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Location: Diversity, Parents, and Community
Discussion: "Back to School" night for parents
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JanelleHollingshead |
"Back to School" night for parents
Aug 15 2009, 4:32 PM EDT
| Post edited: Aug 18 2009, 10:13 PM EDT
I am planning to have a back to school night for my parents. I plan to go over the syllabus (give each parent a section of the syllabus, put them in groups, have them share with a group, and then ask me questions), go over the list of concepts we will cover, talk about study skills (ask them about their ideas first), mention community service opportunities that are connected to science that students can do to get their service hours, show them how to use the school web-site as well as my personal one, and maybe do an activity to mimic take home experiments I will send home. This may take too long. Has anyone every done these before. Do you have any advise? Did you do any activities with parent and what were they? I still do not know what activities I am going to do. Is there anything I mentioned that I shouldn't do? Do you find this valuable?
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Soppet |
1. RE: "Back to School" night for parents
Aug 18 2009, 7:23 PM EDT
This will be my first year, and I would find any suggestions helpful as well. Thank you for posting this topic, Janelle.
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mindilynn |
2. RE: "Back to School" night for parents
Aug 19 2009, 10:32 PM EDT
I like how you are involving the parents in the discussion and getting their opinions. Most likely their opinions will mirror or reinforce your goals for the students. It is going to open the lines of communication between you and them as well as get them to see why your policies are what they are and why they will benefit their children. However, be careful as to what topics you ask their opinions on, because if they review your classroom policies and you are firm on these, I wouldn't give them any opportunity to get into groups and discuss them. Otherwise, you might be stuck having to collect latework when you don't normally allow this, because the parents as a group decided that you should. That was probably a good example, but something to think about. On the other hand, if they are given ample time to discuss this and you are able to voice your concerns about changing your policy, they may end up on your side when they wouldn't have otherwise. That is a tough call... Light snacks might be nice to provide...crackers & cheese and bottled water, perhaps. People tend to associate food with a good experience. Also, you might start off with a flashy demonstration that makes a point really clear. I think it is a great idea and I hope that you get other opinions on this, too. 1 out of 1 found this valuable. Do you? |
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JanelleHollingshead |
3. RE: "Back to School" night for parents
Oct 10 2009, 7:42 PM EDT
| Post edited: Oct 10 2009, 7:43 PM EDT
SUCESS! The back to school night was wonderful. Parents loved that they got to talk about the syllabus with each other. I simply went from group to group and answered questions. Then I did a fun activity involving legos that helped them understand procedure writing and i got the fortune fishes and had them experience the scientific method. I was giving them tips on how to help their children with their homework even if they felt they didn't know much about chemistry. Then I asked them to come up with ideas about study skills before i shared mine. We had fun interacting and I didn't have to lecture much because all of the questions came from them. I also got to learn a lot from the parents. Finally I talked to them about Parent Portal and my web-site to help them keep informed. I also got snacks like "mindilynn" suggested and it was great. ThanksI did lots more stuff then i mentioned and If anyone wants more information about how I facilitated the night just ask. I recommend this to everyone. Do you find this valuable? |
