Family and Peers

Systems that Influence the Student

In this weeks interactive lecture we discussed to "students," changes that we saw in their behaviours, and what could be influencing these behaviours. I chose to focus on Dionte. Here is the Summary of his circumstances:

"Dionte seemed like a nice kid at that start of the year but is now causing problems. He has become disrespectful, aggressive, and tardy."

As the activity progressed, we learned that Dionte had faced several changes in his home life. These included his parents divorcing and his brother winning a large scholarship to University resulting in a move. In the end we concluded that these were the major influences in his behavioural change, but we need to consider how we could reach these conclusions, and how to gather information from different systems.

Family

We can see that the major changes Dionte faced came mostly from his family, and in my opinion this can be the most influential system for an adolescent. It is then important to have open communication with the parents or guardians of your students so that you may be appropriately informed. We have the opportunity to do this at the beginning of the year, with parent and student orientation. In Dionte's case, we were unaware that was diagnosed with a learning disability and no actions were taken to help him with this. I believe that this will give us the opportunity to build a strong connection with the parents, which can increase their trust in the teacher and their willingness to be open. Having key information about the student is essential for understanding the needs of the students, and adjusting our teaching to meet these needs. However, we need to continue this information throughout the year. As we saw with Dionte, there was a significant change that was not communicated to us and that was very influential to his behaviour, which also likely influenced his performance. There are several ways to do continue this communication, and one resource I was able to find was MemberHub. This is a resource used by many schools to establish an open communication through the use of an online resource. They also list ways 10 Ways for Schools to Communicate with Parents. While this is an American resource, the principles behind it stand strong. I have included their introductory video below that highlights the benefits through the eyes of PTA members and administrators.

Lacy Elementary PTA uses MemberHub to Centralize all Student Communications via YouTube

Another resource for maintaining open communication I found was on ReadingRockets.org. This particular website highlights the benefits of communicating, as well as a few ideas on how to do so. Of course, if I experienced a significant change in one of my students I would do my best to schedule a meeting with the parents as a primary resource. While a phone call could possibly reveal the same information, I feel that personal interaction allows for a more comfortable experience for the involved parties, and that a lot of information can be gained through body language.

In my practice, I would love to create a website for my students and their parents where information on students learnings and activities would be available. Further, I would like to have a forum where questions could be asked, and a place where parents could share about their concerns. Resources could also be available for both parents and students about common things that do come up on these forum discussions to help them cope with the changes we face in adolescence.

Culture

Another system of influence that we see is culture. Canada is a multicultural society, and these can influence the identity of a student, but also the way they may behave. When we spoke about Dionte, we saw that his ultimate goal was not to achieve academic excellence, but rather to be happy. Understanding his frame of reference, perhaps culturally influenced, could aid in addressing his change in behaviour. Different cultures place different values on specific topics, and it is possible that Dionte is from a culture that places a high value on academics. If this was the case, we could see that because he does not have the level of value, he could be going against his culture which could create conflict.

Asking basic questions about the student, to the student, could lead to a lot of information that doesn't need to divulge your concern directly to them. If from these questions we gain information about culture, it is then possible to research this particular culture to understand the values that may influence this students beliefs. In the text, we saw that parents from China were more likely to have an Authoritarian parenting style, and those from Italy and France would be rated as more controlling (McMahan & Thompson, 2015, p.120). These different parenting styles often influence the students behaviours, and understanding if there is a cultural component could lend to understanding the students behaviours.

In my previous experience working in Luxury Retail, we had a very large Chinese clientele. It was important to understand what was and what was not acceptable in our interactions with them to ensure we were not disrespectful. Specific topics were encouraged to be discussed, while others were to be avoided. These techniques showed respect, but also allowed us to close the sale. I think this is an excellent example on how culture influences behaviour, and how understanding culture can aid the educator. While we may not be closing sales in the classroom, we are delivering messages and knowledge, and we need to be able to do this as effectively as possible.

REFERENCES

American Federation of Teachers. (n.d.). Building Parent-Teacher Relationships. Retrieved October 09, 2016, from http://www.readingrockets.org/article/building-parent-teacher-relationships

Dickinson, B. (2013, May 14). 10 Ways for Schools to Communicate with Parents - MemberHub. Retrieved October 09, 2016, from http://memberhub.com/blog/10-ways-for-schools-to-communicate-with-parents/

MemberHub.com. (2016, April 06). Lacy Elementary PTA Uses MemberHub to Centralize all School Communications. Retrieved October 09, 2016, from https://youtu.be/z4J-ySCBdDc

McMahan, I., & Thompson, S. (2015). Adolescence (Canadian ed.). Toronto, ON: Pearson.