Building "Bridges"

From May 27, 2014

Thinking about the "bridges" between Room 56 and the families, my first thought was of the obvious one. The fact that there is a physical product for families to see. His students that perform the sold out plays bring an amazing and concrete example of what they do right to the families. For others, the fact that many learn instruments and learn other amazing things is something that the family can see and hear and get instant gratification. It is a contrast to standardized tests, because the amount of work and the grade achieved is sometimes not known until the following year.

Since the families can get relative instant gratification and see the amazing things their kids are doing, hopefully it'll promote a good attitude at home. Even though he teaches in a district that would scare others off, what he provides those kids is something that the families see first-hand. Talk about building a bridge!

My experiences were limited to what I could actually come home and show my family. When I was in the band, they could hear me making progress when I was at home practicing. When I played sports, they could come and see the result of what I had learned. Anything else I had picked up I only hoped that I could work into conversation.

Coming from such a small school, the only other bridge between the schools and the families was usually one that was unhealthy. Everyone knew everyone and most examples were about what was going on at a political level rather than the excitement of watching their children progress and succeed.