Although I have spent the last 18 years of my life teaching (mostly
second grade), the thought of lecturing to a room full of adults on Back to
School Night terrifies me! Each year, I pour over my Keynote presentation. I've
used cute fonts, interesting quotes, imported videos of their children
-anything to catch their attention and pull them from their serious stares. The
truth I've found: Parents don't want to listen to a 45 minute lecture about procedures
and curriculum at the end of a long day any more than I want to deliver that
lecture. They want to feel like their child is in capable hands and in
a safe and nurturing environment.
So, I started thinking why not
"flip" Back to School Night and free up my time for something more
engaging? How would I do this? Would a
community of parents who are used to a "sit and get" style be ready
for this? A quote from Angela Maiers came to mind: "Courage is the
ability to enter the unknown by confronting challenges, taking risks, and overcoming
fears." It was time for me to be courageous. Here's what I did.
·
One week before
Back to School Night, I emailed all information home -schedules, curriculum
links, helpful articles, etc. If it could be emailed, it was.
·
I informed the
parents that I was trying a new format. Just as we ask our children to come to
school with an open mind, ready to participate and learn each day, I would be doing
the same with them. I explained the "flipped classroom" and asked
them to do their reading at home in advance.
·
Because I had 45
minutes to present, I chose 5 "pillars" that define my classroom. I
chose Community Building, Divergent Thinking, a Growth Mindset, the Importance
of Wonder, and Bridging Kids Toward Independence.
·
During the first
week of school, I took pictures as children participated in activities that
demonstrated these "pillars."
·
I designed an
interactive presentation, where parents would participate in a series of
actives that would parallel experiences their children would have during the
school year. The process went like this:
1. Lead the parents through an activity
2. Show them a Keynote slide explaining what they just
experienced (one of my five "pillars")
3. Show a final slide with pictures of their children
participating in similar experiences, highlighting the importance of each
"pillar."
·
Parents'
questions and/or concerns were addressed in my “Importance of Wonder” section.
Sticky notes were on each desk so they could write down their own
"wonders," that I would answer later individually. Interesting to
note, I didn't receive any questions. As I read the wonders after parents left,
I saw things like, "I wonder why chickens don't fly even though they have
wings?" and "Does the tooth fairy get money when she loses a
tooth?" They had caught the wonder bug, and bought into this new style.
Here's what
I learned: This works! I've never received so much positive feedback.
My BTSN presentation was referred to as "so much fun" and
"innovative & engaging." I also noticed that my typical BTSN nerves
dissolved as I kicked into teacher mode and started doing things that I do
every day. In summary, there will be no more 45-minute parent lectures from me.
I’m sold. I encourage you to rethink
your BTSN!
Contributed by Mary Beth Miller, Grade 2 Teacher at
Oak Avenue Elementary and LASD Lead Learner
We love sharing success stories! If you have a success story to share, please
contact Alyssa Gallagher at agallagher@lasdschools.org
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