Home to classroom.

This past Wednesday, I administered a "reading survey" to J about how he felt about reading... it was a fun survey that had different Garfield the Cat and his expressions (e.g. excited, happy/chill, sad, and angry). J circled the Garfield to that he related most. I was actually surprised at his responses.

He was really excited and loved reading. He thinks he reads very well and is excited when he gets a book as a present. On the flipside, he would rather do something else than read at home, though. Some of his answers were a bit inconsistent, but I had made sure he understood the question before we moved onto the next... so, not sure what to think of that.

This is a great attitude for J to have, especially since he struggles so much. This means that he has the solid interest and that solid interest will help him get better. I also found out that he lives in a single-parent home, so he's most likely not getting as much reading reinforcement at home though he says his mom reads to him sometimes. Single parents have demanding schedules, and most of the time, it's circumstance's fault (not the parent's) for the lack of attention towards his/her kid's school work.

There are so many elements that go into a child's education that we're sometimes not aware of or choose to not acknowledge, but the home environment is pretty much the #1 influence. Kids eat, sleep, play, etc... all in this one (or even two) place(s). It's no joke when people say children need stability; it's true. Lack of stability will show up in homework, classroom behavior, peer behavior, and ultimately child development.


What happens when there is no home stability? How can teachers work with that? How can teachers press the importance of the parent's child's education and development without telling him/her "how to raise his/her child"? How can teachers encouragement involvement from the single parent when s/he is already pressed for time? How can teachers supplement this need without being "too involved"?

J said he has a twin sister who also comes to this same school (through the same METCO program). I haven't met her yet, but from what I hear from Ms. DT, the twin is having similiar reading problems.

He's a bright kid when he gets on the right track. I have to be careful though because he's borderline "helpless handraiser" and can become too dependent on my helping him, especially when I -know- he knows how to do a certain problem.

Time will keep telling me, and hopefully, I'll keep putting the pieces together.

- Miss Chelsea :)