Sunday, February 13, 2011

Communicating Expertise

I had a situation with a parent in which I didn't think the parent was knowledgeable about my expertise. They asked for my expertise, and then treated the feedback as though it was from a peer.
My question is how does a teacher communicate their expertise and still maintain a posture of openness.
I have erred on the side of not communicating my accolades. I am reconsidering this.
How do parents perceive teachers who put their degrees on the wall? Would a parent be interested in a posting of my vitae on line? Do parents need to see my academic surtitle? Or does none of it matter when we are discussing your son or daughter?
I am interested.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Report Cards

SPACE report cards should come home for fourth and fifth graders this week. It is taking us longer for third grade so they should come home next Wednesday.
The report card consists of the Process Skills Rating Scales by Karnes and Bean. I have chosen to use the critical thinking and reasoning, the creative thinking skills and the independent study skills for students to rate. These skills are skills the SPACE program works to develop.
The students are very uncomfortable with rating themselves and not using a A, B, C standard. Parents may be as well. One of the goals of SPACE is to help students be more self refective and to be able to critique themselves and their work with honesty. Having students self evaluate their ability on the skills mentioned above helps them both learn the skills we develop and to be self reflective. The student also learns that evaluations can be used as a measurement on a path to self growth. They identify their strengths and areas for improvement. For many of our gifted students who get all A's, they loose the opportunity to understand that evaluations help us see where we are, and envision a path for personal growth.
If you have any questions about the report card, please email me. The report cards do not have to be returned.