Think about the earliest school experience you can remember or that your family shared with you.
- What did the teacher do to get to know you?
- What did did the teacher do to get to know your family & their routines?
- What did the teacher do to get to know your heritage culture?
- What opportunities did your family have to get to know the teachers and school staff?
- Think about your own home and family now. If a professor were to visit your family now, what might they learn about you, your family, and culture that they wouldn’t see outside of that environment?
1. Unfortunately, within my early childhood I didn’t get to experience an environment where teachers cared about getting to know me or my likings. I was roughly abused within my first 2 years of elementary school from one of my teachers.
2. My teachers unfortunately did nothing to get to know my parents. If i did horrible as a student it would just be reflected on my grade and the same if i did good. I wasn’t in an environment where teachers tried to push you to do the best you can until high school.
3. Building a relationship with my parents didn’t seem as a requirement where i was schooled. Everything was very straight forward with getting dropped off, doing your best in class, and getting picked up after with no discussion.
4. The only opportunities my parents got to know in getting to know teachers and staff were at parent teacher conferences which my parents barely attended due to work, and personal issues, but when attended only things discussed were my grades. Things never got into dept on how i can do better but thats also mostly because i was a fast past learner and didn’t have too much trouble learning and getting things done.
5. If a professor were to visit my family and home as of right now, things you might learn about me is that I’m not as present and verbal in my household. I stay to myself in my room a ton as i find it my own way of meditation. Usually outside I’m very verbal and extremely friendly which can lead you to think I’m also that person in my household which is the complete opposite.
Marielys — Thanks for your comment in this activity. Your early years in elementary school sound very traumatic. I am so sorry that happened to you. I wonder, what would your professor learn about your family and culture if they visited your home?
1. What did the teacher do to get to know you?
– My teachers didn’t try to build a relationship to get to know me, they just taught and then left for the next class.
2. What did the teacher do to get to know your family & their routines?
– My teachers did nothing to get to know my parents and their routines. If I did something wrong, my teachers informed my parents what was happening and that’s it.
3. What did the teacher do to get to know your heritage culture?
– My teacher did nothing to know my heritage culture, I think it was not so important and necessary to know about student’s culture, ethnicity and family.
4. What opportunities did your family have to get to know the teachers and school staff?
– The only opportunities my family had to get to know my teachers and school staff were when the school held parent conferences to discuss about grades.
5. Think about your own home and family now. If a professor were to visit your family now, what might they learn about you that they wouldn’t see outside of that environment?
– They will learn and notice about me that I speak Spanish all the time with my family.
Daniela — Thanks for your comment in this activity. Your experience is typical for most children & families in US educational programs. Focusing on just the child misses the context the child lives in (family, culture, community, etc.) which is not effective for truly getting to know a child; you cannot separate a child from their family. I wonder, what else would a professor learn in addition to you speak Spanish with your family?
-What did the teacher do to get to know you?
There was a teacher who did try to create a bond with me. They would try to make me play with other little girls because I would be alone.
-What did did the teacher do to get to know your family & their routines?
They would involve my mom in the activities we had in the school. They would ask my mom to help out as well when we had a show.
-What did the teacher do to get to know your heritage culture?
They made us do a show and we all had to get a flag and we made a dance show. They would also made my mom bring food that we normally eat.
-What opportunities did your family have to get to know the teachers and school staff?
the opportunities they had were when we had activities in the school and they had to be a part of it.
-Think about your own home and family now. If a professor were to visit your family now, what might they learn about you that they wouldn’t see outside of that environment?
They would learn that I speak Spanish with my mom and english with my siblings. I use both languages a lot at home.
Madelin — Thanks for your comment in this activity. Involving you mom in the school is 1 way to get to know her; I wonder, what did the teachers do and say when your mom came to school? I wonder, how did the teacher try to create a bond with you? I wonder, what else would a professor learn about you other than your home is bilingual?
1) To get to know me, teachers used to play with me during daycare, they also would observe me during group activities and or other activities. They would also talk with my parents to see if there was anything they could learn about how I was at home as well.
2) The teachers I had would ask my parents about any kinds of routines that I had at home. They would also tell the teachers if another family member would be picking me up from school. My parents would also let them know all of the things we did at home and try to possibly have them intergrade that into school life.
3)The teachers would have different books about different cultures. To try and learn about mine, the school would have an event or some sort of celebration for Chinese New Year.
4) My parents always went to cirrocumuli night at the school where the teachers would talk a bit about what they were going to do for the year. My parents also attended my Parent teacher conferences where the teachers and my parents would talk about how I was progressing through the year.
5)I think if a professor was to get to know me now, I think they would learn that I am very fmily oriented and I take care of my family a lot. I think they would also learn that I have dogs and take care of them as well. They would learn that I am an introvert and like to stay home most of the time instead of going out all the time.
Zoe — Thanks for your comment in this activity. Talking with families, especially about routines, is an important way to get to know a child. I wonder, did these conversations only happen with your day care teachers, or with other teachers in elementary, middle, and high school? I wonder, how did it feel to have the celebration of Lunar New Year at school? I wonder, what would your professor learn about your family and culture if they visited your home?
