Because this is my first year at my new school, this is my first year participating in Parent Shadow Day. I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Is it like Back-to-School Night, but in the daytime? Will there be swarms of parents in my classroom? Will parents be checking their iPhones and Blackberries while I'm trying to teach? I got out of my car thinking, "OK, let the dog and pony show begin." I'm usually a pretty positive person, but here were some of my concerns:
Won't it be crowded? Where will everyone sit? The custodians had that covered. The night before, they delivered hundreds of folding chairs all over the campus, stacked up against buildings, in interior hallways, everywhere. I grabbed four before school started, and between those, the couple chairs I already had, and a couple of empty desks each period, I was good. I had no more than six parents in any one class.
Won't I have parents texting throughout my lesson? I originally had student presentations scheduled for the entire period, and I had to re-think that. I didn't want parents to just sit passively during the period, so I had to switch it up. Because I had all senior government classes that day, I decided to jump ahead to the Supreme Court and teach a lesson called "Bong Hits 4 Jesus: You Be the Judge." It highlights eight different court cases involving the First, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Eighth Amendments. The first case was the recent "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" case where a high school senior was suspended for unfurling a banner with that message at a school event. The lesson gave us a chance for plenty of debate and discussion, and I wanted parents to be engaged. If you're interested, click http://j.mp/pY378n to check out all the cases in the lesson. The bottom line: on Parent Shadow Day you should have something that involves and engages--the same kind of lessons we want to have for our kids on a regular basis.
What if I have a parent corner me about a policy or a grade right in the middle of class? First of all, the parents who come to Parent Shadow Day are the same ones that show up for Back-to-School Night and Open House--the supportive and involved ones. They want you to do well. They want to have fun and learn something. I'm sure there is the possibility this may happen, so you use the same strategies we employ if that kind of thing happens at Open House: "With all the students and parents here right now, this isn't the best time to discuss this, and I understand this is important to you, so may I speak with you right after our school day ends?" I only had positive and thankful parents when classes were done, and based on my asking around to other teachers, there were no "cornering" parents for them either.
So, why is Parent Shadow Day something I think should be happening at every middle and high school? Here's why I loved this day so much:
Parents appreciate the reality of what goes on at school. One of the evaluations said, "I had no idea how crowded some classes are." Yup, this is the reality every day for your child. Another parent commented, "These classes are harder than I thought." By walking a mile (or even just a half-day) in their child's shoes, parents see how hard both you and your students work.
Parents get involved. In my classroom, parents and students were debating the First Amendment as equal participants in our democracy. In other classes, parents were figuring out proofs on geometry quizzes, participating in science labs, analyzing poetry, and even making coil pots in ceramics. Parents had a chance to be students again, to reconnect to their own memories and experiences of their time in high school, and as such connect with the challenges, both academic and personal, that kids experience. As parents, we sometimes get so caught up in our adult world that we forget what it's like to be a kid.
It shows parents that as a school you are confident in, and proud of, what you do. It takes guts to provide such transparency to your parents. Sometimes in education, we have parents who don't quite trust what's going on "at that school." Hey parents, want to know what's going on at "this school"? Here, come take a look! We have nothing to hide.
Back-to-School Night and Open House are safe and controlled. The adults outnumber the kids. These events are in the evening. They're somewhat predictable. On Parent Shadow Day, it was a real school day with 2,800 real students, so really anything could have happened.
Now, in the interest of full disclosure, it was a minimum day. School got out at 12:30. So yes, in that sense, it wasn't a "full school day." However, we're on a block schedule, so the three classes we had that day were still 65 minutes each. As a teacher, you can't just fake your way through that much time. 65 minutes is plenty of time for bored students to get off task, and for things to spiral out-of-control if you don't have your act together, so parents still got a good sense of what a real school day looks like.
I was skeptical of Parent Shadow Day before it began. I am now a believer and looking forward to doing it all again next year.
Ron Ippolito
@rippolito
rippolito@hartdistrict.org
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