The BC Teachers’ Council (2019) defines Standard 4 as “Educators value the involvement and support of parents, guardians, families and communities in schools.”
Example #1: EDUC 391 Practicum
During my EDUC 391 practicum, I demonstrated a commitment to Professional Standard #4 in two main ways.
Before I began my practicum, I wrote a letter introducing myself and my place in the classroom to parents and families. I felt it was important to let parents and families know that there would be a Teacher Candidate in their child’s classroom and keep them informed about my role and which subjects I would be teaching. You can find the letter linked below!
During my EDUC 391 practicum, I was invited by my coaching teacher to participate in student conferences. Learning Updates were sent home during the third week of my practicum and parents, families, and students were invited to meet with teachers that same week. My coaching teacher chose to use an open-house structure for these conferences. For two days of the week, for an hour after school, parents and families were invited to come into the classroom, meet with the teacher, see their student’s work, and discuss any concerns they may have. During these conferences, typically a parent would come in with their student, chat with my coaching teacher, and review their student’s work. Then, I would chat with them about what I had been teaching in Socials and Math and provide an update about how their student was progressing in their learning. Students had completed their poster projects in Socials and their summative assessments in Math by this point so I was able to discuss those products with parents and families.
I am grateful I had the opportunity to engage with parents and families during my first experiential practicum experience. It was a positive and beneficial learning experience.