Final Narrative

When I was 6 years old, my parents got a divorce.  I didn’t really understand what was happening or why it was happening but I found myself always wondering.  When my dad moved out, I fell into a deep depression not knowing where he was going to live.  This also caused me to have anxiety at a young age.  I still deal with depression and anxiety today.  As a child, I didn’t know what was wrong with me.  I did not know until I was an adult why I always felt certain ways about things.  When my parents split up, my mom would try to reassure me that everything would be okay.  But would everything be okay? I couldn’t understand what was happening because I didn’t know the why. Although Prensky would consider me a digital native, I didn’t have a cell phone or a computer to be able to communicate with my dad so the only time I could talk to him was during our visitations or the use of my corded house phone when he wasn’t working.  My mom eventually got a cell phone and I was able to use that, too.

My dad worked for a business where he was constantly traveling to places across the country and even across the world.  This disconnect with my father began to affect my learning.  I still remember a time in 1st grade when I went to school late while crying because I did not want to go.  My teacher at the time, Mrs. Renfrew, made a huge impact on me.  She picked me up, put me on her lap, wiped my tears aways, and tied my hair up in a ponytail with a rubber band.  I will never forget this feeling of care and understanding she gave me.  I am not sure if she knew what I was going through at that time, but she made it seem like she did.  I was more than just a name on her roster.     

My dad was not always able to come to any school events or conferences because he was traveling to make money to support himself and his new home.  Please don’t get me wrong, my dad is the best dad he can be.  Since there was this disconnect between him and my education, my mom tried to step in more often.  However, that soon changed when she had my little brother and had to work three jobs to support her three children, four pets, and our house.  Luckily I was a great student so I never caused any trouble in school but I did struggle with reading for a while in elementary school.  When my parents found out, they were able to help me at home with my reading skills by reading to me and with me.  My parents made learning fun for me and gave me a sense of joy to read.  My mom bought me so many books, we had a full 3 leveled book shelf!  

A couple years later, I was struggling with math and I was not making any growth but my teacher did not reach out to my parents, I told them myself because I was afraid of failing.  Wesch would disagree with the teacher for not reaching out to my parents as it was his responsibility.  My parents always had high expectations for my siblings and I so I didn’t want to let them down.  When I told them, my dad wanted to help but did not know what I was currently learning in the classroom.  I couldn’t explain it to him, since I didn’t even know what I was doing, so I showed him some samples of what we had to do in class.  Because of that, we began creating math word problems to give each other and solve.  Almost every visitation, we created math problems.  I found it to be more fun learning with my dad.  He really seemed to care about me and my education.

Once my little brother started elementary school, my life took a major turn.  I constantly found myself teaching him using whiteboards and chalkboards my parents provided my sister and I with.  Most times, my sister and I played school at home, too.  At only 14 years old, I was involved in my brother’s education.  Since he was in 1st grade, I attended every parent-teacher conference, school event, volunteered my time, and helped him with homework and projects.  Now that my mother was a single parent of 3 kids, she needed all the help I could give her.  My brother’s biological father left when he was he was born, so my role in his life became even more important.  My brother has always been a priority in my life.  He made me see education in a different way, and he helped me realize that I wanted to become a teacher to help kids learn. 

I believe that children learn best with their parents are involved in the education.  After much research and experience, it has been proved that parent engagement increases students’ scores, participation, and potentially their behavior.  I have successfully given a Professional Development for elementary through high school teachers in my district on the topic of Parent Engagement.   

When I got a teaching job in Woonsocket, RI I was so full of joy to be able to give back to my community where I was born and graduated high school from.  Woonsocket is a high poverty and diverse city.  My first two years teaching there I noticed that many of my students’ families were not involved enough.  I used a couple digit tools to communicate with parents such as Class Dojo and Talking Points.  These tools were wonderful but not all parents were connected.  What else can I do?  I have been trying to figure out what type of digital tool would best the needs of families in Woonsocket.  I have decided to create a website.  As a techno-traditionalist, creating a website will help me accomplish the proficiency I wish to have in the use of technology.   I hope this guides me into becoming a techno-constructivist in the near future.

My website will allow parents to not only communicate with me, but also see what the students are learning and doing in the classroom.  My website can create conversation starters for families to have face-to-face, meaningful communication with each other.  As Turkle suggests, these types of conversations teach patience, which is one of my classroom rules.  The website will include hyperlinks to other digital tools I will use in my classroom to connect with families.  The tools are Class Dojo and Talking Points.  Parents can simply click on the link and it will direct them to the site they wish to join.  With the use of my website, it will show students that I am going to support them all the way as Simon Sinek suggests and make them feel welcomed in my classroom by welcoming their families in too. Every Monday I will send out a link via Class Dojo and Talking Points to remind parents to check out my website for updates.

Class Dojo gives me the opportunity to monitor student behavior in the classroom and notifies the parents immediately what the behavior is.  I am also able to post pictures and videos so the parents can view what is happening in the classroom without having to be there physically. This would have been a useful tool for my dad when he was traveling across the world.  Talking Points allows me to connect with parents whose first language is not English.  As an ESL teacher many of my students’ parents speak a different native language.  This tool uses a culturally sensitive translation that welcomes parents to feel comfortable in communicating with me about their child’s education.

Currently, my dad still travels for work.  He was recently in Malaysia and Italy so it is still a sensitive topic to talk about when I mention him traveling when I was a child. I still do not like the fact that he travels so much.  My dad has also been an amazing father to my little brother.  Since my brother was a toddler, my dad stepped in his life as a father figure for him.  Additionally, my brother is currently doing community service hours in my classroom for high school and hopes to receive an award for going above and beyond the mandatory 15 hours, as he is already almost at 60 hours!  Both my parents have been a huge part of my education and that has meant the world to me. 

Growing up having my parents involved in my learning greatly benefited me to be where I am today.  Without their love, support, and time, I truly believe I would not have made it this far. They are still very much involved in my education today. Due to my personal experiences and research, I am a firm believer that parent (or even sister) support positively impacts students’ learning experience.