None of my teachers really go to know me. They would do their job and call it a day.
All my teachers had a professional relationship with my parents and would only discuss my grades and behavior in class. They never discussed more than that.
In 5th grade we only had one day to bring in food from our culture, give a brief description but that was about it.
They only really went to the school during PTC but thats about it because they both worked.
We speak Mixteco sometimes because me and my siblings still have a hard time understanding but other than that we speak Spanish at home.
Brenda — Thanks for your comment in this module. Having teachers that were not interested in you is very degrading. I am sorry you had that experience. It seems like your family was involved in the school based on the ways the school outlined. In addition to learning that your family speaks Mixteco, I wonder, what else would a professor learn about your family and culture if they visited your home?
1)My teacher asked us to write a brief description of ourselves and share it with the class.
2)My teacher didn’t really try to get to know my family.
3) My teacher didn’t do anything to get to know my heritage culture.
4) Parents- Teacher conferences. First day of school.
5) What they will learn about me is I am a very organized person both inside and outside the classroom. They would learn that my family is a middle-class family. We are very close to each other. They wouldn’t really know anything about my culture because I don’t really have stuff relating to my culture.
1. The teacher had what was called circle time where everyone had to share something about themselves once a week.
2. To get to know my family and their routines teachers would have parent teacher nights/day. There also would be a journal that parents can write and update teachers on my home life.
3. The teacher would have culture day where we can wear our heritage clothes, and food to share with the class.
4. My family got to know the staff and teacher through parent teacher day/night and whatever conversation they had during pick- up and drop off.
5. If my professor were to visit my home they would learn that my grandmother lives with us.
Think about the earliest school experience you can remember or that your family shared with you.
What did the teacher do to get to know you? For me in school, I would always find that one teacher that I would gravitate toward and end up forming an attachment, But every teacher I got close with as I continued to get older ended up leaving the school for better opportunities. As far as getting to know me, I would say that has been a bit of a struggle for me because I have had teachers that i formed a great bond with because they were super patient and understanding but no one has really gotten to know me.
What did the teacher do to get to know your family & their routines?
My mom was always working so she only came to Parent teacher conferences once or twice which would be when school started and when it ended. But at those times when she did come to the school meetings the teachers were friendly and happy to see her.
What did the teacher do to get to know your heritage culture?
In school we all discussed our culture and decided we should all have a potluck day where we all bring in food from our culture and share and explain what the food is and what it means to us. That day happened to be my favorite day, only because we were able to have two free periods with no classes so we could enjoy having conversations with our teachers and classmates on getting to know each other better and where we come from.
What opportunities did your family have to get to know the teachers and school staff?
When we had Parent Teacher night or school events like dances my mom was able to attend or drop me off because she was always working since it was just me and her at the time. My mother was able to communicate and have conversations with the teachers and other parents on parent teacher night or certain school events.
Think about your own home and family now. If a professor were to visit your family now, what might they learn about you, your family, and culture that they wouldn’t see outside of that environment?
If a Professor were to visit my family today he/she would learn that My parents and I are a very loving family that is family oriented. I am super close with both my parents and they can also tell that we have a dog and she gets a lot of love from each of us. We all like the outdoors but not too much because of bugs of course but we also love being home and enjoy quality time with each other. We all are very open and honest as well so you can say that I am super close with my parents and we have a great bond.
1)Some teachers I had did try to get to know me by asking questions on the daily or would come into my class to remove me and take me to play with toys and I guess when this happen it made me get comfortable and open up more to him.
2)What my teachers would do to get to know my family well it was my mom mostly he talked to her more, something ask questions if everything was ok.
3)What my teacher did to get to know my heritage culture was that school I attended was in a area that was mostly hispanics so I feel like there would be days to bring in special culture food as well as dressing up with tradition clothes.
4)Some opportunities did my family have to get know the teachers and school staff would be when the school made Parent night or workshops , although my mom didn’t attended as much.
5)If my professor was to visit my family now what they might learn about me and my family and culture, would be that its a pretty hectic household and we’re all caring for own another.
1. Some teachers would spend extra time with me and we would have conversations that we both can relate on.
2.The teachers would ask me my background and ask what we do as a tradition in our family that might be different from others.
3.What My teachers did to get to know my heritage culture was around thanksgiving when we had potluck and we all get to bring a dish that our family would eat.We all had different things to try from multiple cultures.
4.Opportunties my family had to get to know my teachers was at Parent teacher conferences, or family nights in school where we come together and enjoy games and convos.
5.If my professor was to visit my family now they might learn that my family is very family oriented and close we are and how love to have a good time.
My teachers would either ask me to introduce myself to the class or have me write down a few fun facts about myself. To get to know my family my teachers would ask my family to write down a few things about themselves and have them write out the routines. To get to know my heritage culture, my teachers would ask them to make a PowerPoint or bring something that represents my culture. My teachers would have the opportunity to get to know my family during parent-teacher conferences or any dance and award shows that I had. There were wasn’t any orientation process because I never went to orientation. If a professor were to meet my family, they would how close we all are. They wouldn’t see a lot of things that are related to our culture.