Helping Parents Help Students in a World Language Class

And so it begins. Welcome to the almost 2016-2017 school year. I have been in my classroom more than I want to admit this summer so I have been keeping up with my emails. I already have two from concerned parents about how they can help their students succeed this next school year. As teachers we could get into a long debate about the role of parents in high school students' education paths; over-bearing vs absent, enabler vs absent, too critical vs absent... see a theme? At times I remind myself that I would rather have a parent talking to me rather than not knowing if they exist.

As world language teachers, we also know we have a special breed of parent absentee-ism until grades are due. I have received a wide range of responses from parents (from "teach me" to "how can you expect them to learn a language you grew-up speaking"- which is untrue), so here is what I have done in the past and what I am currently doing to empower parents.

Policy: talking to parents

My advice: Make a policy about talking to parents and never, ever, break it.

My policy is not written any where except a sticky note in my desk drawer; five years later and I still look at it from time to time. My policy is: Email- I never respond to an angry email before 24 hours. I always cc my principal in the response and forewarn if needed. I respond to random, check-in emails as soon as I can. Phone- I only respond to voicemail because of our schedule at school I let all exterior phone calls go to voicemail and return later. I can also be prepared to answer questions and anticipate voice tone. Grades- I discuss grades with students first. I will tell parents what they can see on the online grade book and walk them through it, but I only talk to students about "corrective plans". If the student hasn't come in to see me, I let the parent know and then call the student in during homeroom time.

Routine Communication

I send out email blasts every 2-3 weeks for my lower level students. I copy students in if they need to . Here is a copy and editable format for my parent emails. My upper levels seems to be the week before a big grade is due, if that. They are high school juniors and seniors at this point.

I keep basics on my school webpage. It is sorted by level and I have a "Parents: How to help" section. This has hints and links to resources.

Give them resources

NEVER LEAVE A STUDENT/PARENT POWERLESS. Even if there really isn't much a student can do right now to raise the grade immediately, offer some type of help. Use a Quizlet teacher account (my kids LOVE it), assign or give YoutTube videos leveled for language learners, tell the student to play DuoLingo for fun, and to find some music in the TL they like and share it with you (this can also work as "recoop" points if you allow it).

Get out of jail "free" card

"If you have any more questions or ever wonder what class is like, please come and experience Spanish class."

Always leave that door open, and mean it. I have had irate parents that never "attack" again after that statement, I have had supportive parents say they will stop in, and I had one parent come in for fun. The one parent that came in visited a class that wasn't her student's class and loved it; then told all their friends. The best way to build relationships is to work at it, just like you do with students.

Responding to common comments: conferences

This is a quick look at how I respond to parents, especially at conferences. I try to keep it short and sweet and don't deviate from my written policies (and my mental ones). Most parents are great supporters, some are advocating for their child and are not fun to "deal with". Just remember, we don't know any more about what is causing a reaction than they know what our day to day classroom looks like.

I took (a different language) in high school

This is a great problem to have! Parents are aware that students need to study, that learning another language is hard, and most of them came from rooms where the teacher never spoke in English. Don't forget: ask them what their experiences were like. Build on this by relating what they remember and explain how your classroom works (briefly).

Example
Parent: "I took German in high school and that teacher never spoke in English. I was so overwhelmed by all the worksheets and not understanding that I quit after a year."

Teacher (you): "That is great you tried! It can be overwhelming when teachers move on and you have no clue what is happening. The way I teach, I try very hard not to move on until we are all on-board. That's why I need Johnny to let me know, somehow, if he isn't understanding. If he keeps talking with me, he should have a successful year!"

I took (this language) and don't remember anything

This is harder to address on a personal level. My suggestion is to look forward and stay focused on the current student. The easy way "out" is to respond with a playful "Hopefully Susie will have a different experience!"

Example
Parent: "I took Spanish in high school for four years and remember random things. I won't be much help."


Teacher: "I bet you will remember more if Kyle starts retelling you the stories from class. Since we don't have textbooks, a great way for Kyle to practice at home is to retell you some of the fun things that happened and then you can try to translate them. He can help if you get stuck."

You don't have a book, how can s/he study at home?

This is a valid question, especially if you don't have a textbook and their student's grade is lower than expected. I designed my class so there is a component they can prepare for outside of class. This gives both the student and the parent feeling like they can control the grade somehow. My "control" or easy points are their vocabulary quizzes (They take 25 words at a time from the top 100 words list with the ability to retake as needed until the next list. They know what list to study for and I have seen an improvement in reading speed with accuracy during novels).

