Chapter 3: All Families Count Including Families in All Their Forms
- By including every definition of a family in the school community, students feel more included and supported (71). Some students have both parents at home, some come from single parent homes, some in foster care, adopted, etc. (73).
- To find this out, ask students what their family looks like. This can be in different forms, such as verbally asking, having them draw a picture, etc. (74).
- Research shows the more involved a student’s family is with their education, the more likely it is the students will perform well in school, graduate from high school, and even attend college (74).
- Recognize that all families, regardless of income, education level or cultural background are involved in their children’s education (75).
- Develop trusting and respectful relationships with families (75).
- Find opportunities for students to authentically communicate with their families. For example, incorporating family members’ names in math problems (76). *Basically, make any meaningful connections to family that you can, or when the opportunity arises.
- Definition of family is different for every child (76).
Teacher tools
Inclusive Family Language:
Schwartz, Kyle. I Wish My Teacher Knew: How One Question Can Change Everything For Our Kids. Da Capo Lifelong Books, 2016.
- Allow students to self-identify who their family is. Do not get hung up on the actual biological aspects (78). Be inclusive of what family means to your students (78).
- Swap the word ‘parent’ for the word ‘family’ when writing notes home, naming conferences (instead of parent-teacher conferences, call them family-teacher conferences), etc. (79). Individually and collaboratively look at the way your school defines families (80).
- Ask this simple question at the beginning of the year in the form of a survey, or in person (81). This leaves room for students to define their own family, as many student’s parents are separated, etc. (81).
- Knowing a student’s family structure allows you to meet a student’s needs better – for example, how to structure a student conference so that everyone is included, who to contact, etc. (82).
- This also helps with knowing how many newsletters to send home, etc (82). Communicate to all family groups to ease tension (82).
- Print out extra copies of a student’s work if possible when sending it home for parents to display, for example, an essay (83). When parents and caregivers have access to students work between different households it builds meaningful connections (83).
- Make time every day for students to share (83). This is a great time to see what is on student’s minds (83). You will learn what kids really care about (83). Many students often share what is happening within their family – "it’s my sister’s birthday", etc. This is optional share time (84). During this activity, classmates often offer each other support when needed (84).
- Include family in your lesson plans - For example, make a family tree (85).
- Some students may not feel comfortable with this project, instead they could create a fictional family tree, make a family tree based on a book or tv show, etc. (86).
Schwartz, Kyle. I Wish My Teacher Knew: How One Question Can Change Everything For Our Kids. Da Capo Lifelong Books, 2016.