Home visits
Its two weeks into the school year and I have already completed four home visits! We are well on our way to our goal of 100% of home visits before November. When the idea of home visits was first presented to me I was skeptical. My school is located in a disadvantaged neighborhood where parents often work more than one job. Would they have the time/energy to have me over? Would they see this as an intrusion? Would they think we were merely trying to check up on them?
To be honest, I expected somewhat of a hostile response when contacting parents to set up home visits. Luckily, this was not the case at all. When we explained the purpose of a home visit (to get to know the parents and student, and for them to get to know us), parents seemed genuinely interested. Since it is their child’s first time in school, they want to get to know the teachers and how we operate our classroom. Another key point in making parents comfortable was explaining that home visits didn’t have to happen in their home. We would be willing to meet them in any public place such as the library, a coffee shop, or a park. This immediately made parents more willing to invite us into their homes as it became clear that the purpose of the visit was not to evaluate the home environment. Several parents suggested alternative meeting places, which was fine with us too.
The visits generally follow a similar format. First, my co-teacher and I restate the reason for visiting the family–to get to know them and to allow them to get to know us. We reiterate that this is not a parent-teacher conference in that it is not focused on academics, but rather getting to know each other on a personal level. My co-teacher and I each will give a brief background of ourselves–where we are from, why we became teachers, etc. before asking the parents a little about themselves. Some are more forthcoming than others, so we have come up with a few non-intrusive questions to ask to get parents to open up.
After learning a little bit about the parents, we usually ask about the student. What do you want her to learn this year? What are her interests and hobbies outside of school? Does she have any siblings? This is also a time that we meet a lot of siblings and get to know the family as a whole. Learning this information about the students also helps us tailor instruction and learn about any favorite toys, fears, etc. that we might need to know about.
And that’s it! So far I have learned that one of my students is afraid of loud noises–something so important to know in a classroom that has ongoing construction right outside! I have also met grandparents, aunts, uncles, and siblings and gained a better picture of what each student’s life is like outside of school. This is especially important to me, as I come from a vastly different background than my students and do not always realize the amount of effort it might take for a family to do something as simple as get their student to school on time each day.
