Observing Communication

Having the opportunity to observe children and adults communicating in a real-world setting was a little difficult due to COVID. However, I was able to take notes on the interactions that my students had with their parents throughout the school week via our daily classroom meetings.  

I tried to focus on only one or two students from my classroom.  My student has a parent who is always hovering in the background.  When he has difficulty understanding what we are doing in the lesson she helps him work through his problems.  She is not afraid to ask me questions as well.  I notice that she wants him to be comfortable in this strange classroom setting that we have this year.  She uses encouraging language like "You try on your own," or "you're doing a good job, keep it up,"  I think that this gives the student the confidence that he needs.

The other student that I observed always has a parent in the background that is raising their voice and yelling at them.  I hear the parent say things such as "stop playing pay attention,"  or "that's not what you are supposed to be doing, you don't need a break just sit still."  This shows me that the parent really wants their child-focused and to sit still.

Both of these observations help me as a teacher because I know that I cannot say what the students should and should not do in their homes.  However, I am able to tell what kind of communication they best respond to, and how I can work on showing them new ways to communicate with me.  I can take cues that the students do need breaks throughout the day, whether it's to get the wiggles out or just do silly brain break activity.

Different parents have different parenting styles. Being in a unique situation where I am teaching from home, and my students are learning from home gives me the opportunity to see how differently each parent communicates with their children.  From this, I am able to build new ays to communicate with my students.