Prompt 5

In the school and classroom that I am working in the majority of the students come from very diverse backgrounds in regards to race and ethnicity. The school has a policy that the teachers must communicate with the parents of each of their students on a monthly basis via telephone/email. I believe that this is is an excellent policy to be in place in order to keep parents aware of their child's academic standing, as well as to create a partnership with them to determine the students needs regarding academic and social growth.

If I were the teacher of this classroom there would be two challenges that I could see creating roadblocks in order to achieve the goals above. 1st would be the language barriers that may exist between myself and the parents/guardians of the students. It may be difficult to communicate through speaking or writing if the parents/guardians are not semi fluent in the English language. The 2nd challenge that I could see taking place is the fact that some of the parents of the students that I am working with do not care about their child's well being. These children are forced to make their own decisions regarding their schooling and lives at a very young age due to the recklessness of their caretakers.

In facing these challenges I would 1st try to find a better way to communicate in order to bypass the language barriers that may exist. This may mean strictly communicating through writing that has been translated into the language that the caretaker is able to understand and to respond to. This could also mean having frequent on site visits from caretakers with an interpreter present in order to put more of a personal interaction to the relationship being built. In regards to the issue pertaining to the absence of the caretakers in the students life, I would probably tend to lean more towards the students themselves in order to help them succeed academically. I would with open arms accept any recommendations that parents/guardians make regarding their children's education as long as it was in the students best interest. I would show empathy towards the concerns that are brought forward and work with the parents/guardians to find solutions that would be beneficial to their children.