In reading the Ministry of Ontario policy resource entitled "Parents in Partnership~ A Parent Engagement Policy for Ontario Schools, 2010", I believe that a change in parent involvement and connection to the classroom is needed in order to make reading a more effective and meaningful life skill beyond the classroom. This policy details the importance of having parents involved as a necessary component to building the learning culture that fosters successful readers beyond subjects.
To begin with, our classroom barriers need to be removed as we extend our students awareness beyond themselves and issues within our classroom to those of our community and world as a whole. The inclusion of our parents into classroom can be differentiated depending on the comfort level and flexibility of our parents. They don't all need to be physically in the classroom, but I believe it is necessary that all parents in a school community understand and take part in supporting reading. I believe that as teachers we can facilitate this with regular communication detailing events in our school/classrooms and connecting local/global community issues that, through discussions at home, can extend the learning to enrich student understanding. It is not necessarily having parents read text with children as the meaning making can happen from media analysis (pictures, news broadcasts, websites). With parents connecting their own experiences from a different perspective comes the opportunity to connect to different organizations in our community that could continue the extension of the learning past what would normally be available in the classroom alone. The teacher can also enrich this experience by connecting next steps for the individual students with the parents.
Secondly, having parents as a partner in modeling and supporting students' continual application of reading skills in authentic experiences beyond the classroom will continue to develop the intrinsic motivation to read. It is so vital that students infuse effective reading strategies and meaning making into their DNA. With support of the parents to apply the skills outside the bounds of the school walls, students will internalize all that is involved with reading as a mechanism for survival and this will be accompanied by intrinsic motivation. Reading needs to be integral to everything in the students' lives as they make meaning around themselves from so many different sources. Also, parents at home can support the student in connecting real authentic experiences that don't happen in the school environment. This will involve teachers again communicating with parents the strengths, needs, and next steps for their child.
Lastly, through parent involvement in the school creates a partnership where the inclusion of everyone's voice will continue the evolution of the system to meet the constantly changing needs of the students. This part is actually two fold. The parents' voice as necessary to the functioning of the school makes everyone accountable as a team responsible to the greater community for the education of our students. The second fold is that as society changes, the school will adapt organically as the members of the society (organizations, companies, support groups) are directly and continuously connected to the fabric that makes up the schools. This effective dichotomy is the sustainable new form education system that we are framing.
The culminating influence of parent involvement will result in adaptive successful readers that are skilled, collaborative, and communicative partners in our community.
