Out-of-School Factors and Communication

In the article Poverty and Potential: Out-of-School Factors and School Successes, David C. Berliner outlines 7 major factors that directly contribute to student success at school. They are as follows:

1) Low birth-weight and non-genetic prenatal influences on children
2) Inadequate medical, dental, and vision care, often a result of inadequate or no medical insurance
3) Food insecurity
4) Environmental pollutants
5) Family relations and stress
6) Neighborhood characteristics
7) Extended learning opportunities

The article goes on to describe, in detail each area and what affects and/or results have been seen around each issue. By no means, is this insignificant data and/or unimportant explanations, however, I think the greatest point about each factor, is in the following fact, mentioned early-on in the article which is as follows:

"U.S. students spend about 1,150 waking hours a year in school versus about 4,700 more waking hours per year in their families and neighborhoods."

As a classroom teacher in a low-income neighborhood, this fact and the 7 aforementioned factors were the greatest challenge to student learning! No matter the curriculum I used, the type(s) of instruction I provided, the classroom environment, all of my hard work could be undone from the last bell of the day until the first bell of the following. This is not to say that each day that my classroom was a cocoon of perfection and support and that I was doing everything right, because that would simply not be true. However, the support, or lack thereof, of the home environment and parents/caregivers of my students had the potential, and often power, to"trump" any and all progress/work I was making with a student.

Thus, two major relationships, that of child and teacher/school and that of child/home come into play, but often the relationship between teacher/school and home is the one that is most important and influential and is often most difficult to maintain!

This is especially poignant in low socio-economic environments, where a consistent address, phone number, person to speak with, may not be available.

Thus, what to do?

Well, to a certain degree, I think the onus first lies with the teacher/school. For many parents, the fact that a school thinks as much, or at times more, of their child as they do, is KEY. The school/teacher being a resource for communication, information, and education is absolutely vital to the well-being of the child and the home/school relationship and it is NOT an easy task!

All of that said, there are a variety of communication avenues available. These include but are not limited to: phone calls, "snail mail", e-mail, blogging, text message, and/or visitation with families. Some of these ideas may be more or less applicable, depending on the environment, but in the end, they all communicate the same message: I/we care about your student.

As I mentioned before, the method in which a teacher/school communicates with a parent/home may vary, but the desired outcome is always to establish a stronger relationship. Below are links to 2 websites who speak more about this issue.

From Suite 101: An article on how open communication can help
http://teachertipstraining.suite101.com/article.cfm/teacher_communication_with_parents

From The Harvard Family Research Project: An article about what effective communication can do
http://www.hfrp.org/publications-resources/browse-our-publications/effective-home-school-communication

In the end, I believe that the major concern is that both parents and schools are willing to put in the effort to communicate with each other in order to help ensure future successes.