Chapter Six opens by saying that "home and school connections were primary considerations of kindergarten staff at East Side Elementary School" (page 89). This was a startling way to begin the chapter as there have been concrete examples of blatant disregard for home and school communication between Mrs. Starr's classroom and the homes of Peley and Raji. One such example is the Parent Teacher conference - when Peley's father was very late (due to fatigue from working nights), the teacher did not make adaptations for this and neglected to reschedule. Another example is Peley's birthday party - when it was clear to Peley and Mrs. Starr that there was an impending miscommunication regarding the birthday cookies, Mrs. Starr did not take steps to reach out to Peley's family. More grievously, Raji's family is not made aware that he is being pulled from reading class to take part in the ESL program. Later in Chapter Six, it is admitted "home and school communication seemed strong with the exception of Peley's and Raji's families" (page 89). With this is mind, is it fair to say that home and school connections were truly primary considerations if it was fully attempted for all the students in the kindergarten class?
I don't know why or how the text got so big on that post, sorry about that!
ReplyDeleteI also was really struck by how little understanding there was of what the ESL class would be like and what would happen on the part of the parents. They were obvisously not imformed with clear understanding by the school or teacher. If the school proclaims how important the home-school connection is then I would like to see them work harder and not just give up each time there is a failed attempt to communication with Peley and Raji's families.
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