Always Learning

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AlwaysLearningWeb I have often said, if I could land myself a paying career as a professional student, I would be one very happy girl! Although that is not likely to happen, getting recognized for my passion for parent engagement and learning did, and I am very honoured. The Always Learning Awards were initiated by Avon Maitland District School Board Trustees six years ago as a way of acknowledging members of the whole school community: staff, students, parents, volunteers and community members to honour those who make an outstanding contribution to the board and its schools.

I did not know the board had made a video (below). Suffice it to say, it was an emotional evening. I wish to thank and dedicate my award to all parents who continue to do all that they do, both at home and at school, to help make our children’s learning a better experience for all.

Tracy Bachellier, Community Volunteer at Hamlet Public School

“Tracy has been a longtime supporter of public education. At Hamlet Public School she was a member of School Council, the Chair for three years running and was always working to improve the lives of students. She also chaired the Stratford Regional School Council for two years and in so doing brought diverse councils together. She attended several conferences around Ontario to expand her understanding of the power of School Councils. She was a member the Parent Involvement Committee from its inception and led the group to their first Avon Maitland Ignite Parents event held at the Arden Park last year celebrating education in a variety of ways. Tracy was also an active member of the writing committee for “Involving Parents in the School: Tips for School Councils” which can now be found in schools throughout Ontario. Tracy was also an active community member during the Stratford Accommodation Review Committee Process. This is a mere sampling of the many ways that Tracy Bachellier has been involved in public education, but there is one commonality in all of the projects that Tracy has undertaken and that is to support parents so children thrive. For that reason Tracy has been selected as a recipient of an Always Learning Award.”

Parent Engagement – Visualization in Research

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I am in the midst of preparing my final presentation for my quantitative research methods graduate course. In just three months, my colleagues and I each had the opportunity to tackle a small-scale research project…a definite precursor and great practice for my impending graduate thesis :) We successfully completed all components of a good research study; an ethics review application, an abstract, an introduction with literature review, a methods section followed by the results, a discussion, references and appendices. This is a cloud visualization of my literature review on parent engagement and the positive outcomes for students, parents, teachers and schools. Each word represents a research study I have read, illustrating the significant role parent engagement plays in each.

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Greater Parent & Teacher Collaboration in Education

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I recently entered a competition at Wilfrid Laurier University called the 3MT, or the Three Minute Thesis. It reminded me of the Ignite concept but with one static slide and only three minutes to pitch your research to a non-expert audience. The 3MT originated in Australia in 2008 and is now in Ontario for the first time. Seventeen universities have entered the inaugural  Provincial competition, taking place at Queen’s University on April 18th, 2013. And I will be there…proudly representing Laurier…because I won!

So here’s my 3MT presentation on my thesis research, on the importance of greater parent and teacher collaboration in education. I would like to thank Debbie Pushor for her inspiration. I open my presentation with her words.

In the Margins of the School Landscape

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I recently read part one of Alfie Kohn’s two-part series on parent involvement. You can find it here on the SmartBlog on Education website. This was followed closely by another part one instalment on trusting teachers to successfully manage schools. You can find that guest post by Kim Farris-Berg here on Larry Cuban’s school reform blog site. As Alfie Kohn said, there’s something both short-sighted and arrogant about all this.

And that is, until parent engagement is truly valued, as integral and essential to our children’s education, where educators and parents work together to create a shared school community, parents will continue to exist in the margins of the school landscape.

I am reminded of Professor Debbie Pushor’s work on challenging the scripted story of school as protectorate (Pushor, 2012) when I think of parent involvement. This script takes for granted the meaningful roles parents play in their children’s education and it is perpetuated by both educators and parents as they accept and assume their respective positions. This (hi)story places educators as the privileged holders of expert knowledge, teaching and learning, who claim the formal, institutionalized ground known as “school” and design and implement the policies, programs, procedures, schedules, curriculum, routines, etc., for ALL children, in isolation of “non-expert” parents. The school sets the agenda and determines what roles parents play. With parent involvement, for example, parents are invited to attend parent-teacher interviews, concerts/athletic events, fundraising, school council, read newsletters, volunteer on school trips, etc.and ensure homework is done.Yet the true knowledge, voice and decision making remains with the educators, as the power and authority, acting on behalf of all parents about what they think will best improve learning for students in their schools (see article above on trusting teachers to successfully manage schools). Forgetting all the while that a parent is a child’s first teacher and that their active engagement in their child’s education has already taken place, off the formal school landscape mind you (in homes and within the community) during those several years before delivering their children to school for the first time.

Parents as Marginalized And even though that parent’s “engagement” does not simply end when the school doors slowly close behind their child, the perceived authority, power imbalance and status of the school as protectorate can make it difficult for parents to challenge their marginalized position in their very own child’s education. Which is probably why parents (yes, even those pushy ones) find “involvement” so frustrating and unfulfilling as too much of it focuses on what parents can do to help the school achieve its intended outcomes, not on how the school can help parents and families achieve their goals for their children (Pushor, 2012).

