School-Home (Dis)Connection

At Little Miami Intermediate School, we are well into our third full week of school, and if things are going correctly, you have gotten a ton of information from both the school and your student.  Our hope is that you have followed us on Twitter (@LMIntermediate), gotten a newsletter from the school, and from the teacher. Soon you will get information regarding Remind, Twitter, email lists, and Schoology.  From your student you have gotten excitement, stories about community building, goal setting, school procedures and maybe even a little content. 

For some, it will be a bit different.  Newsletters are stuffed in backpacks and forgotten; emails addresses are off by a letter or two, arriving in the inbox of strangers, and as for Remind and Twitter, what is that?  Students are “fine” and learned “nothing”.  If you are in this situation we will keep trying to connect because for this year to be successful, we need your support, feedback, and two-way communication regarding your student!

Many students, and parents, dread the idea of a call from the teacher.  The list of reasons that teachers call home or parents call the school is long, but unfortunately too many of them are made in frustration, desperation, or anger.  Problems that have gone on for many years have been talked about at home, but not shared with the school.  Issues at school are “worked out with the student”, but not communicated to adults at home.  Not enough calls are simply about a success at school that needs to be shared, or a success at home because of the work being done at school that can be shared.  As we all know, problems get attention while success is sometimes overlooked.

My challenge to all of you… let us celebrate the success and work together on the problems!  Below are a few items that may help with the School-Home Connection.

•  Share the best way to communicate!  Do you hate phone calls?  We can email.  Emails too long?  We can text.  Text and emails too impersonal?  We will make a phone call. 
•  Call or email when you have questions!  If you don’t hear back, give the person the benefit of the doubt and try another method of communication.  One incorrect character in a phone number or email means it doesn’t arrive, not that they are ignoring you. 
•  Be proactive about reoccurring frustrations.  Identify WHO is involved so that you can get them on the team and WHAT can be done to make a plan.
• Look for success.  It is there, I promise.  Your child and their teacher are making progress every day.  Train your child to share what has worked.
•  Celebrate success AND failure!  More importantly talk about failure being a beginning, not an end.  An attempt is just one-step towards success, and there is so much to learn from just trying.

Above all, remember that each one of us wants your child to succeed emotionally, socially and academically.  We want them to grow, learn, and love the time they spend with us.  We need to make sure that we are on the same page, and the same team, by communicating as much as possible!

More than your Role, and the Power of Yet

Last week we had an assembly to introduce our teachers and staff to the new students and reintroduce them to our returning students.  The teachers all got into a line at the front of the cafeteria and I expected a quick recitation of “I am Mrs./Mr. SoandSo and I teach this and that.”, but instead we heard stories about what the teachers liked, where they have visited, interesting facts and proud moments.  Yes, they shared their names and teaching areas, but more importantly, they shared a little bit about who they are, not just their name and position.  I was thrilled that they did more than just introduce themselves, they connected with the students.

This past summer I had the pleasure of hearing Brian LaDuca (@B_LA_D) speak and among many other things that he talked about I was struck by the idea of not being defined, and limited, by what we do and approaching our life with our purpose, not our profession.  So started my talk a little differently:

“I’m Mr. Showers, and I want to be so much more than a principal.  My hope is that this year you will find out all the many things you can be if you choose to explore your interests.”

Speaking with the students, we talked about my summer learning to be a researcher, animal behaviorist, and landscaper as I fought a losing battle with my dog and her desire to dig down to the molten core of the earth.  I shared that I found out that there are many reasons for dogs to dig, but one of the major ones is boredom.  So I built a sandbox with my rudimentary carpentry skills, filled it with toys, and sat back as…the dog dug holes in both the sandbox AND the yard.  I explained that although it was technically a failure, I learned that my dog loves her sandbox and that I can at least square up a few boards to build something.  It wasn't a defeat, it was learning, so, back to the drawing board. The newest strategy is trying to grow grass over the layer of chicken wire laid down as a barrier to the dogs excavating skills.  We shall see...

We finished with the idea of the power of Yet, and of being bigger than your current role.  I have not solved my hole problem…Yet.  I am not the best carpenter or landscaper, yet. None of the students in the room have not mastered the 6^th grade content, or learned how to play their instrument, or draw or play soccer… yet. All they have to make their life being as rich and as big as they want it to be is to try, and know that failure is not the end; it is just the beginning of yet.