difficult to provide for in our current system. We know that you are largely unsupported in this regard. Parenting a gifted child is not easy either. Sending our children to school can be both frightening and frustrating for us and sometimes that emotion may spill into our behaviour when we interact with you. You have no idea how wonderful it feels when a teacher is receptive and supportive. Speaking from personal experience, when my own child was struggling in early secondary school, finding just one teacher who “got it” transformed the lives, not only of that child, but of the whole family. Instead of being a nervous wreck sending him to school each morning, I felt secure in the knowledge that he had someone to turn to if things began to overwhelm him. In the end, she didn’t need to do much at all. It was just knowing that she was there and that she understood that made the difference to us all. We all have teachers from our dim and distant pasts who we remember with affection and this one will certainly be one of those.

It is by talking to each other, sharing ideas and experiences, that parents and teachers of gifted children can make a difference. 

Purpose and Passion Part 2

Teachers With Passion

We all know that our teachers can pass through their entire basic training without ever hearing about gifted education at all. Once out, they are faced with classes of maybe thirty students of wide-ranging ability and a good sprinkling of various learning and behavioural difficulties. How they deal with all this on top of getting our children through the curriculum to our satisfaction is, quite frankly, a miracle. When it comes to CPD, given that only 3% to 5% of children are gifted, I wouldn't imagine that gifted is too high up their priority list. Why would it be?

However, through Twitter, Dazzled and I have discovered a whole world of teachers with passion. These teachers are tweeting and blogging their hearts out. There are a few things which have struck me about them: they are engaging with each other to collaborate and share ideas, they are incredibly generous, they are innovative and open to new ideas. Most importantly, they very obviously LOVE what they do. Sometimes I sign into Twitter just to catch some of their infectious enthusiasm! I can only imagine what it must be like to be a student in one of their classrooms.

Whilst there are many teachers globally who are gifted and talented education specialists, I think most of the Irish ones are not. They probably have little idea about the niceties of gifted education theory. But, you know what? It doesn't matter. They are already well on the way to doing what our children need. They must surely be inspiring their students to love learning, just like they do. They are open to new ideas and that is where I feel parents have a role to play.

Unlike these teachers who must deal with every possible learning scenario, parents of gifted children have the luxury, if you will, of being able to focus on gifted issues alone. Given that it often seems to run in families, many parents of gifted children are themselves gifted. Which means that they tend to go at things which interest them with gusto and to learn quickly. Many are extremely well-informed when it comes to gifted education and psychology. However, what most of us don't have is training in education and knowledge of what happens or what works in our children's classrooms. 

It strikes me that if we could all work together, we could really make progress. For that to happen, parents must be prepared to speak up, but in a supportive and encouraging way. Teachers must accept that, whilst they are the educational professionals, parents sometimes have more knowledge in a particular field that they do. Sometimes parents can come across as pushy and critical and sometimes they are just that. But often, they are just frustrated.

In terms of provision for gifted education in Ireland, we have draft guidelines from the NCCA and the SESS has resources and a pilot project, Equality of Challenge. So, progress is being made and some groundwork has been done. However, in reality for the vast majority of us, nothing is happening. I propose that we stop waiting around for change and we just get on with it by connecting with each other and working together.

Twitter is a great place for this to begin. As one teacher commented: "For me Twitter is like the biggest staffroom in the world. Full of wonderful, inspirational, helpful people". Here is a tiny example of what our teachers are up to:

@HumphreyJones is a science teacher in St Columbas College in Dublin. He also has a blog. 

@TheFrogBlog is the science department of St Columba's  and has an award-winning blog, The Frog Blog.

@sccenglish is the English department of St Columba's has a fantastic English blog.

@physicsteacher, Noel Cunningham from King's Hospital School, has a superb physics blog: thinkforyourself.ie

@simonmlewis, Simon Lewis, is the Principal of Carlow Educate Together NS. He runs two sites which are fantastic resources for primary school teachers:  anseo.net and mash.ie.

If you ever need proof that Ireland has teachers with passion, check these guys out. I was completely blown away by how they tweeted and blogged all summer long...we even had some tweets from France! (Not sure how that went down with their wives...)

We all have so much to learn from each other. Through social media tools like Twitter and blogs, we have an opportunity like never before to really engage and collaborate; to dispel the myths and false ideas we have about each other. We all want the same thing: to support and encourage our children as they negotiate their way through our education system into adulthood. We need to support and encourage each other too.