I look forward to the day when parent engagement is truly valued; when current discourse and dialogue on school improvement and education rethink collectively incorporates both educators and parents. A day when engagement enables “parents to take their place alongside educators in the schooling of their children, fitting together their knowledge of children, teaching and learning, with teachers’ knowledge” (Pushor, 2012, p. 469).

Because together, we share a common goal…our children’s education.

Reference

Pushor, D. (2012). Tracing my research on parent engagement: Working to interrupt the story of school as protectorate. Action In Teacher Education, 34(5-6), 464-479.

The Year in Review – a barrenblogger’s excuse

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I admit it. I’m a terrible blogger. I am the barrenblogger and I lament that I cannot find the time to write more often. I’ve been questioning myself and my blog lately, what exactly have I been doing this past year that I could not find the time? Today marks an anniversary for me. It was a year ago today that my neighbour’s first child was born which fueled my passion to write a piece for my incredibly-inspiring-fellow-parent-engagement/leadership-advocate-twitter-partner-in-crime-and-dear-friend, Sheila Stewart (original post here).

It was just days before that I had participated in a webinar hosted by the Ministry of Education for feedback and input into their new Parent Teen Kit (link here to the Parent Teen Kit & other publications I assisted with). On January 25th, 2012, I found myself in London, Ontario at the Regional Superintendents of Curriculum (RSteve and I at RSOCSOC) annual conference presenting Ignite Parents (see below) with Steve Howe, Manager of Communications at the Avon Maitland District School Board. It was there that I met Professor Steve Sider from the Faculty of Education at Wilfrid Laurier University…a day that profoundly changed the direction of my future. I made a last minute decision to apply for my Master’s of Education at Laurier instead of Western University. Remember that post I wrote for Sheila above? I think that’s what sealed my acceptance into Laurier’s M.Ed program, but I wouldn’t find that out until May…

In the meantime, as Chair of the Avon Maitland District School Board (AMDSB) Parent Involvement Committee (PIC) I was actively contributing to our websites Parent Voice and Ignite Parents and engaging through our twitter accounts AMParentvoice and ignite_parents, in addition to my personal and business twitter accounts. Several Stratford schools (including my own, Hamlet) were involved in an Accommodation Review (ARC) of our Board’s French Immersion program so I was also regularly attending committee meetings as Co-Chair of the Stratford Regional School Council (SRSC) and secretary (past Chair) of Hamlet Public School’s parent council. There were also Parents Reaching Out (PRO) Grant initiatives and applications to complete and there were several other school events and meetings to attend to support my three children’s learning, including my youngest daughter’s gifted program at our local high school.

In February I had the privilege of attending a Parent Leadership Training for Engagement workshop hosted by the amazing parent engagement and parent Tracy Arlene Sheila leadership advocate, Arlene Morell (she tweets here). March was an inspiration and began with Sheila and I reconnecting and collaborating on a twitter presentation for People for Education (that’s me, Arlene and Sheila in the picture at P4E, mesmerized by something!) followed by the ever-enlightening TEDxWaterloo and the ultimate unconference, EdCamp Waterloo. What an honour it was to finally meet so many of my twitter network friends face-to-face, and to find myself facilitating a discussion on parent engagement!

The weeks leading up to Ignite Parents on May 2nd were an absolute blur of excitement. Our team, the Avon Maitland DSB Parent Involvement Committee created a unique, enlightening and inspiring opportunity that brought together teachers, educators, students, parents, families and the community to Emcee at Ignite Parentscelebrate a few of the many great things happening in education across our school board. As Chair of our PIC, I was emcee for the evening and I could not have been more proud, standing on that stage, introducing each of our passionate presenters to an excited full-house. I cannot brag enough about, nor can I thank enough, all who were involved in helping make Ignite Parents such an incredible success. It took the passion, the belief, the dedication and commitment of so many to make Ignite Parents a reality. And I remain thrilled beyond words, to have been a part of it.

I received my acceptance into the Master’s of Education program at Wilfrid Laurier just a few days before Ignite Parents and by the end of May, I was already volunteering at the Canadian Society for the Study of Education annual conference, held on campus. I formally began my studies in the summer, attending classes full-time throughout the month of July. I’m loving being back in school and the challenge of this journey wouldn’t be the same without my fantastic peers and professors. In September, it was time to P4E Online Community take a wee break from school and concentrate on my business at the International Manufacturing Technology Show in Chicago. In October, I was honoured to be invited by Lorna Costantini to be a guest speaker on the webcast series, Parents as Partners. And what would November be without attending People for Education’s annual conference? Once again, what a tremendous opportunity to reconnect with friends, network, share and collaborate, and meet more of my twitter friends face-to-face! I can’t even begin to mention all the wonderful people I’ve met this past year who have inspired me and have challenged me, and continue to do so everyday…

Somewhere in all this I also found time for my family and my husband. Between all the camps and lessons and babysitting jobs and play dates and weekends up at the property in our woods, we did manage a Griswold-like family Christmas vacation to Florida recently. So here I am, one year later and my blog remains somewhat barren. Thank goodness it’s not a true reflection of what I’ve been up to these days…I can’t wait to see what this year brings! ;)

St Augustine Girls