This is a great resource on the importance of including the family communities of a school to enrich learning and positive associations with learning for students.
Think about your own school, or a school you are familiar
with. What are the occasions or events at your school that promote the school
culture, programs, students and parental involvement? How successful have these
been? What would you like to implement? What are some next steps for the school
and how would you ensure that you affect positive change? How does the
Ontario’s Equity and Inclusive Education Strategy play a role in the school
culture? What does equity and diversity look like?
Our international school is a boarding school. Parents are encouraged to visit the school whenever possible but they rarely do so. Parents are generally visiting the school for a few events, but not nearly as many as they would be had the school been located in Canada. Parents of students in our international school at some points are also playing less of a role as a parent and more of a benefactor in my opinion. The grandparents (as practiced in Chinese Culture) are more apparent as guardians (driving students to school, telling their grandchildren to do their homework, etc.).
In our school, to get parents involved, its difficult to say the least. The main aspect in which parents make an effort to visit is the student's future (University Fair Day). In this particular case, yes parents come from all over-I guess they also do arrive for the course selection fair as well.
As a school, I think our school especially could benefit from having the parents on a committee to be representatives for students and the parental community in general. Students are seriously left to fend for themselves in a school of almost 3000. Teachers are there for their students, but with classrooms brimming near 30 students a class, its tough. Classes and projects in general could benefit from parent feedback in my opinion. Having parents work on something with a student is a part of growing up that most of these students will never know the way we know from North American Culture.
Our school does make points of periodically updating and contacting the parents though in situations from emergencies to basic reporting. Equity and diversity at our international school is not quite as high percentage wise because of the number of students, but we have quite a bit of students from countries other than China. all of our students come from affluent homes, in regards to diversity and equity the biggest concerns come to denominational holidays/celebrations as well as gender.
Due to an incident long, long ago (apparently-as rumour has it), a female student became pregnant while our main campus location was still a co-ed school. This was basically-such a big deal that it resulted in the ever more separation between campuses (girls and boys). Yes, extreme. Nonetheless, it now stands that the boys (who are on the original campus, and in facilities that are being restored) are struggling with the system course material (our campus is the only gender segregated campus). What can teachers do to meet the needs of boys who are disadvantaged by physical structures and mental blocks?
Our staff has long since learned to adapt/differentiate materials for the boys and girls campus as needed. The school has began the reconstruction of buildings on the boys campus. Both campuses are now being noticed as equally important whereas in the past, the nicer campus (girl's) was the flagship school and the one that people basically recognized as "The School.
Girl's campus may have been nicer, but the Boy's campus is the campus that offered the focus on extra curricular sports and activities. The last two years has been eye opening for the Chinese counter parts at our school who begin to take note that "Girls like to play sports too." The P.E. department at our school over the last few years has done really well at bringing teachers together to help coordinate the activities for the Girls' and Boys' campuses. Co-ed activities are still works in progress.
Safe zones for students who identify as LGBTQ and allies are being established (last I heard), this is something that is a sore spot in Chinese culture. As it was not seen as acceptable if one were anything other than heterosexual (as a development over the last 40 or so years), it is beginning to become more acceptable. The school had said that it would be risky to allow an "LGBTQ Alliance Center" to be established in our school facility. As shocking as this is to North Americans (among other cultures), its not our place to comment.
SIDE NOTE: Actually, Jourdan-if you read this-I am curious if your school had an LGTBQ Alliance Center in Thailand. Again, as only really a tourist of Thailand, I had been there a few times but, would like to think I have an understanding of their culture. However, never being inside of a school there-what was that like for students who identified as LGTBQ?
No comments:
Post a Comment