How To Be a Twenty-First Century Parent
1.
Get online Schools all over the country have introduced a number of online resources that parents can access at home.
Not only are grades and attendance information immediately available, parents can pre-pay for student lunches and pay for spring and fall pictures online.
Be sure to keep up with the sources, as the school may send home a single memo to parents but not remind them about it later.
Create a poster chart for each of the sources with the website URL, your username and password, a brief description of what the resource can provide you with, and a contact person at the school if you have questions.
Choose a time of the week such as Sunday afternoon to browse through the reports generated about your child.
Don't hesitate to download or even print reports and then email your child's teacher with your questions about how to read the reports.
2.
Use social media to your advantage There are lots of advantages to maintaining contacts with other parents via social media sites such as Facebook.
First, it helps you put names with faces.
At the next soccer game, you'll be able to look the person standing next to you in the eye and say, "Aren't we Facebook friends? Hi, I'm Cloe's mom.
" Secondly, you'll be able to browse through other parents' posts and get a feel for what's really going on in the school.
Perhaps someone else is dissatisfied with the same teacher you are.
Perhaps someone has learned of an event cancellations and has posted it online.
3.
Encourage your children to think deep not wide Teachers and parents have traditionally complained that student lessons were "an inch deep and a mile wide," meaning that teachers were expected to cover a lot of topics without giving children time to thoroughly master the big ideas of the unit.
Many states are responding by adopting the federal Common Core curriculum in reading and math and are revising curriculum in other subject areas as well.
The trend is fewer sub-objectives for each standard with an expectation that students will be delving into deep and thoughtful engagement.
4.
Don't abandon old-fashioned common sense Many parents get excited about new opportunities to get involved with their children's day-to-day educational experiences.
Technology can be a window into your child's school day and an open door to providing your child with the support he or she needs.
Other parents may feel intimidated with what may seem to be a bombardment of "techy" gadgets.
Not knowing about computers or not having access may also be a barrier for some.
Schools now encourage every parent to learn something new and grow into the 21st Century era of public education to the best of your abilities.
Feel free to use the human resources available at the school, and consider letting your child help you!
Get online Schools all over the country have introduced a number of online resources that parents can access at home.
Not only are grades and attendance information immediately available, parents can pre-pay for student lunches and pay for spring and fall pictures online.
Be sure to keep up with the sources, as the school may send home a single memo to parents but not remind them about it later.
Create a poster chart for each of the sources with the website URL, your username and password, a brief description of what the resource can provide you with, and a contact person at the school if you have questions.
Choose a time of the week such as Sunday afternoon to browse through the reports generated about your child.
Don't hesitate to download or even print reports and then email your child's teacher with your questions about how to read the reports.
2.
Use social media to your advantage There are lots of advantages to maintaining contacts with other parents via social media sites such as Facebook.
First, it helps you put names with faces.
At the next soccer game, you'll be able to look the person standing next to you in the eye and say, "Aren't we Facebook friends? Hi, I'm Cloe's mom.
" Secondly, you'll be able to browse through other parents' posts and get a feel for what's really going on in the school.
Perhaps someone else is dissatisfied with the same teacher you are.
Perhaps someone has learned of an event cancellations and has posted it online.
3.
Encourage your children to think deep not wide Teachers and parents have traditionally complained that student lessons were "an inch deep and a mile wide," meaning that teachers were expected to cover a lot of topics without giving children time to thoroughly master the big ideas of the unit.
Many states are responding by adopting the federal Common Core curriculum in reading and math and are revising curriculum in other subject areas as well.
The trend is fewer sub-objectives for each standard with an expectation that students will be delving into deep and thoughtful engagement.
4.
Don't abandon old-fashioned common sense Many parents get excited about new opportunities to get involved with their children's day-to-day educational experiences.
Technology can be a window into your child's school day and an open door to providing your child with the support he or she needs.
Other parents may feel intimidated with what may seem to be a bombardment of "techy" gadgets.
Not knowing about computers or not having access may also be a barrier for some.
Schools now encourage every parent to learn something new and grow into the 21st Century era of public education to the best of your abilities.
Feel free to use the human resources available at the school, and consider letting your child help you!
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