I attended an interesting workshop in mid-September put on by the Colorado Association of School Executives (CASE). One of the themes of the workshop was the idea that much of what is done in schools and classrooms is done in isolation; separated — or buffered — from outside scrutiny.
It’s a major theme of Mike Schmoker‘s book, Results Now. And it’s a major reason for administrators to be up, out of their offices, and walking around.
This is easier said than done much of the time, but if what we’re really all about is improving instruction it’s important to put our money where our mouths are. Besides – how can we afford not to find the time for what should be the most important thing going on in our buildings?
Much of what we discussed in the two-day session was focused on fostering a culture of professional, non-threatening feedback for improvement. We’ve been working hard at nurturing that in my school this year, and I’m feeling like we’re making some great headway.
What can be done to support better transparency into the classroom for parents?
What a great question, Ben. And that’s one of the reasons I like classroom blogs or wikis or webpages or whatevers. Anything that helps parents to know what’s going on in class. We’ve come a long way with systems that allow parents instant access to grades and attendance, but those are after the fact. I’m hopeful we’ll see some headway in inviting parents into the classroom in a “virtual” way as well and helping them take a proactive instead of reactive role in their child’s education.
It’s one thing to see that your child got a “C” on “Assignment 3,” but it’s another thing altogether to be able to ask your kid in advance (because you’ve been on the class page and know what the assignment is and when it’s due), “Hey – how are you doing on that third assignment in your lit class? You know, I loved reading ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ when I was in school! Have you gotten to the part where Boo Radley hides the stuff in the tree?” In addition to the fringe benefit of freaking out your child (always fun!), you may even get a dialog going.