I also believe that as CI/TPRS teacher I do need to provide work to recover grades (if that is your policy) that doesn't require me retelling a whole story or a ton of work on my part. I am already stretched thin, this may change as I become happier with my curricula and reuse it from year to year and as my tech in my room actually starts to work.

Example
Parent: "Lacy's grade is much lower than what is acceptable at home. I never see homework here and she doesn't know how to bring her grade up. What does she need to turn in?" There are landmine sentences in this.

Teacher: "Because of the way I teach, they have very little homework. I don't want any student to form a bad habit by practicing something incorrectly and make it harder in the long run. I am looking at her grades and she is missing a couple in-class assignments that she needs to check her binder for. She also needs to come talk to me so we can work something out and I can learn exactly where she is struggling."

Grading: Philosophy and Reflection

Grading, the double-edged sword in teaching. It is necessary and a useful tool, but it takes a lot of time and causes a lot of stress.

Many teachers have district or school-wide grading scales, policies, and common assessments. This can be beneficial because it is a pre-established system for teachers. However, we understand that sweeping policies are often reactionary and don't always account for content and level differences.

For those of us who work in smaller districts or departments, we often have to establish our own grading system. This allows teachers to reflect on their teaching, assessment process, and to develop a system that clearly communicates to students, parents, and themselves! However, this also leaves teachers with even more work within their limited planning times. This can also mean the teacher has little backing or support from administration when problems arise if it is not a school-wide policy.

No matter your circumstance, I strongly recommend reflecting on your grading policies and really think about what your grades are supposed to communicate versus what they actually communicate.

Grades should communicate:

Student development. Period.

This is multifaceted as a high school teacher. The purpose of high school is to educate students so they become productive members of society in a capacity they choose. I believe simplifying grades to "knowledge acquired" is not a complete picture. It is a very important part, but students are also learning life-skills and social skills. Doing this while balancing content is impressive, and they deserve credit for that.

This hidden curriculum is very trying in high school. Students become more autonomous, navigate social and professional relationships, and they study 6-8 courses at any given time.

I believe students should receive credit for effectively balancing their work load and working on course content (i.e. completing work in a timely manner, working effectively during class, etc.).

Grades should be communicated:

Clearly and frequently.

Grades are not effective tools for progress monitoring when completed three weeks after completion. This is not helpful for parents, students, or you (more on managing paper load later). If you continue to assign work and progress on your calendar without knowing if your students are proficient in the previous work, you are creating a giant headache for yourself.

Your grading policies should be crystal clear before the school year starts. Write a welcome letter and send it out or offer it at "back to school night". Hit the highlights, assign first homework that adult and student sign it, record that grade, then file it away. TALK TO YOUR ADMIN about it first. You can frame this as a 1) This is what my grading policies look like and I want you to have a copy, or 2) Here is what I am thinking for grading my grading policy, can we talk over it?  This provides you with clarity for yourself and for your administrator. Proactive is way better than reactive.

Even if you are not sending home grade reports every few weeks with your school, send out a short email updating parents about important dates and the skills they can expect to see from their students. This also reminds them to check on the students' grades. See my sample email to parents here. There is also a free template on my TpT site here.

Grades should be reflective:

If you use weights or points, make sure your assignments and skill/standard are labeled very clearly. Most computer-based gradebook systems allow for subcategories within major categories. By organizing your gradebook correctly, you can quickly identify if a student is struggling in one specific area or if struggling sporadically.

Is Norma doing well in all areas and then magically is a low-performer on the "oral communication- production" area? This lets you identify that you need to talk to her; does she have a speech impediment and is very shy? does she have crippling "stage fright" and need a 1:1 opportunity to talk?

Is your 2nd period class notoriously difficult and it seems they all do poorly on "listening practice"? Is this because your assignments are too difficult/easy and they find other ways to entertain themselves? Do you need to rework your seating arrangement? Do you need to ask an administrator to come in and help brainstorm? Do you need to practice expectations with them during class, after school, with their adults present?

You should NOT be the only one reflecting on student grades. Help teach them to reflect on their own grades. Provide print outs of their class progress, have them fill out a reflection slip on big assessments, talk to them 1:1 (even quickly) during work time. This will also save you headaches later on.

Grades should have a back-up:

Keep a paper back-up. This will save you one day.

I will post a photo of my paper back-up and how I use that to monitor students in a different post here.