Scenario 5

 To create a realistic plan for family engagement in your school that  takes into account potential barriers and to evaluate your plan. 

Scenario:
Your student  teaching experiences convinced you of the benefits for everyone when  schools and families make a commitment to each other to work together.  You have several ideas for supporting family engagement in your  classroom. You are aware, however, of particular attitudes between  parents and teachers that may create barriers to working together (e.g.,  lack of childcare, families feeling intimidated by authority figures).  You decide to write down three-parent attitudes about participation in  school events that may become an obstacle. Next, you consider three  emotional responses from parents and teachers that may also cause  barriers (e.g., painful memories of school experiences, disillusioning  experiences with professionals). Last, you write about three external  factors (e.g., busy schedules, outdated ideas) that can undermine parent  relationships. Then, you give each potential barrier careful thought as  to how you will try to prevent it.

Focus Assignment

1.  To promote parent engagement in your school, bearing in mind that you  may encounter several obstacles, create a plan that describes  three-parent attitudes that may become barriers to family engagement.  Next, describe three emotional responses from parents and teachers that  might impede family engagement. Finally, describe three external factors  that might undermine parent relationships. Then, write a few sentences  to explain how you would overcome each potential barrier.

2. Be  sure to read the SELF-EVALUATION section below to guide your thinking.  Write your self-evaluation after you have completed your plan.

Self-Evaluation

1. For each item in your plan:
     a. Explain how this item addresses the issues in the scenario.
    

2. Describe and justify how your plan would improve teaching and learning in the scenario.